When we say a Royal wedding at London’s Landmark Hotel we mean that this lovely evening had all the feel of a royal celebration, from the look of Farrah and Zane the bride and groom, to the grand and classic surroundings they choose for themselves.
When we arrived and began photographing Farrah’s bridal preparations this was the first time we had actually met in person, and very quickly we got a sense that we should shoot this event in a timeless and slightly formal way.
Farrah reminded me a little of a mix of Audrey Hepburn and a member of the Royal Family of somewhere like Monaco, and we kept this feeling in the back of our minds as we photographed.
It goes without saying that style choices must be what the couple are looking for and also reflect the circumstances. It’s no use being quirky, retro or fashion inspired if it is not what couple are feeling or looking for. We actually enjoy shooting in a variety of styles and approaches.
Of course we were no strangers to the Landmark: Landmark Hotel wedding photographer and here: Landmark Hotel Wedding Video, but this being a December wedding meant there was darkness outside, so no natural light to work with, we had to create our own. For those technical folks who may care about such things, we utilised several techniques to create illumunation always bearing in mind the ambient hotel and Christmas lights in the background. We used diffused flash, radio triggered light through a portable soft box, and a zoomable fresnel spotlight for good measure, but not all at once!
There was a celebrity event taking place at the same time, so for a bit of fun we had the couple paparazzied by the assembled press pack too.
In the main Winter Garden and Gazebo area just past the Landmark’s front reception, was a giant Christmas Tree to add to the already fantastic atmosphere of this iconic central London hotel. We couldn’t put Farrah on top of the tree for health and safety reasons though!
Later in the day the couple had a drinks reception and wedding breakfast at the Kings Fund 11-13 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0AN, again an area for London weddings we know well, take a look at this previous blog post to see a Cavendish Square wedding in winter at night: Central London Weddings
By David Green