If you love a good party then you’ll love this London city wedding!
Lucy and Ryan got married at the incredible Corpus Christi catholic church in Covent Garden, London. It was a proper city of London wedding with classic red London buses, lots of waves and cheers from onlookers, dried flowers everywhere and lots of awesome banter!
Every wedding photographer has a different favourite part of the day, I love it all (that’s a cliche answer right?) But I am definitely a fan of a good party & some epic entertainment which is totally what Lucy & Ryan had! And a round of bingo at a wedding is something I’ve never experienced before, but I am totally here for.
A wedding full of personal touches
I started the morning with the girls at an awesome apartment in the heart of London, drinks were flowing, the tunes were going and as soon as I entered the room I was gifted some Percy Pigs - 10 points to Lucy there! I bloomin’ love those little piggy sweets!
The wonderful Natalie was getting Lucy wedding ready with a modern take on a vintage soft wave look and beautiful natural but glamorous make up look. It was a total vibe and she looked incredible! But we really need to take a moment for the dress. I actually gasped when I saw it! It’s probably up there with the most unique wedding dress I’ve seen. Made bespoke for her it was embellished with the most incredible embroidery that all had personal & sentimental meanings. For example a little bike as they got engaged in Amsterdam, flowers to represent Scotland (where Lucy is from!) England (where Ryan is from) Ireland for her granny & Japan for her sister in law and even the wedding date in roman numerals!
Meanwhile my second shooter Lottie met up with the guys in Covent Garden for a cheeky pint to soak up some of the pre-wedding nerves, finish getting ready with the addition of some dried button holes and a beautiful rose that was made from his grandads tie that he wore to his wedding. I absolutely love sentimental details like this and it’s a really beautiful way to honour special people that are no longer with us.
The ceremony in the heart of London
The ceremony took place in the heart of Covent Garden at the unbelievable breathtaking Corpus Christi church. The church itself is full of history and really is amazing to look around. Guests were greeted with Scottish bagpipes before taking their seats. Keeping on theme for a proper London wedding, Lucy & her dad arrived in a white taxi! There ceremony was a traditional Catholic service with some beautiful readings, plenty of giggles and loving looks to each other.
After the ceremony, their guests all lined the street and they exited to an epic shower of confetti! Being in the heart of Covent Garden there were a lot of onlookers that joined in the fun with lots of clapping and cheering!
Guests then made there way back down the lane to find 2 red double decker buses that were waiting to take them to the reception, whilst Lucy, Ryan & their super cool videographer Adam, took a little stroll through the City. When your photographing a London wedding you are never stuck for cool and interesting places to photograph and Covent Garden did not disappoint! We managed to stumble across a totally cute Pink Figaro on our travels that I just had to use to my advantage! They totally embraced the cheers from everyone as we walked through and made our way towards the giant yellow Hello London sign - I mean, come on, if you’re getting married in London, have Taxis and red buses then I had to be a bit cliche and take photos there!
After some twirling and an impromptu boogie we made our way back to find the rest of the guests and hop on board the buses! Glasses of prosecco were poured as everyone embarked on our journey! The journey took us along the embankment to where Altitude 360 is so I had a little chat with the lovely drives and they kindly agreed that we could stop enroute to get a few group shots and pictures with the iconic London Eye in the background. I should also note that it was the day that England played Scotland in the world cup so the Thames was alive with party boats that were only too keen to sing it and congratulate these 2!
A reception with a 360 view of London
The reception was held at Altitude 360. The venue is perfect for weddings because the light is gorgeous, and it’s got such a gorgeous vibe, situated in the Grade 2 listed Millbank tower it is the perfect wedding space! It’s a pretty blank canvas, meaning you can totally make the space your own. Not only that but it has 360 degree view of London and glass windows meaning you get incredible natural light (a photographers dream!)
As it was such a lush day guests were able to enjoy the outdoor space for drinks & canapes whilst I photographed group pictures across the road. Before heading upstairs for more drinks and to settle in for dinner - Steak & chips followed by lemon meringue pie (my absolute fave!).
Romeo-done!
After the speeches there was a bit of time to catch the end of the football - as I mentioned earlier England were playing Scotland… Quite fitting considering that most of the guests either supported one or the other! Either way, despite the score everyone was in super high spirits after and ready to get on with some dancing!
The evening ended with a round of bongo bingo, which was hilarious, and everyone had a great time. If you’re not sure what that is it’s essentially a game of bingo, but rather than the traditional bingo calling certain numbers lend themselves rather well to songs encouraging everyone to have a little dance in between - a highlight was a little bit of So Solid Crews 21 seconds! To make it even better they had a live band playing the tracks. The prizes also tend to be a bit more unconventional including a giant inflatable ring and a lifesize cutout of Harry Potter! Before I left there was time to squeeze in a few last photos featuring Lucy’s personalised jacket in front of their awesome neon sign.
The whole London city wedding had everything I love, from the bride’s awesome dress, the sentimental details to the awesome live band & great entertainment. If you’re looking for a London wedding photographer to get stuck into the party then get in touch!