Small weddings & elopements · London

Registry office wedding photographer in London

Old Marylebone Town Hall, Chelsea Old Town Hall, or any London register office. The ceremony, the steps, and a walk afterwards while you still have the flowers in your hand.

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Old Marylebone · Chelsea Old Town Hall · we plan it on a short call

What a town hall wedding day actually looks like

A register office ceremony takes about twenty minutes and the building runs to a timetable, so the photography has to fit around it rather than the other way round. In practice that means the hour before, the ceremony itself, the steps outside, and then a walk somewhere nearby while everybody is still dressed up.

You are usually asked to arrive fifteen to thirty minutes early for the registrar’s interview, the ceremony room is yours for a fixed slot, and another couple is booked in straight after you. Nobody gets a second run at the steps. That is the whole argument for having a photographer who has stood outside these particular buildings before.

The two town halls people ask for

Old Marylebone Town Hall, 97 Marylebone Road

Westminster Register Office, and the most photographed register office in Britain. Seven ceremony rooms take anything from eight guests to a hundred: Paddington and Marylebone for two witnesses and a handful of people, Soho and Pimlico for a small group, Mayfair and Knightsbridge for thirty, and the Westminster Room for a hundred.

Westminster’s registrars are relaxed about photography and let you photograph the ceremony, including the signing. Outside there are the wide Portland stone steps and the stone lions, which is where the group photograph and the confetti happen. After that, the Marylebone side streets are two minutes away; Regent’s Park is about fifteen minutes on foot.

Chelsea Old Town Hall, King’s Road

Kensington and Chelsea Register Office. Three ceremony rooms: the Harrington Room for up to eight guests, the Rossetti Room for up to twelve, and the Brydon Room, which is full of natural light and seats up to thirty-eight. The Main and Small Halls next door take a much bigger wedding if you want the reception in the same building.

The steps onto the King’s Road are the picture everybody wants, and they are wide enough for a real group shot. Within ten minutes on foot you have the King’s Road itself, Duke of York Square, St Luke’s Gardens and the Chelsea Embankment, which is four completely different backdrops without a car.

Couple walking hand in hand on the wet Victoria Embankment in black and white
From one of our couple sessions. The walk after the ceremony is where most of the good frames are.

What we photograph, in order

The half hour before

Arrivals, the two of you separately or together, the rings and the flowers, whoever has flown in for it. If you are getting ready nearby we can start there instead, but most small weddings do not need it: half an hour outside the building is enough.

The ceremony

The walk in, the vows, the rings, the signing and the walk out. We photograph without flash and from the back and the side, which is what registrars ask for and what keeps the room looking like a room rather than a set.

The steps, then a walk

The group photograph and the confetti on the steps, then twenty to forty minutes away from the building for the two of you. This is the part people remember having, and it is the reason a one-hour booking is usually too short.

How we work out what your day needs

We do not sell wedding coverage off a page. Two town hall weddings on the same morning can need completely different things — one is two witnesses and an hour, the other is sixty guests, a lunch and a second location — and a package would be wrong for both. So we start with a short call.

A short call, fifteen minutes

We ask where the ceremony is and at what time, how many people, what happens before and after, and what you actually want to remember. You ask us anything you like. It is a conversation, not a pitch, and you will know by the end of it whether we are the right photographers for your day.

Then a plan and a price, in writing

One page: what we cover, from what time to what time, where we would walk afterwards, when the gallery arrives and what it costs. Fixed, so there is nothing to work out on the day.

What is in every wedding we photograph

Every edited frame from the day, delivered as a full gallery within a week. No travel charge inside central London. Easy cancellation, and a free move if the weather turns. Print rights are yours, and we never sell your own photographs back to you.

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Couples on the same streets

Fifteen frames from couple sessions in Westminster and on the Embankment: the same light, the same walking distances and the same way of working as a small wedding afternoon. If you want Big Ben in the pictures afterwards, the route is on our Big Ben photoshoot page.

Loading Images
Woman in a white dress mid-step on the Victoria Embankment, London Eye across the Thames
Woman in a white dress posing on the river wall with the London Eye across the Thames
Woman in a white dress posing on the embankment, Westminster Bridge and Big Ben behind
Woman in a white dress leaning on the river wall under Westminster Bridge, Big Ben behind
Black and white photo of a couple walking hand in hand on the wet Victoria Embankment, London Eye across the Thames
Black and white photo of a couple embracing on the Victoria Embankment, London Eye across the Thames
Black and white photo of a couple walking on the Victoria Embankment, London Eye across the Thames
Black and white photo of a couple dancing below Big Ben
Black and white photo of a couple hugging by Westminster Bridge in the fog
Black and white photo of a couple kissing by Westminster Bridge, Big Ben across the river
Black and white photo of a couple embracing by Westminster Bridge, Parliament behind
Black and white photo of a couple hugging by Westminster Bridge, Big Ben across the river
Couple walking across wet Westminster Bridge with Big Ben and a red bus behind
Couple sitting on the river wall by Westminster Bridge, Big Ben across the Thames
Couple kissing at the foot of Big Ben, Westminster

Questions couples ask

Yes, at both of these town halls. Westminster’s registrars at Old Marylebone are happy for the ceremony to be photographed, including the signing. Kensington and Chelsea are the same in practice, but the registrar on the day has the final word, so we introduce ourselves before the ceremony and ask. We work without flash either way.

Two hours covers a small wedding properly: half an hour before, the ceremony, the steps, and a walk afterwards. One hour works if you have two witnesses and no reception. Anything with getting ready and a meal afterwards is a half day. We work the exact shape out with you on the call, then put it in writing.

At both buildings couples throw confetti on the steps as they come out, and it is the frame everybody wants. Use dried petals rather than paper, take the packets away with you, and check with the venue when you book, because the rules are set by the council and can change.

Yes, and it is usually the better half of the day. From Old Marylebone the local streets are two minutes away. From Chelsea you have the King’s Road, Duke of York Square, St Luke’s Gardens and the river.

Yes. Two witnesses and nobody else is one of the most common bookings there is at these buildings, and it is the easiest kind of day to photograph well: no schedule to fight, and the whole hour belongs to you. Couples often add an engagement session a few months before.

The full edited gallery is with you within a week. If you need a handful of frames sooner, for a message home or a post the same evening, say so on the day and we will send a small preview set.

We quote after a short call rather than publishing a package, because two town hall weddings on the same morning can need completely different things. On the call we agree what is covered and from what time, and you get a written, fixed price the same day. There is no travel charge inside central London, and nothing is sold back to you afterwards: every edited frame from the day is in the gallery.

Woman in a white dress on the embankment with Westminster Bridge and Big Ben behind
Westminster, late afternoon. Twenty minutes from either town hall by cab.

Wedding enquiry

Tell us about your wedding

About two minutes. The more of it you fill in, the more useful the call is: we come to it already knowing your venue, your timings and what you want photographed, so the fifteen minutes go on your day rather than on admin.

We usually reply within 12 hours to agree a time, on whichever channel you pick. If you would rather just message, the WhatsApp number is on every button above.

With the country code, so we can call or message you.
How should we reach you?*
What would you like photographed?

Let’s talk it through

Fill in the form above and we usually come back within 12 hours to fix a time. Fifteen minutes on the phone tells you more about whether we are right for your wedding than any package page could.

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