London Wedding Photographer
Browse the latest London weddings
The ultimate guide to planning a London wedding by Marianne Chua
How to choose a London Wedding Photographer
I’m guessing you’re here because you’re on the hunt for a London Wedding Photographer! Here’s my guide on how to find, choose and book the best London Wedding Photographer for you! The first step is to make sure you have a venue and date secured. Most photographers won’t be able to secure anything for you without knowing the date. So get that registrar or celebrant sorted, and then begin your photographer search!
In my experience, there are two important factors in choosing a wedding photographer.
Love the photographs!
- Firstly, you must love the photos. This is definitely the most important reason to choose a wedding photographer. Prioritise this over branding, personality, price or anything else flashy! After everything is said and done, the photos are the product that stay with you for the rest of your life. Make sure you choose a wedding photographer who is willing to show you some full galleries. Ideally these galleries correspond to your season and venue. It is fine if they have not shot at your wedding venue before. As long as they can demonstrate the skill needed to photograph it. A good example are winter weddings. You need to make sure you choose a wedding photographer who can work with low light and flash for your winter London wedding.
Get along with the photographer
- Having said this, in a close second, it is still important that you get along with the wedding photographer. This is because it’s a very personal experience to be photographed all day. You’re with your closest friends and family. You really want to know that the photographer fits in with your loved ones and makes them feel comfortable. I have heard stories from married couples of liking the photos. However they recall feeling uncomfortable at being pushed into extra posed photos. I’ve heard stories where they felt the photographer was inappropriate. You want your wedding day to have nothing but the loveliest memories. All your wedding suppliers should contribute positively to the experience.
Different types of photography styles
It probably feels overwhelming off the bat! If you Google London wedding photographer, you’ll see vastly different styles on offer. Here’s a few of the common types you might see in your Internet search:
Documentary wedding photographer
- I consider myself to fall under this category. Essentially it reflects a natural, unposed approach. On the day there should be minimal interference or setting up of moments. It’s the perfect wedding photography style for camera shy couples. I feel there’s a distinction between different types of documentary wedding photographers though. You’ll see lots of editorial photographers refer to themselves as editorial documentary. Usually this indicates a combination of stylish, fashion led photos. They try to not direct photos outside of the details and couple photos. As it is fashion led there is often more portrait orientation framed photos. It fits with magazines and often can give the photo a neater background.
The true/photojournalistic documentary photographers tend to shoot in landscape primarily. The width of a landscape orientation includes more context to tell the story of the moment. Some documentary wedding photographers capture the candid moments as they happen. Others with more experience will try to stylise these candid moments to create something artistic.
Traditional wedding photographer
- Traditional wedding photographers tend to offer a structured style covering the essentials. Most of the budget wedding photographers you might find on local Facebook groups will offer this approach. They are primarily focused on capturing the posed group photos and staged couple photos. The upside is you know what you’re getting! I don’t fall into this category at all really. Even though I offer group and couple photos I focus so much on the moments between the classic wedding timeline. I also photograph the guests as much as the couple!
Editorial wedding photographer:
- A very popular style right now! It’s a throw back to 90’s point and shoot film cameras. The approach for editorial photography traditionally means generated for publication. However, in the wedding world it’s synonymous with a fashion styling. Lots of direct flash to mimic the film cameras. Tilts to look relaxed/accidental, and motion to convey emotion. It strives for effortless cool.
Fine art wedding photographer
- Fine art wedding photographers were huge when I started out ten years ago! Often they would use a mix of digital and medium format film. For fine art wedding photography you can expect a very light and airy edit. A clean subject or details filled frames. The tones tend to lean towards pastels, pinks and whites with a soft aesthetic.
Alternative wedding photographer
- When I started out I definitely categorised myself as an alternative wedding photographer. The edit tends to be bright and colourful. This approach had more of a focus on the types of clients. It was all about couples who wanted to plan non-traditional weddings. At the time this was something fairly novel! My first website was a peach and green when most wedding photography websites were white. Funnily enough I haven’t left that colour scheme behind! I do still provide an alternative wedding photography service, because I am inclusive and open minded to all couples and quirky wedding plans. However I feel I am truly inclusive so I do not just shoot for cool or interesting couples, I also cover traditional weddings too. I photograph for a lot of quiet personalities, who love the documentary approach. As long as people like the photos and like me, I don’t pick and choose who I shoot for.
How much should a London Wedding Photographer cost?
The price of a London Wedding Photographer will vary based on their experience and target market. For example the average fine art wedding photographer is likely to be higher than a traditional one. Fine art photographers aim for a luxury market. However, in general a London wedding photographer is likely to be higher in price than elsewhere in the UK. This is partly due to the reality of higher living costs for those in London. But also, London weddings often take place across multiple venues, rather than one all inclusive venue. In some ways this can require a bit of extra experience to ensure smooth logistics. For example, I know as a London wedding photographer that I need to preplan when and where I do larger group photos. There’s sometimes no option for me to delay certain photos for better weather. Sometimes the only available outdoor space is in a 20 minute section of the timeline!
Full or half day wedding photography
I would expect an established London wedding photographer to range from £1000 to £3000+ for a full day. I don’t know anyone photographing weddings in London for less than £1000. The exception is if they’re starting out or actually living outside of London but offering their services in the city. A lot of London weddings are shorter coverage or micro weddings. This kind of service I have seen offered at a wider range of prices, from £300 to £1000 for a couple of hours. A couple of hours would cover a registry office wedding and the traditional photos after the ceremony.
Look at your budget
The best way to work out how much you want to spend on a photographer is to look at your personal budget. According to market research couples spend at least 15% of their budget on photography. I have photographed weddings where the photography was important to the couple and I was between 20-30% of the total budget! Obviously I am biased, but I do feel that it is genuinely worth spending whatever you need to for the best wedding photographer. Simply because even though it can feel like a high price tag at the time, the photos are always the most cost effective part of the wedding day. You literally keep them for life. If you’re able to spend a few thousands on a dress that is for the one day, you should definitely consider giving equal importance to your wedding photography.
How many hours of Wedding photography do I need?
The main difference between London weddings and countryside weddings, is that former often take place across multiple locations. A lot of the countryside weddings I photograph hold the prep, ceremony and reception all in one location. The exception to this tends to be church weddings. There’s usually a different reception venue to the church. Therefore, you may find your timeline realistically needs around 9 hours of wedding photography, to cover the prep period to the first dance and after party.
There are several aspects of the wedding day that affect the amount of photography coverage you will need. Firstly, the prep period: are you having photographs for one or both partners? Secondly, whether you are having a registrar conducted ceremony, a church wedding or a celebrant led wedding. Thirdly the type of wedding catering you are having and speeches. Finally, your wedding photography requirements depends on how much emphasis do you want on the party!
I will also explain how much coverage you could have for a ceremony only wedding photography option. These ‘micro weddings’ consisting of ceremony photos and posed photos are becoming increasingly popular in London.
London wedding prep photography
The common expectation is that the bride and groom get ready separately. The photography coverage focuses on the bride and her wedding party in the morning. However, I photograph for many progressive couples. Therefore it’s normal for me to photograph both partners getting ready in different parts of the same hotel. Or I have many brides who believe in equality and ask me to cover what the men are up to. Similarly, if I have a wedding with two brides or two grooms, people will naturally want the photography time equally split.
So if I am just covering a bride getting ready, I’ll usually ask for 2 hours. This allows me the time to capture details, some of the action and then the finished look! If there’s a groom to photograph as well, I suggest adding on an extra one hour. From experience knowing how much time can be lost going back and forth between venues, I suggest that both preps are only possible to photograph if you’re getting ready in the same building. Or I inform couples if I start with partner A, then go on to photograph partner B, then I cannot go back to partner A, I will likely travel on to the ceremony with B and the gang!
What kind of London wedding ceremony are you having?
Registry office weddings
The crucial thing to note is that if you are having a registrar wedding you need to be with them 30 minutes before the ceremony time. This is regardless of whether that’s inside the registry office or if you’ve hired the registrar to your licensed venue. So when you are trying to decide how much wedding photography coverage you need I would count back 30 minutes from the ceremony time, then count back the travel time from prep, followed by adding the aforementioned 2-3 hours.
Popular London registry offices are Islington Town Hall, Marylebone Town Hall and Chelsea Town Hall. Each of their websites will have a list of approved licensed venues where the registrar can be called out to conduct the ceremony, if you choose not to use the Town Hall rooms.
Church weddings
If you are having a church wedding, you can pretty much rock up at the ceremony time, the priest usually has a brief chat with you outside but it’s not an interview that’s legally required like a registrar wedding ceremony. It’s worth noting that because of this lack of time buffer, as a wedding photographer I would always want to get to a church ahead around 20 minutes ahead of you. If you want photos of putting the dress on or any photos before your wedding photographer leaves the prep venue, you’d need to make sure you have done this a little earlier. The most popular London church weddings are St Etheldreda’s and Farm Street Church weddings.
Celebrant led weddings
For a celebrant led wedding, which is becoming an increasingly popular 2025 wedding trend, there’s no pre interview time. So in a similar fashion to a church wedding, I would simply make sure you allow enough time for me to get myself settled before starting the ceremony. My two favourite London wedding celebrants are India Bel and Chloe Green.
What kind of London wedding catering are you having?
The choice of wedding food can affect the timeline for photography as it can take longer for a three course meal to be served vs. one round of sharer platters. A three course meal can take approximately 2 hours to serve. Some caterers may also advise you to have your wedding speeches at the start, between courses or after the meal. It can help them prepare the next course, but be aware of factoring in this extra time to your meal. Often with Summer weddings, golden hour can occur over this wedding meal period, and generally I try to warn couples that if they want golden hour photos, to make sure it doesn’t clash with the best man’s speech! My favourite London based caterers to work with are Dinner Ladies, By Word of Mouth and Funthyme.
Taking epic wedding dance floor party photos
The amount of wedding photography coverage you require after your first dance is a pretty flexible and personal choice. I have couples who are happy to end the coverage after the first dance as they know their friends and family may not hit the dance floor hard. Conversely I’ve had couples who specifically want me to photograph for longer as they know it gets wild! I offer both a 9 hour option that usually gets a couple some dance floor photos, or an unlimited all day option that ensures extra awesome wedding party photos, definitely the option for people who want fun evening drunk wedding photos!
Summary of hours needed
Once you add up a classic London wedding timeline, you can see that for a full day, 8-9 hours of wedding photography is often sufficient.
- 2-3 hours of prep
- 1 hour for travel and pre interview
- 30 minutes for a registrar ceremony (1 hour for a church or celebrant wedding ceremony).
- 30 minutes for travel to reception
- 1-2 hour drinks reception (group photos often happen here)
- 2 hours on wedding food and speeches
- 1 hour turnaround venue time
- 1 hour for first dance and party
The kind of situation where you might require a wedding photographer for longer is if you’re wedding ceremony is early, or first dance starting later so you need to stretch the timeline. Or if you are having a cultural wedding, there are often traditions that need capturing across the day. A London Jewish wedding usually has several dance floor sections and it’s important to capture the hora and more. As a fun London Jewish wedding photographer I am often hired for the unlimited coverage so I can stay for the last song which traditionally ends the evening with a big circle. At London Indian weddings there is a tradition of breaking the coconut under the departing vehicle, so again, I am required for unlimited hours.
Low key London Town hall weddings aka ceremony only wedding photography
Since lockdown, it has become increasingly popular for people to hire a wedding photographer for their registry office ceremony and a few photos immediately after. Lots of cool celebrities have done low key London Town Hall weddings. For example, Mick Jagger married Bianca at Chelsea Town Hall and Charli XCX’s Hackney Town Hall wedding has been the most recent.
For this kind of low key London Town Hall wedding photography I offer 2 hours coverage as a minimum. This is because you need to start the coverage from 30 minutes prior to the ceremony, they allow 30 minutes for the ceremony itself, and then the rest of the time is for confetti, group photos and couple photos.
I also have found people are interested in a half day coverage for their London wedding. Four hours of wedding photography is great for if you want your ceremony, group/couple photos, and then up to the start of a wedding meal. Often this will cover a pre meal toast or speech, and then I leave when the starters come out.
If you’d like to see an example of London ceremony only wedding photos click here for Islington Town Hall. Also check out this gorgeous artistic Lambeth Town Hall wedding that included prep.
Why you should plan a London wedding
Whether or not you live in London, there are several great reasons to choose to get married in London:
Drink safely!
Your guests can get drunk! No one has to be a designated driver, it’s great fun and affordable to get home from a Central London wedding. Often with countryside hotel weddings, guests have to stay on site or nearby so the accommodation prices are restricted. With a London wedding there’s plenty of options at a range of budgets if guests need to stay close to the reception venue.
Wide range of venues
There’s the widest range of venue choices. From derelict chapels and underground vaults, to manor houses hidden in parks or museums, London really does have it all venue wise. Classic or quirky there’s a wedding venue for everyone. As there are so many photogenic registry offices scattered across London, you can also save costs on hiring a registrar to travel to your venue, by having a London registry office wedding and then the reception elsewhere. This can save approximately up to £600.
Diverse range of food
You can pick and choose your wedding food. At all inclusive venues you’re often expected to use the in house kitchen. Most London wedding venues allow you to organise your own wedding food. This can help you truly personalise your wedding day and do it your way! I’ve found when I shoot multicultural weddings, this has been an especially appreciated option. I’ve photographed weddings with a Caribbean dinner and Chinese canapés! London is the hub of diversity in the UK and you’ll always find exactly what you need to create your ideal wedding day.
World of wedding suppliers
There’s the biggest availability of wedding suppliers. London is so densely populated that even if you forget something on the day, you’re going to be covered! I’ve photographed many a morning wedding prep where someone has forgotten a tie, even a whole suit one time! As stressful as that might feel at the time, everyone managed to laugh it off as it’s very easy to save the day with a London wedding, simply by nipping out to the shops.
Weekend for all
You can make a weekend of it! If you and your guests are coming in from out of London, they can make it worth their while with a brilliant brunch the morning after, and perhaps some shopping with the sunglasses on.
How to book your wedding photographer
Once you’ve looked through the various wedding photography styles and found someone that ticks all the boxes, it’s worth dropping them an email for a chat. Whether it’s in person or, as commonly done since the big C of 2020, a virtual meeting, I do feel like you need to get a sense of the person who is around you all day. I personally then do all the paperwork online, both of you sign a simple agreement, and my booking fee is 30% of the total. Once the agreement is signed and booking fee paid you are officially in the club!
Most wedding photographers do ask for the final balance before the wedding, this is very much the valid industry standard. Since my first wedding I have taken the final balance after the wedding, before delivering the gallery. This started out being purely due to my innocence of what was the norm, as I had never been to a wedding and none of my friends were married at the time. However, I have chosen to keep my system this way as I feel it has helped couples budget for their wedding photography. Before the wedding there’s a huge number of suppliers whose bills need settling. I deliver my wedding photos at around a 6 weeks, so it gives my couples an extra pay cheque and breathing space before the final balance. I deliver the gallery locked and watermarked along with the final balance, so couples can see what they’re getting but not fully access it.
Fun cool documentary wedding photos in London
Part of what makes me love being a London Wedding Photographer is that the busyness, the architecture and full scenes are ideal for a documentary wedding photographer approach. It gives me a wider variety of shapes and colours to work with. Here’s some of examples of urban and city London documentary wedding photos, that celebrate the vibrancy of my hometown city!
The best London wedding venues
As highlighted in my reasons for planning a London wedding, the range of venues in London is second to none.
You can hold a properly urban wedding under the train tracks at venues like Pedro’s Wine Bar or Village Underground. You can have a gorgeous Manor House type wedding in Morden Hall or a Clissold House wedding. There’s even mini castles in London parks!
I talk about the best pubs and restaurants for an Islington London wedding in this blog post. There are photographic studios which give a cool industrial vibe. For example I am a regular Loft Studios wedding photographer, and have photographed at Shoreditch Studios weddings. Very uniquely to London you can also book some of the iconic museums. I have photographed a wedding in the Natural history Museum and also a rare wedding in the Sir John Soanes Museum.
For creative couples I recommend the likes of the Battersea Arts Centre wedding venue, plan an Asylum Chapel wedding, or a Clapton Country Club wedding. These are both venues with an interesting aesthetic that don’t need much decoration.
If you are chasing some quiet nature in the big smoke, try a Walthamstow Wetlands wedding or a Woodberry Wetlands wedding, I am a recommend supplier with these London Wildlife Trust wedding venues.
If you want to be beside the seaside, or the closest you’ll get to it a.k.a the Thames, then Trinity Buoy Wharf is one of the most popular riverside venues in London.
I hope you enjoyed my guide to booking a London Wedding Photographer. If you are looking for fun, natural relaxed wedding photography in London, don’t hesitate to get in touch and secure me for your wedding!