Highley Manor Wedding Venue, Balcombe

Highley Manor, exclusive use in the Sussex countryside

Capacity

86 ceremony

86 wedding breakfast

200 evening guests

Rooms

18 in the manor

Exclusive use

Yes, one wedding at a time

Ceremony spaces

Three licensed, indoor and outdoor

Filming at Highley Manor

Highley Manor is a nineteenth century manor house in seven acres at Balcombe, a few minutes from Haywards Heath in West Sussex. It goes out on exclusive use, which from my side of the camera is the single most useful thing a venue can offer. There is no second wedding in the building, no function room being turned around next door and nobody I have to work around when I want a wide shot of an empty staircase before the guests arrive.

Three of the rooms are licensed and they are properly different from one another. The Great Hall has the grand staircase and the stained glass and the light coming through those windows in the afternoon is the best thing in the building. The Baronial Hall is the opposite: vaulted, neutral, one big chandelier, so it films clean without the room competing with the couple. The Ballroom looks out over the grounds and takes the wedding breakfast. All three seat eighty six.

The getting ready room is worth mentioning because so few venues do it well. It has proper hair and makeup stations and real daylight, so the morning does not have to be filmed under a mix of bathroom bulbs and one small window. Eighteen bedrooms in the manor means most of your close family are already on site, which takes the travel out of the morning and gives me back an hour I would otherwise lose.

The evening opens up to two hundred, so the day builds rather than staying the same size all the way through and the grounds give me somewhere to take you for ten minutes at golden hour without anybody noticing you have gone.

To get more information about Highley Manor you can visit their website at highleymanor.co.uk.

Their address is Highley Manor, Balcombe, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH17 6LA.

Annabel and Jack at Highley Manor

Annabel and Jack got married at Highley Manor and I filmed the whole day. If you would rather see what a wedding here actually looks like than read about it, their films are below.

How I work on the day

No posing, no forced smiles, no interruptions. I film what happens and I keep out of the way while I do it. If your photographer sets something up I will use it, but I am not going to stop your day for the sake of a shot.

Annabel and Jack, Wedding Day Teaser Film at Highley Manor
Annabel and Jack, Wedding Day Highlight Film at Highley Manor

Filming notes for Highley Manor

  1. Eighteen bedrooms in the manor, so most of the family are already on site in the morning.
  2. Three licensed ceremony spaces, all seating eighty six, plus outdoor ceremonies.
  3. The Great Hall staircase and stained glass give the best light in the house in the afternoon.
  4. Exclusive use, so there is no other event to work around.
  5. Two hundred in the evening, so the day grows rather than staying flat.

Other Venues in West Sussex

There are many wedding venues across Sussex and some of my personal favourites are;

  1. Goodwood House, Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 0PX
  2. Grittenham Barn, Tillington, Petworth, West Sussex, GU28 0PG
  3. Long Furlong Barn, Worthing, West Sussex, BN13 3XN

Frequently Asked Questions

It is the main reason I like filming here. With no second wedding in the building I can walk the Great Hall and the staircase while they are still empty and get the wide shots that set up the whole film. On a shared site those shots either do not exist or they have somebody else’s guests in them.

They are genuinely different rather than three versions of the same room. The Great Hall has the staircase and the stained glass and in the afternoon that light is the best thing in the building. The Baronial Hall is vaulted and neutral with one big chandelier, so nothing competes with you. The Ballroom looks out over the grounds. All three seat eighty six, so the choice is about the look rather than the numbers.

Only for the better. The day grows rather than staying flat, which gives the film a second half with a different feel. I stay close to you rather than trying to cover a room of two hundred, because a wide shot of a crowd says far less than the two of you standing in the middle of it.

If they can, yes. Eighteen bedrooms in the manor means most of your closest family are already on site in the morning. That takes the travel out of the start of the day and gives me back an hour I would otherwise spend driving between houses.

In the getting ready room, which is one of the better ones I work in. Proper hair and makeup stations and real daylight, so the morning does not end up looking like a different film from the rest of the day. Tell me when hair and makeup are due to finish and I will build the morning around it.

Questions about packages, pricing and how long the films take to arrive are answered on my full FAQ page. Anything specific to Highley Manor that is not here, just ask me.

Always happy to have a chat!

Book a free no obligation 30 minute chat when you are available by clicking the link below

BOOK A ZOOM CALL