The great thing about being a London Wedding Photographer, is that we have access to some of the most amazing locations in the world as backdrops for our wedding portraits. And for their wedding day, Theresa and Alan decided to take full advantage of all that London had to offer on this gorgeous December Day.
The couple had organised the most intimate of weddings with originally, only the bride’s mother planning to be in attendance, an elopement of sorts from their Yorkshire home. The plan was for the bride to get ready at the lovely Corinthia Hotel, which is set right on the river in the middle of London’s Whitehall, and for the ceremony to take place at one of London’s oldest and most historic churches, St. Etheldreda’s in Ely Place in the City of London. The couple had then arranged for a London Taxi to take us to a few London locations for some intimate portraits of the bride and groom together.
We were incredibly lucky with the weather – the gorgeous winter sun could not have been more perfect for us. Not that you would know it, when I arrived at the Corinthia for Theresa’s bridal prep – the rooms have very small windows that don’t let much light in. The bride was already fully made up when I got there, and we were on to the finishing touches of getting the gorgeous House of Mooshki wedding dress on. Then it was time for Theresa to leave for church with her mum.
St. Etheldreda’s is a beautiful church, with stunning stained glass windows. It is also well known amongst wedding photographers as being one of the darkest churches in London. Having not photographed here before, I made some enquiries and was delighted to hear that the resident priest was very tolerant of photography during his services, and I was all set to go. So it came as a huge surprise to me (and to the couple) to experience the fastest church service I have ever encountered. It took a total of 17 minutes, from the moment the bride entered the church, to the wedded couple being back outside, including the signing of the register in the back room. I know we were a tiny congregation (a couple more guests came along than originally planned for), so a ceremony might be a little shorter than usual, but our priest never paused to take a breath.
On the plus side, this meant that we had lots of time for our portraits – we started by wandering around the historic streets around Ely Place, followed by a trip to the Embankment to get a look at the London Eye. We also tried the Millenium Bridge, but, being a sunny Saturday, the bridge was heaving with tourists and Christmas Shoppers. Instead, we found a little park, just a stone’s throw from the Corinthia hotel, and finished our session there, just as the sun was starting to set.
We had a lovely day together and I wish Alan and Theresa, all the best for a long and happy life together.
