We’re so excited for you to join us on our wedding day in the beautiful town of Lewes.
All the locations listed below are around 5-15 minutes’ walk from each other.
Ceremony
Our adventure will begin with a ceremony at the Ainsworth Room at Southover Grange at 1pm. We are advising everyone to arrive 15-20 minutes early, just to be on the safe side. The ceremony is expected to last around 30-45 minutes.
Southover Grange is a Grade II* building, built by William Newton in 1572, who first leased the Lewes Priory from Anne of Cleves when he first arrived in Lewes.
Drinks and canapés
We will then take photos at the venue and its lovely gardens, before making our way to the White Hart on the High Street for Prosecco and canapés for around 2.30pm.
The White Hart is a gorgeous 15th century coach inn on Lewes High Street. It has a blue plaque which reads:
Thomas Paine 1737-1809
Here expounded his revolutionary politics. This inn is regarded as a cradle of American independence which he helped to found with pen and sword.
Our drinks and canapés will be served at the Headstrong Club room at the White Hart, named after the famous 18th century debating society that operated from that very room. Notable members included, unsurprisingly, Thomas Paine, as well as Thomas “Clio” Rickman.
Dinner, cocktails and dancing
We will stay there for a couple of hours and then depart for our final venue, Squisito, an Italian restaurant and bar, for cocktails, dinner and dancing. We are expecting to arrive around 5pm, with dinner served from 6pm.
Squisito has a separate bar area and courtyard where we plan to move the festivities for some drinks and dancing around 9pm. We expect the night to wrap up around 11pm.
Squisito is situated in the wonderfully eclectic Needlemakers, which has an interesting history in its own right. Built as a candle factory in 1820, it produced candles until it closed in 1908. Since then, the buildings have seen service as a surgical needle factory, a builder’s merchants, a potter’s shop and finally, a semi-derelict roost for pigeons. In the 1970s, local conservationists won a battle to preserve its industrial heritage against plans to demolish it to turn it into a car park. Today, it is home to artisan studios, studios and special crafts shops (and a little restaurant called Squisito).
Menu
Our menu has three options for both starters and main courses (in each case, meat, fish, vegetarian) and a choice of three desserts, the third of which is a cheese course. The full menu is below. Please let us know your choices and dietary requirements/allergies by indicating this on the RSVP form.
Dress code
The dress code is normal formal wedding attire but we’ve gone with a slightly bohemian/eclectic vibe so don’t hesitate to wear whatever makes you feel beautiful.
We are asking guests not to wear burgundy/wine as this is the colour of the bride’s dress. White is fine!
Gifts
We consider your presence on our special day your gift to us so there is no need to bring a present. However, if you did want to get us something, we would be exceptionally grateful for anything you could contribute to our honeymoon fund. The details of how you can make a contribution can be found here:
RSVP
Please RSVP and let us know your menu options and dietary requirements by using this link:
If you have any issues at all with using this form, please let us know!
We can’t wait to see you!
Thank you so much for joining us! We are thrilled to see you all and to welcome you to our favourite Lewes.
Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need any tips or recommendations for your stay in Lewes. The above fun facts offer just a small taste of everything fantastic about this perfect little town.
We are so immensely grateful to share this special day with you.
Alex & Benjamin 