Portobello Market Engagement Shoot
Portobello Market Engagement Shoot
Portobello Market is one of the hidden gems of London. It is very popular, but there is lots to discover anyway.
Last Sunday, went for a walk thru not so busy streets of this part of Notting Hill – try to come here on Saturday, you will see why we went on Sunday – and we were looking for famous colours of Portobello.
Below just a few images we want to share with you now. Full gallery is coming very soon, so come back here in few days.
Dorchester Hotel London wedding venue
Dorchester Hotel wedding venue in London
Yesterday I had a pleasure to visit one of the most iconic hotels located in heart of London's famous Park Lane - The Dorchester Hotel. What an incredible wedding venue. This five star luxury hotel is part of The Dorchester Collection. Together with beautiful ballroom, hotel offers fantastic Penthouse and Pavilion located on the top floor overlooking fantastic panorama of the City.
While I was at the hotel followed by scouting the penthouse and pavilion on the top floor I was absolutely astonished with the hospitality I received. Especially big thanks to Valentine, wedding coordinator at The Dorchester, who I am looking forward to work with in June.
As a wedding venue, in central London area I honestly believe this is just one of the best for photography. Bright interior rooms and lots and lots of photography possibilities both indoor and outside. And there is one more thing - just outside, to the right there is a small little cafe - Parcafe - what a fantastic coffee. And apparently hand-roast their coffee in South West London.
Dorchester Hotel Wedding
If you are planning to get married at The Dorchester Hotel in London let me know. Maybe you know someone who's dream is to get married at The Pavilion at Dorchester in London. Would love to hear your story and be your London wedding photographer.
The best Instagram spots in London
The best Instagram spots in London
Anna and Charlene are great couple who just recently got engaged. We decided to take them to the most photogenic spots in London, some call them the most instagrammable London spots.
London Bridge
London Bridge is a great spot to start morning shoot. Especially when it comes to sunrise shoot. The view to the east is just great. What I love the most is a space underneath the bridge itself. It is so photogenic. Just check below.
20 Fenchurch Street and Sky Garden London
City of London is awesome area for any kind of shoot. You can find there any shapes and forms of backdrops. The one which caught our attention is a bit of a green wall at 20 Fenchurch Street, just outside of very popular Sky Garden. The fact that you don’t really have much of green backdrops at the City itself, brings additional value to that place.
Leadenhall Market – City of London
The Leadenhall Market is actually my favorite market in London. But not because what the shops or stalls offers. I love it strictly because how it looks. Especially when all the shops are shut and there is absolutely no one there. Just have a quick look. It is so photogenic. The best time to come here is Sunday morning or in the afternoon, when the sun is going down creating great reflections.
London underground
Tube stations, trains, tunnels, escalators, elevators, you name it. Countless locations, never ending spots and so unique, that we could go to any creating great story with unique imagery. London underground is always busy, but when down there, you can escape from the crowds on the streets.
The King’s Cross Tunnel – King’s Cross Station
King’s Cross Tunnel is a proper hidden gem of London. Not many know about it. Even when you ask staff at the station they have a bit of trouble to give a right directions how to get there. Every picture taken at that particular location is different. Lighting is changing every half second creates unique backdrop and atmosphere. And even at rush our the tunnels not busy at all, gives lots of time for creating great pictures.
Neil’s Yard – Covent Garden
I love whole Covent Garden. I love the crowds and the ambient. But Neil’s Yard (formerly known as King’s Head Court) is so special – great, unique look, awesome pizza, fantastic vibrant colours. You have to come and see. No pictures will really show the beauty of that small hidden courtyard. It is worth to come here when cafes are still shut – the artwork on the shutters and doors is just brilliant. And those murals.
Leicester Square & Piccadilly Circus
All London landmarks, all most popular touristic spots are great for engagement photos. Just watch passing crowds, slow down, go against people traffic and enjoy different point of view. Those places offers more than just landmarks – you can feel real city vibe and discover brand new frames. Just go there and do it. You will not regret.
London backgrounds
What backgrounds are most typical for London? Big Ben, Tower Bridge and … a Red Bus. Yes, and we love it. Take a ride, swipe your contact less card, grab a taxi. All that simple and everyday things combined with love will amaze you. Just have a look how Anna and Cha enjoyed themselves at busy streets in central London. You will see more of a buses and taxis this season. Trust me!
Did you like above engagement adventure? Let us know. We would like o know what you think. We love to chat about your plans. You might share above story with your friends, it might help someone. Many thanks.
The best Instagram spots in London
Monica & Eddie's engagement in London
London engagement photographer
Hello reader.
We met Monica and Eddie sometime ago. Felt in love with this couple long before they came to London for their engagement pre wedding shoot. Initially wanted to start in the morning when the sun was rising but the rain was so heavy, that we couldn’t get out from the car. So once the sky was clear and was not raining anymore, we drove to Selsdon Estate, located just a stone throw from they stayed for a quick walk.
Actually what we did there was a short film for Monica and Eddie. The idea was to create a video to show their feeling and includes images from their early years. That was so much fun! The film includes as well appreciation and thank to their parents for everything. It was an brilliant idea. De Vere Selsdon Estate Hotel has beautiful field on the back where we could shoot everything. Many thanks for that.
Later on we headed to Central London for a engagement shoot at the River Thames. The idea was to take some portraits of those two at the sunset. And actually all went brilliant. Check below few photographs from both locations.
Are you engaged? Congratulations! Let us know. We would love to know your story. Maybe you have idea for an awesome engagement shoot in London, Surrey or Kent? Let us now. Contact us and let’s do it.
Surrey marquee garden wedding
Surrey marquee garden wedding
Alice and Tom decided to have their wedding at the marquee a Alice's parents farm. On the side of the impressive marquee there were several bell tents for the guests to stay overnight. How cool was that idea? Having that type of wedding can have one significant advantage - you don't need to worry about style of the venue, you can go crazy with your decorations ideas. On that occasion there were stylish flowers and lots of diy decorations prepared by bride and groom. That was another reason why I would love to shoot more of this kind of tipi weddings
After the very intimate ceremony Alice and Tom arrived in vintage yellow Bentley. And this car was fast. The rest is just a memories now and only pictures left to be cherish forever. Please check below a story of Alice and Tom's wedding.
Wotton House Wedding, Surrey wedding venue
Wotton House wedding
Last Sunday we went for location scouting and visited Wotton House wedding venue in Surrey we knew, but haven’t visited before. Located only 30 minutes away from our house, is a great location for a quiet and traditional wedding. I just got in love with fantastic area around and on the back. The entire complex seem to be very well maintained. Would be an honour to shoot a wedding day over here. Wotton House Hotel it’s stunning 13 acres of grounds, is one of the most picturesque hotel set in the Surrey Hills and is just divine for wedding photography.
Once you are about to book your wedding venue it is very important to speak to staff member, manager and who ever is available to talk to. The most important thing is for the venue to have welcoming, warm and flexible staff. Once entered Wotton House door we felt like at home. Everyone, I am saying every single person were nice, accommodating and friendly. Please check below why we felt in love with Wotton House.
Bride & Groom portraits at Addington Palace
Bride & Groom portraits at Addington Palace
You have to agree with me, that there are venues where portraits of newly weds look better then anywhere else. I have to say this about one of our favorites Surrey wedding venues Addington Palace. It doesn't really matter if you are in or outside the venue. Everywhere the light is just perfect to take gorgeous portraits of new Mr and Mrs.
Addington Palace is located just round the corner where we are based, so it's even better and more convenient for us to work there. It is so nice to have a walk back home after great wedding.
Just take a look at this couple portrait shoot at Addington Palace Hindu wedding and if you like it let us know.
Are you searching for Addington Palace wedding photographer? If so, contact us. If you like the portraits above, share it. You might help someone. Many thanks.
South Place Hotel Wedding
South Place Hotel Wedding
South Place Hotel wedding - OMG! How cool that place is! It's a bit hidden at South Street in City of London but offer a lot. This day I can describe in one word and one word only: CHIC, which stands for 'elegantly' and 'stylishly fashionable'. Emma and Ed knew what they want. You could see that in deco, drinks choice and overall look. At that wedding there was everything, but it wasn't too much. All classy. And I love it. It was so nice to mix with their friends and family and just capture the day as it unfold.
Grab a glass or a cuppa and enjoy this short gallery from city wedding at South Place Hotel:
Are you searching for your South Place Hotel wedding photographer in London? Or maybe you know someone who does need London wedding photographer? If so, share that blog post or contact us. It might help someone. Many thanks.
Family & Bridal Party group photos at weddings
Family & Bridal Party group photos at weddings
When a couple books us to photograph their wedding, it is usually because they like the idea of photographers who work in a natural and documentary style keeping overly posed traditional wedding photographs as minimum as possible. That does not mean that we will not set up some group photos of you and your family. A wedding is a family event and it is the rare times that you have all of your family with. Your family is a huge part of your wedding day and it’s important that they are documented too.
Group photos at weddings can be stressful for couples on the day, as they worry about making sure that everyone gets photographed, then there is the actual organising of the groups and trying to persuade the people that don’t like having their photograph taken to participate.
Every London wedding photographer will have their own preferred way of shooting group photos at weddings and we have ours based on our experience.
How to plan group photos
Do not plan a lot of group photos at the weddings. We always advise couples to keep group shots to a minimum. Between 10-15 is best. Any more than that and you can run into issues with your wedding timeline. If you think you will need more than that, have a think about having bigger groups rather than small ones. Think about the photos that you really want and the amount of time needed for each one. The most important photographs for most couples are usually parents, siblings, grandparents, the bridal party, and extended family and then all of their friends.
Time frame and the location is the key. Time at every wedding day is a precious commodity and group photos are one of the parts of the day than can easily run over if not managed carefully. As a rough recommendation groups of under 6 people will generally take 4-5 minutes, larger groups will take a few minutes more. Many couples don’t understand that to take a great photograph we need good lighting. It’s always better to let us choose which area to use. We will choose based on which area has the best light at the venue, to try and provide you with the best possible wedding photographs.
THIS IS HOW WE DO IT
Experience has taught us that while wedding magazines and wedding blogs will always recommend using a list of must have photographs to be as organised as possible, that this in the real world generally does not work well. They usually tell couples to prepare the list then hand to their photographer to sort it out. Most of the time this does not work. Guests will wander off, can not be found and the process takes much longer than needed, even when we have help from the bridal party to track people down.
We have found that for us the best thing to do first, is to have our couples use members of the bridal party to gather everyone together in one large group. This works much better than us to trying to track each grouping down. Once everyone who needs to be photographed is together, we ask the bride and groom to shout out the names of the people they want included and we then quickly organise them and take the photos. This is the quickest way we have found to shoot group photos at weddings. Usually the quicker we can get through this part of the day, the happier our couples and their guests are.
For us as photographers it’s important that our group photos still fit in with our style so instead of just every photo being a line-up of people. We like to mix it up a bit which also helps make this part of the wedding day a little bit more fun for everyone.
P.S. Check out our quick video here how we organise family goup photos at one of the weddings we shot at Ariana Gardens.
Awesome Engagement Photography
Engagement Photography
OMG! Nicola and Martin. Awesome couple.
This couple is soooo crazy in love. And there is one more thing. They could dance forever. Actually they met because of dance and because of the dance they are together. I know it sounds crazy but it is true. We started the shoot at their camper and we started with the dance. I was so happy that in September sun is setting quite early, otherwise those two would dance forever, LOL. This kind of moves we could capture everyday. Seeing such a feeling between people is very rare and being able to capture the love was priceless.
Having couple shoot at seaside is so much fun. There is only one challange: you need to choose right time. Late afternoon is just about right. Especially that in September is still quite warm and it is just a pleasure to stay outside until the sun will go down. Nicola and Martin went for a walk. A walk which took them thru the woods into the beach. After a stroll at the breakwater, they got back thru the woods onto the bay area, which was actually at the west side. That were the magic happened, I mean golden hour light, which all of us photographers worship a lot. The rest is just a history.
Here are a few of my favourite frames, enjoy! If you like below engagement photography, let us know.
If you are still looking for a wedding photographer please visit our wedding photography blog to see some of our recent stories. We would love to hear all about your wedding plans! Get in touch!
Dancing till the end of the world
Many thanks to Sigma for borrowing Sigma 135mm f1.8 lens. Most of the images were taken with Canon 5d mk IV with Sigma 135mm f1.8 lens combo.
Amazing Festival Wedding London
Festival Wedding London
OMG! How cool was that wedding? We will remember it for a very long time. And not only us. So let's start from the beginning.
Vicky and Peter contacted us that they are having this great idea to have a festival theme wedding at the open field with a live band, etc. We LOVED the idea straight away. So exciting!
We arrived to Wraysbury in the morning to start with the bride Vicky and her bridesmaids. Once entered the most amazing house we have ever seen we spotter something even more exciting. Ten bridesmaids all dressed as ANGELS! WooHoo! That's gonna be awesome. On the top of that all were from different countries which made party even more fun. Once the champagne (and a little whisky) was opened the getting ready party started. Just have a look at the images. No need any words. We knew its gonna be the wedding of the season.
Once girls were "almost" ready, Neil was still looking after the setup of the wedding ceremony and the bar. All were supervised by himself due to his expertise in that area.
Neil was getting ready in peaceful atmosphere at nearby AirBnb.
The humanist wedding ceremony was just perfect. Their celebrant Jim was top choice - check the link below - all the guests were involved to take part by blessing wedding rings one by one.
Tacos, pizzas and tattoos
Once we did official group shots, party went full blast. There were tacos, pizzas, open bars - both Bar Van and a coctails station, and wedding tattoos, which we couldn't wash three days after the wedding.
Please sit back, take a glass (or a cuppa) and enjoy beautiful wedding photography gallery of Priya and Neil below.
Many thanks to all the suppliers working alongsite us thru the entire day making Priya and Neil's dreams of having perfect Festival wedding London come true:
London Festival Wedding Suppliers
Wedding dress 1: Winniedress
Wedding dress 2: Stacees
Dress alterations and sewing fairylights into dress 2: Joseph at Roberts Bespoke tailoring in Tooting
One-shoulder silver minidresses used as bridesmaid's dresses: Very
White angel wings worn by bridesmaids: Struts fancy dress
Hair and makeup by team led by Adie at Blow Ltd
All flowers done by Neill's talented sister Katie Taylor who is a freelance florist
Personalised 'Neill and Priya wedding' fake tattoos by their friend Gordon MacLaren who's a graphic designer
Ceremony conducted by Jim Trimmer, a Humanist celebrant
Main food: Mexican streetfood by Hermanos Tacos streetfood van
Very understanding Indian restaurant who delivered five separate vegetarian Indian meals Woodlands Hampstead
Pizza made in an oven in the back of a converted van: Zoe Chalton
Bar 1 (van converted into a bar): Bumper Bars by Nick Dumenil
Bar 2 (tropical wooden tiki bar): Kent Mobile bar company by David Boyd
Live indie rock band: Rockit
Dance/EDM DJ: Jason Dupuy from DJs Limited
Our favorite: Rodeo sheep
Acrobat: arranged by Renato Pires at Acting Moon Events
Stilt walker/fire juggler: Helios from Warble Entertainment
Silent disco kit: Eliot Bedford at Silent Disco King
Decorations, wigs, and glitter: All Amazon
Glam portable toilets for festivals: Deluxe Loos
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If you are planning Festival Wedding London and are searching for festival wedding photographer in London and United Kingdom contact us. We would be delighted to hear your story. If you like this blog post share it. It might help someone. Many thanks.
Ariana Gardens Wedding Photography
Ariana Gardens Wedding Photography
We were so excited to shoot another Ariana Gardens wedding. We always love to come back there. Its great Essex wedding venue and the day was perfect for celebrations of love.
When we first met Salma and Sean we felt from them why they want to get married. They are simply in love. When we heard their story there was a bit of a tear.
The wedding day started at the house where Salma was getting ready. Her mua is a perfect example that when you choose your supplier do it wisely. Think if you can spend a whole morning with particular mua or hair stylist and if that person can help to run your day smoothly. Suraiya definitely was a great help. And lots of fun as well.
Both bride and groom are such a nice persons. Salma's bridesmaids were like angels and Sean's groomsmen - well, those guys just simply rock! So much fun! Between them was a young gentleman who stole the show straight at the bride's getting ready. Just check him at the images below!
It was very hard to pick our favorite photos from that day. There are so many good ones.
Kind Words from Salma & Sean about their Fusion Wedding Photography:
"Hi, Awwwwww Amazing!!!!! Love them, they are amazing! So glad we chose you honestly! We absolutely love all the photographs. We have shared them with some family members too and people are amazed at the quality and how you captured our day so perfectly. Thank you so so much for your amazing and hard work. xxx"
Many thanks to all the suppliers who worked with us at that day:
Make up artist - Suraiya make up
Shisha - Shisha LDN
Grab your favorite cup of tea or coffee and enjoy!
Let us know if you are looking for awesome photographers! We are booking now 2019 and 2020 wedding seasons. Contact with us now.
Ariana Gardens Fusion Wedding Photography
