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Big Day Weddings

David and Joanna Green are Time Out recommended, award winning fulltime London wedding photographers. Mum and dad to four wonderful children and three family dogs. Lovers of all things photographic and wedding related. Covering Greater London and destination weddings in the UK and Europe.

London engagement couple at Lloyds Building London

Best London Engagement Shoot from Covent Garden to Leadenhall Market

By Barnet Wedding Photographers, London venues and events, London Wedding PhotographersNo Comments

Now when we say best London engagement shoot, what we mean by that is that we think we followed best practice for these particular guys, in the time we had, and the areas of London we were in.

‘A’ and ‘A’ are getting married in Faro Portugal with us as their wedding photographers. This London engagement shoot gave us a good chance to get to know them better, and find out before the fact how they respond to our way of working.

Engagement couple at Dean Street Town House

Now we are course a little like chameleons in our approach, adapting quickly to suit personalities and situations. Reason being that ultimately our job is to bring out the best of what is already there within people. Add to this we put our particular spin on things, but then always remembering to give our couples what they value in terms of imagery and approach. And then go beyond…

Dean Street Townhouse engagement shoot image

For this lovely couple with their wedding being abroad and with special requirements, we designed a package to suit them, with a built in central London engagement shoot too.

London engagement shoot by Ronnie Scotts jazz club

As is usually the case David did this particular assignment, and what an early start on a Sunday it was too. These two actually had their first date at Dean Street Townhouse in Soho and they were keen to incorporate the venue in some of their images.

Outside the Ivy London engagement shoot couple hold hands

The Townhouse gave us a fifteen minute window of opportunity just after they opened for breakfast at 8 am. I’m particularly grateful for the free expresso’s they gave me!

Bride and groom kiss at The Ivy London wedding

As a popular wedding photographer I believe you need excellent people skills, and that boils down to really enjoying the company of others and the fun of meeting new people, and be able to relax and relate fast. To illustrate, the first black and white image of ‘A’ and ‘A’ sat in the Dean Street Townhouse restaurant is taken less than three minutes after first meeting them. They look pretty chilled and happy don’t they?

London engagement shoot couple kiss in sun Waterloo Bridge

When I arrived in my Uber to Soho it was pouring with rain, fortunately when we had finished our 15 minutes in Dean Street it has pretty much stopped. We then walked towards Covent Garden and took shots wherever we felt was relevant, including good old Ronnie Scott’s jazz club.

Couple kiss by red London phone box engagement shoot image

I’m always on th look out for an iconic red London phone box to anchor a shot with too.

Couple kiss by pillars in Covent Garden engagement shoot

I loved the fact that Covent Garden was virtually empty. I’ve been there so many times, but it’s a different place early on a cold Sunday morning in the rain! A chance to play around the pillars near the Royal Opera House with absolutely nobody in the background. Nice.

Couple in Leadenhall Market London engagement shoot image

Walking down to Westminster Bridge and then on to one of my favourite spots the Victorian splendour of Leadenhall Market, which once again was fairly people free. I put the above image into an international image competition and won, so that was a welcome bonus.

London engagement shoot couple embrace by red phone box

A quick jaunt to the Lloyds building and then it was time to say goodbye. All in all, in terms of the way we did things it was the best kind of London engagement shoot and we really look forward to working with these guys in Portugal on their wedding day.

Engagement couple hold hands on steps of Lloyds Building London

London engagement shot by Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Couple kiss under neon sign Leadenhall Market shoot

Engagement couple on London subway steps

By David Green

You can see some more of our London engagement shoots by following any of the links below:

London Engagement shoot at Southbank and Tower Bridge again

Kenwood House Engagement Shoot Photography in Hampstead

Oxo Tower and London’s Southbank engagement shoot

Engagement Shoot at London’s Alexandra Palace in Muswell Hill

There are many more if you use our search facility on the site too 🙂

 

 

 

 

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Couple in Leadenhall Market London engagement shoot image

Our latest international award winning London wedding image

By Barnet Wedding Photographers, London venues and events, Wedding VenuesNo Comments

Just a quick note to post our latest award, this time an international one from Wedaward who are one of the main and most recognised awarding bodies for photographers across the globe.

This was an early morning wedding engagement shoot that took place across multiple venues in central London. This image was done with a fish eye lens at one of our favourite places Leadenhall Market. We used this along with other lenses of course to pull in to the frame the truly incredible Victorian structure that exists intact to this day.

When I say early morning I mean VERY early morning. Hope you enjoyed your lie-in Joanna…

This is ‘A’ and ‘A’ featured here, and we are really looking forward to capturing the story of their wedding soon in Faro Portugal.

Thanks ‘A’ and ‘A’ and thanks Wedaward.

By David Green

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Bride and groom messing around at Shoreditch wedding by graffiti

Eight Club Wedding in Moorgate and Shoreditch

By London venues and events, London Wedding Photographer, Wedding Venues2 Comments

There’s something endlessly fascinating about the streets of central London. It’s not just the rich history of our capital, it’s the architecture, it’s the energy and the sheer variety of what is around us. Whenever we work there for a wedding day we remain  equally motivated and fascinated by this environment.

When we spoke with V and B we were as ever excited to be working in iconic areas, and this time it was to be Shoreditch and Moorgate, which had a lot of both personal and professional history for them.

Wedding dress hanging at Montcalm Hotel in London

Bridal preparation Montcalm Hotel London

Bride's face in mirror Montcalm Hotel wedding

The day was to start at B’s local pub with the boys at the Old Blue Last on Great Eastern Street, and a bit of fun in a few places around the block. The Old Blue Last has a very colourful history, including being a formal brothel, site of a theatre Shakespeare hung out at and is now a vibrant music venue too.

Groomsmen on bikes in Shoreditch wedding morning

V and her bridesmaids were getting ready at the Montcalm Hotel in Finsbury Square. Joanna started there and I joined her after a while.

Bride and bridesmaids outside Eight Club Shoreditch wedding

Bride near Eight Club Moorgate wedding

The venue foe the ceremony, wedding breakfast and reception was the rather fabulous Eight Club Moorgate. A lovely members club with fine dining, private meeting rooms and large airy modern spaces with terraces around making it a special place to host a wedding ceremony and reception.

Bride and groom in aisle at Eight Club wedding ceremony

V and B chose a celebrant to host their ceremony and to make it meaningfully personalised for them, and we have to say she did an excellent job.

Bride groom and bubbles inside Eight Club Moorgate wedding

Their recessional was played out to bubbles from the guests and Sucker for You by The Jonas Brothers. I have to admit to being a little bit of a sucker for that track myself.

Bridal party walking through Shoreditch wedding streets

Whilst the guests enjoyed their drinks reception on the sunlit terraces of Eight Club, we took to the surrounding streets of Moorgate and Shoreditch to do some shots once again in places that had memories and meaning for the couple.

Shoreditch wedding couple kiss on graffiti filled steps

In my opinion that’s the best kind of wedding day, one that is filled with relevance and meaning to the couple themselves. While a country mansion is great too, unless it was your ancestral l home (!!!!) I don’t think it could resonate quite the same way.

Wedding party by graffiti in Shoreditch London

The wedding breakfast and speeches were in the stylish Quartier restaurant level of the club, while the upstairs bar and terrace areas were readied for the first dance and evening partying.

Eight Club Wedding Collage

All in all a great day, and a special mention to the staff of Eight Club Moorgate who were great throughout the ceremony, reception and party.

By David Green

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Chinese wedding in central London with bubble guns

New review in from Old Marylebone Town Hall wedding day

By Barnet Wedding Photographers, London venues and events, Wedding VenuesNo Comments

Thanks to S and Y for the review submitted to the The Wedding Industry Awards which has just come through.

I had a great time with these guys at Alexandra Palace in torrential rain for their engagement shoot.

Later in the year I photographed their wedding ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hal,l and then their reception Chinese banquet at the wonderful Phoenix Palace near Baker Street central London.

Old Marylebone Town Hall has just had a major refurbishment, and many may now know it as Westminster Council House which it has emblazoned across it’s frontage. It’s the grandest council house I’ve ever seen…!

I particularly enjoyed our fun with the bubble guns the wedding party brought along for the day.

First here’s the couple’s reaction to their engagement shoot, and then their review of the wedding day itself:

“Hi David, Just wanted to let you know we received the USB and CD today. The photos are lovely. We liked how everything turned out. Thank you for a wonderful engagement shoot :)”

“We decided to go for David after meeting him and seeing his portfolio. On our wedding day he was well prepared and arrived early to take photos of the guests. He was funny and engaging so it helped us relax a lot. He took really lovely photos of us at the town hall and banquet. We received a lot of compliments when we showed the photos to our friends and family. He was also a great photographer during our outdoor engagement shoot despite it raining heavily on the day. Great photos and memories!”

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Two brides at their wedding hold hands on a bridge

Two fantastic brides marry at Essendon Country Park. Gay wedding photographers London since 2006

By Barnet Wedding Photographers, London venues and events, Wedding VenuesNo Comments

It has been one of the great pleasures as wedding photographers to experience many different faiths and outlooks across a tremendous variety of venues. What has also been inspiring is to have witnessed first hand  a sea change in attitudes to same sex marriages.

Gay wedding ceremony at Essendon Country Club

Since 2006 we have been busy with an ever increasing amount of civil partnerships each year, and were also delighted to be the first photographers in a number of London borough’s who were chosen to shoot a so called ‘gay wedding’. We say “so called” because it has always been our attitude that it is a wedding full stop, nothing more nothing less, no need to differentiate. Whether it’s LGBT, or a traditional orthodox religious ceremony it’s the joining of two people who love each other. And what could be better?

First kiss with two brides gay wedding ceremony London

When Z and M got in touch it was easy for us to convey our long time experience in all these areas, and as usual we were able to show much more importantly the kind of “people people” we are, if that makes sense!

Two brides having fun on their London gay wedding day

This big day took place at Essendon Country Club near Hatfield in Hertfordshire which we have photographed at previously. It benefits from an impressive raised barn on one level with dramatic steps down to a large dining area for a good sized wedding breakfast and reception.

There are outside areas for alfresco drinks, and of course parts of the golf course for some external photography too.

Essenden Country Club wedding photographers couple shot

Both Z and M wanted their coverage to start from just before they entered for the wedding ceremony, and what a memorable and dramatic entrance it was. Each bride wound their way through the decorated dinner tables, up the impressive staircase and into the grand barn. The look on each others faces as they saw each other for the first time was priceless and that’s why I included that particular shot in this post. In fact the focus of this description is really to show the love between this fantastic couple and their friends and family rather than endless detail shots. Although we gave the couple over a thousand edited images so there’s plenty of those too!

Essendon Country Club wedding day collage

After the drinks reception and some family photos, time restrictions dictated a fast shoot near the barn with the couple. That was fine we are used to that and the results were great.

First dance shots at London gay wedding

After the wedding breakfast and speeches it was party time, and as M’s family were Greek we were guaranteed a great and lively one. During that we snuck out for ten minutes with the girls to get a few moody shots in the darkness of night before returning to the bright lights and dance tunes of their big day.

Two brides kiss at London Gay Wedding day image

First dance for Z was with her father, and for M it was with each of her brothers, which was refreshingly different and really touching to watch.

By David Green

Here’s a copy of the testimonial from these guys I put on a separate post here:

https://www.bigdayweddings.co.uk/another-lovely-google-review-from-an-essendon-country-club-wedding-day/

“Thank you so much to David and Joanna for capturing our special day. One of the main reasons we chose to go with David and Joanna was their ability and talent to capture the moment and use the lighting in a way we saw no one else do. Believe me we carried out our research and Big Day Weddings was our first choice. We had a great time getting to know them both and David kept us laughing all the way through the day. We highly recommend Big Day Weddings to capture your special day in the most uniquely beautiful way.”

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