Planning a creative London wedding
I’ve been an alternative wedding photographer in London for over a decade and almost all of the couples I shoot for have these things in common:
- They want to not spend their day posing for lots of groups and couple photos
- They like to have fun
- They have a creative eye, usually loving colour and bold modern design.
As a result, I’ve been to a lot of London venues that have been chosen specifically for their quirky, cool or creative aesthetic. Creative couples often value an unique look for their wedding If you’re a lover of art, photography or design and want some ideas for your wedding venue, then I hope this guide will help you!
What kinds of unique London wedding venues appeal to creative couples?
There’s a few different types of wedding venues that appeal to creative couples-
- Photography studios: These tend to be large open plan white clean spaces
- Buildings with architectural history or quirks
- Pubs and restaurants with interesting decor
- Museums and art galleries (makes sense right?!)
I’ll now break down a list of these unique London wedding venues in those four categories with example photos. If you want to see more photos from each venue then just click the names for links to fuller wedding galleries.
London photography studio wedding venues
There are various central London photography studios dotted around from East to West. The advantage of using a photography studio for your wedding venue is that they tend to be large open spaces with lovely natural light and white walls, so they photograph beautifully. They are also blank enough to really customise your own style on it.
Weddings at Shoreditch studios
Shoreditch Studios is a great choice if you want private outdoor courtyard space and an East London site. The studio itself is a mix of brick and white walls. It can hold a mix of events, weddings included and you exclusive hire the whole space.
Loft Studios- a photography studio event space in West London
Loft Studios is across two floors and has a multitude of rooms. I’ve photographed many Loft Studios weddings and the team are fantastic. It is unique for a studio style event space in the fact that it has multiple small rooms so you can actually get ready on site in a dedicated dressing room. It also has a partially covered courtyard space. The main ground floor room is a giant L shape that can separated, and the dinner usually takes place on the first floor. They can hold the whole day there from start to finish and ceremony included! I have photographed a Jewish wedding at Loft Studios, a lesbian rainbow wedding at Loft Studios, and several other Loft Studio weddings.
MKII wedding photos
MKII is a lovely open plan photography studio run by two friends who both happen to be called Mark and Marko! They are fully licensed to hold ceremonies, and a lot of cool film and TV recordings happen there. They have a small break out room upstairs, and a working man’s club that you can hire next door if you need a space for guests whilst the room gets turned around.
AMP Studios
AMP Studios labels themselves more as an event and party hire space than photography studio but photoshoots do happen there. It’s a smaller space than some of the others and is one of the many Maverick Projects locations who also run the infamous Asylum Chapel. They have a large gated outdoor space and one main brick archway style room
Quirky architecture wedding venues
There are many historical buildings around London that gets used as alternative wedding venues. Picking one of these grand venues can make it easier as a lot of them don’t require much decoration. They’re all very different from each other but in my eyes all have ICONIC and very distinct architecture.
Battersea Arts Centre
Battersea Arts Centre is a super unique large wedding venue in London. It boasts multiple huge rooms that can accommodate both medium to large weddings. Every room in this venue is absolutely gorgeous and speaks for itself.
Stanley Arts London wedding venue
Stanley Arts is located in a surprisingly residential area in South Norwood, South London. It is a grade 2 listed building and is a large red curtain backed theatre hall, with a retro balcony. There is space for a bar in the side corridor. One small downside to note is there’s no dedicated parking on site, guests would need to park elsewhere or walk from Norwood Junction overground station.
Victorian bathhouse wedding
I’ve only photographed at this absolute hidden gem of a London wedding venue once. I’d love to photograph at the Victorian Bathhouse again! It is so cool with an entrance the size of a few phone booths- you then go UNDERGROUND into an opulently decorated multi room event space. So stunning, gorgeous bars with Moroccan inspired decor. The Victorian Bathhouse is definitely worth checking out if you want a standout wedding. It’s especially suited for London winter weddings, as it’s likely you’d stay indoors anyway.
Fitzrovia chapel wedding
Fitzrovia Chapel has a very similar aesthetic to the Victorian Bathhouse. It’s a deconsecrated chapel with a stunning golden roofed atmosphere. The room has rows of fixed pews. The other half of the space is open for hosting the initial drinks reception. I’ve photographed many Fitzrovia Chapel weddings and I’ve yet to shoot a reception there so do expect that you might need to book a separate reception venue. It’s very atmospheric and I’ve only shot there in Winter so it is a lot brighter if you have a Fitzrovia Chapel wedding in Summer!
Clapton Country club
Clapton Country Club is a firm favourite East London wedding venue. It is a wedding specialist venue. Therefore, you know you get a very experienced team, who is used to handling lots of weddings. They have a getting ready prep apartment and a main dinner hall and bar in one building. But also a very cool brick industrial space literally a stone’s throw opposite across the cobbled street called The Department of Life. I’ve seen different variations of the space used, with ceremonies or drinks and canapés reception in The Department of Life.
The Asylum in Peckham
The Asylum is one of the most iconic London event spaces and run by Mavericks Projects. It’s a previously bombed church with stunning natural light and a lot of the original features preserved. I am a regular photographer at The Asylum Chapel and can confirm that the team are fantastic. You can hold only ceremonies with or without the drinks hour here, you cannot hold a full day wedding at The Asylum anymore.
Weddings at The Barbican
Yes you can get married at the infamous home of brutalist architecture! The Barbican host weddings across the conservatory, side rooms and balcony. A unique blend of green nature and botanical plants, with hard brutalist surroundings. The Barbican is an incredible space for London couples who love the arts and history.
Museum and Art Gallery wedding venues
I haven’t photographed at many London museums, they’re quite hard to come by as for a wedding venue. This is because there’s often restrictions around what you can touch/do and opening times as they serve the general public as a priority. That makes the experience a bit different from a dedicated wedding venue, but if you want very exclusive decor i.e. original art and paintings then you can’t really beat a wedding in a museum!
There’s three museums I’ve personally photographed in and each with a different vibe. The Museum of The Home is a more down to earth type museum venue in Bethnal Green. The Natural History museum is a grand epic choice in West London, and the Sir John Soane’s Museum is a super quirky compact choice which can only host about 20 guests. Email me if you’re planning to get married in a museum in London that I haven’t yet photographed! I offer a bucket list discount for new and unique London venues.
The Museum of the Home wedding
The Museum of the Home is a family friendly museum. It’s set in a small park near Bethnal Green Station. It has plenty of outdoor space, a long row of different themed gardens (ideal for couple and group photos) with modern interior conference style white walled rooms.
Natural History museum
Everyone knows the Natural History Museum of course! You can get married in one of the long exhibit corridors and have your main wedding in the Hintze Hall which is the grand foyer you see when you first enter. Having a Natural History Museum wedding is one way to make sure your wedding is unforgettable!
Cool London pubs and restaurants for wedding venues
The most popular London weddings I photograph are pub and restaurant weddings. So much so that I’ve written several guides on the best London pub and restaurant wedding venues. Some of these are chosen because of their fantastic food or value for money, but there are some that have a beautiful quirky aesthetic that is favoured by my most creative and stylish couples.
The Boathouse at Lea Valley
This is the pub and club house section of the Lea Valley Rowing club. Lea Valley Rowing club is ideal for a Hackney wedding as it’s round the corner from one of the official Hackney Venues, the Glasshouse. You have your ceremony and dinner in the open plan gym, and the bar has lots of cute decor, and the venue name at the front along with the open working boat house serves kooky vibes.
The Bedford pub wedding
The Bedford is an event space, club and performing arts venue that is well known in the comedy scene. They have a multitude of rooms, but notably their bar space is full of very interesting art and posters and lovely natural light.
Balham Bowls Club
Balham Bowls Club is a pub in South London with the most gorgeous natural and dramatic light. You have a private hire space upstairs that you use for most of the wedding but they also let you take couple photos down in the main pub open to the public.
East Dulwich Tavern wedding venue
East Dulwich Tavern is a similar pub to Balham Bowls Club with an upstairs private space that has colourful, dramatic and quirky decor.
The Londesborough
The Londesborough pub is a venue I photographed a couple of times this year, it might be a better quirky pub choice if you have any guests with accessibility needs and the other two are up a stair case but The Londesborough is all one level from the front to the back of the pub! It also has a private beer garden so there’s some secure outdoor space.
Discounted London wedding photography
I hope this list has helped you plan your fun wedding. However I know there’s a ton of brilliant quirky wedding venues in London, plenty I have not photographed at before. Therefore if you’re getting married at a super interesting venue I haven’t photographed yet, then check if it makes my bucket list! Here are some creative and unique London wedding venues I have yet to shoot at, that I am super keen to, and will offer a bucket list discount for:
The National Theatre
The Roost
Gods Own Junkyard
One Friendly Place
