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Couple by red phone boxes London wedding day Smithfield

St Paul’s Cathedral Wedding ceremony and Smithfield Reception at The Butchers Hook and Cleaver

By Barnet Wedding Photographers, London venues and events, London Wedding Photographers, Wedding VenuesNo Comments

When we started capturing wedding days St Paul’s was on our bucket list of places to photograph, if the opportunity arose. Little did we think we would be there multiple times, let alone become regular St Paul’s Cathedral wedding photographers.

Bridal prep on St Pauls Cathedral wedding morning

Groomsmen talking near St Pauls Cathedral on wedding day

When ‘J’ and ‘N’ got in touch to tell us their big day plans for a ceremony at this national treasure, we knew exactly what to expect and also the protocol and rules that St Paul’s asks wedding photographers to abide by.

Groomsmen laugh in front of St Pauls Cathedral

Having done an engagement shoot with these guys in Greenwich Park, we had already got to know them a little better and what worked best for them image wise. Here’s one of those images below.

The day started with myself jogging between ‘J’ and her bridal prep at the lovely Leonardo Hotel in the shadow of the cathedral itself, and then with N with his son and best man at a coffee shop a few streets away. Joanna stayed with the bridal party because she doesn’t like jogging, ha ha just a little joke of course.

Bridal party walk to St Pauls wedding

When the time came I also took a bunch of candid and messing around shots with the wedding party meeting on the famous steps of the cathedral. These parts of the day are always interesting because it’s such a public space and you know that the photographer and their antics are also becoming an Instagram post for someone visiting the capital.

OBE chapel wedding ceremony St Pauls Cathedral London

For wedding ceremonies at St Paul’s everything takes place in the atmospheric OBE chapel. For photographers the rules are strict. We are only allowed to photograph the wedding party before the ceremony, then the brides entrance, the first hymn and the recessional. All shots have to be from the very back of the chapel, and all without flash of any kind. No problem!

The best wedding photo at St Pauls Cathedral London

After the ceremony there is a couple of minutes to be able to take non flash shots under the iconic dome, so there will always be interested members of the public behind you.

Wedding party waves on the St Pauls Cathedral

London bus passengers wave at St Pauls Cathedral wedding party

The place where we usually do any requested family and friends shots on the steps of the north transept entrance, was having some renovation. That is a fairly private area, whereas the south transept we had to use as an alternative exit is not. Nevertheless we got some great shots, and I particularly liked involving the public on their London buses waving at us all. See the pics above 🙂

Bride and groom hold hands by red London phone boxes

After that it was time for the wedding party to head to old Smithfield and the impressive Butcher’s Hook and Cleaver gastro pub.

Bride and groom on St Pauls Cathedral steps

Bride and groom at St Pauls Cathedral fisheye lens

Wedding couple outside St Pauls Cathedral

While this happened we spent half an hour with the newly weds doing some quick couple shots around St Paul’s, and then by Smithfield Market itself. It’s one of our favourite parts of the day, and from what couples tell us, one of theirs too.

Bride and groom kiss by Smithfield Market phone boxes

A fantastic drinks reception at the Butchers Hook and Cleaver was followed by speeches, cake cutting, much merriment and an excellent live band to boogie the night away to.

Bride and groom outside The Butchers Hook and Cleaver Smithfield

By David Green

Here’s another St Paul’s Cathedral wedding on the blog: St Paul’s Cathedral Wedding Photographers & Skinners Hall Reception

Butchers Hook and Cleaver wedding collage one

Butchers Hook and Cleaver wedding collage two

Butchers Hook and Cleaver wedding reception collage three

Big Day Weddings Google review for Lansdowne Club Wedding

Mayfair wedding day Google review just in, for Farm Street Church & Lansdowne Club Mayfair

By Barnet Wedding Photographers, London venues and events, Wedding VenuesNo Comments

Just in another Google review this time from renowned Sunday Times senior journalist Rosamund Urwin.

We had the pleasure of photographing Rosamund and Charlie’s wedding at Farm Street Church and then The Lansdowne Club, both in Mayfair central London.

It’s a popular combination of venues as they are literally just a couple of streets away from each other, so very hard to lose your guests! There’s also a great pub The Punchbowl just yards from the church should anyone feel the need to congregate there beforehand.

Behind Farm Street Church itself is a nice little park for group photos if needed, and the streets around have a good London vibe for couple shots.

The Lansdowne Club is a fantastic members only venue with a very impressive grand hall and dining room. It was also a former home for renowned socialite and businessman Mr Selfridge. No prizes for guessing the name of the department store he founded!

Congratulations to Rosamund and Charlie, and wishing you both the best for the future.

Here’s a link to a recent Farm Street and Lansdowne Club wedding day: Lansdowne Club and Farm Street Church Wedding Photography

Here’s the original text of the review:

“David and Joanna were absolutely fantastic. I love the photographs – they did really well with the light in the church particularly – but I love the photos they took in the venue too. I couldn’t be happier with the result, and they were charming to our guests too. Can’t really recommend enough.”

By David Green

London engagement couple at Lloyds Building London

Best London Engagement Shoot from Covent Garden to Leadenhall Market

By Barnet Wedding Photographers, London venues and events, London Wedding PhotographersNo Comments

Now when we say best London engagement shoot, what we mean by that is that we think we followed best practice for these particular guys, in the time we had, and the areas of London we were in.

‘A’ and ‘A’ are getting married in Faro Portugal with us as their wedding photographers. This London engagement shoot gave us a good chance to get to know them better, and find out before the fact how they respond to our way of working.

Engagement couple at Dean Street Town House

Now we are course a little like chameleons in our approach, adapting quickly to suit personalities and situations. Reason being that ultimately our job is to bring out the best of what is already there within people. Add to this we put our particular spin on things, but then always remembering to give our couples what they value in terms of imagery and approach. And then go beyond…

Dean Street Townhouse engagement shoot image

For this lovely couple with their wedding being abroad and with special requirements, we designed a package to suit them, with a built in central London engagement shoot too.

London engagement shoot by Ronnie Scotts jazz club

As is usually the case David did this particular assignment, and what an early start on a Sunday it was too. These two actually had their first date at Dean Street Townhouse in Soho and they were keen to incorporate the venue in some of their images.

Outside the Ivy London engagement shoot couple hold hands

The Townhouse gave us a fifteen minute window of opportunity just after they opened for breakfast at 8 am. I’m particularly grateful for the free expresso’s they gave me!

Bride and groom kiss at The Ivy London wedding

As a popular wedding photographer I believe you need excellent people skills, and that boils down to really enjoying the company of others and the fun of meeting new people, and be able to relax and relate fast. To illustrate, the first black and white image of ‘A’ and ‘A’ sat in the Dean Street Townhouse restaurant is taken less than three minutes after first meeting them. They look pretty chilled and happy don’t they?

London engagement shoot couple kiss in sun Waterloo Bridge

When I arrived in my Uber to Soho it was pouring with rain, fortunately when we had finished our 15 minutes in Dean Street it has pretty much stopped. We then walked towards Covent Garden and took shots wherever we felt was relevant, including good old Ronnie Scott’s jazz club.

Couple kiss by red London phone box engagement shoot image

I’m always on th look out for an iconic red London phone box to anchor a shot with too.

Couple kiss by pillars in Covent Garden engagement shoot

I loved the fact that Covent Garden was virtually empty. I’ve been there so many times, but it’s a different place early on a cold Sunday morning in the rain! A chance to play around the pillars near the Royal Opera House with absolutely nobody in the background. Nice.

Couple in Leadenhall Market London engagement shoot image

Walking down to Westminster Bridge and then on to one of my favourite spots the Victorian splendour of Leadenhall Market, which once again was fairly people free. I put the above image into an international image competition and won, so that was a welcome bonus.

London engagement shoot couple embrace by red phone box

A quick jaunt to the Lloyds building and then it was time to say goodbye. All in all, in terms of the way we did things it was the best kind of London engagement shoot and we really look forward to working with these guys in Portugal on their wedding day.

Engagement couple hold hands on steps of Lloyds Building London

London engagement shot by Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Couple kiss under neon sign Leadenhall Market shoot

Engagement couple on London subway steps

By David Green

You can see some more of our London engagement shoots by following any of the links below:

London Engagement shoot at Southbank and Tower Bridge again

Kenwood House Engagement Shoot Photography in Hampstead

Oxo Tower and London’s Southbank engagement shoot

Engagement Shoot at London’s Alexandra Palace in Muswell Hill

There are many more if you use our search facility on the site too 🙂

 

 

 

 

Couple in Leadenhall Market London engagement shoot image

Our latest international award winning London wedding image

By Barnet Wedding Photographers, London venues and events, Wedding VenuesNo Comments

Just a quick note to post our latest award, this time an international one from Wedaward who are one of the main and most recognised awarding bodies for photographers across the globe.

This was an early morning wedding engagement shoot that took place across multiple venues in central London. This image was done with a fish eye lens at one of our favourite places Leadenhall Market. We used this along with other lenses of course to pull in to the frame the truly incredible Victorian structure that exists intact to this day.

When I say early morning I mean VERY early morning. Hope you enjoyed your lie-in Joanna…

This is ‘A’ and ‘A’ featured here, and we are really looking forward to capturing the story of their wedding soon in Faro Portugal.

Thanks ‘A’ and ‘A’ and thanks Wedaward.

By David Green

Chinese wedding in central London with bubble guns

New review in from Old Marylebone Town Hall wedding day

By Barnet Wedding Photographers, London venues and events, Wedding VenuesNo Comments

Thanks to S and Y for the review submitted to the The Wedding Industry Awards which has just come through.

I had a great time with these guys at Alexandra Palace in torrential rain for their engagement shoot.

Later in the year I photographed their wedding ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hal,l and then their reception Chinese banquet at the wonderful Phoenix Palace near Baker Street central London.

Old Marylebone Town Hall has just had a major refurbishment, and many may now know it as Westminster Council House which it has emblazoned across it’s frontage. It’s the grandest council house I’ve ever seen…!

I particularly enjoyed our fun with the bubble guns the wedding party brought along for the day.

First here’s the couple’s reaction to their engagement shoot, and then their review of the wedding day itself:

“Hi David, Just wanted to let you know we received the USB and CD today. The photos are lovely. We liked how everything turned out. Thank you for a wonderful engagement shoot :)”

“We decided to go for David after meeting him and seeing his portfolio. On our wedding day he was well prepared and arrived early to take photos of the guests. He was funny and engaging so it helped us relax a lot. He took really lovely photos of us at the town hall and banquet. We received a lot of compliments when we showed the photos to our friends and family. He was also a great photographer during our outdoor engagement shoot despite it raining heavily on the day. Great photos and memories!”

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