Stylish River Cafe and Chelsea Town Hall Wedding

I had the absolute pleasure of photographing Ellen and Tom’s wedding in Chelsea. A relaxed, fun but super stylish London wedding with so many brilliant moments to capture.

They started the day with both Ellen and Tom getting ready at a sweet Airbnb in separate rooms, before sharing a rooftop first look. Tom’s face when he saw Ellen was pure joy and such a beautiful, genuine moment. I always feel so lucky to be in the room when I see moments like this, it’s one of the reasons I love being a wedding photographer. It was a really lovely intimate moment for the both of them before the day fully kicked off and I was able to capture some genuine, candid portraits with the London skyline in the background.

Shortly after, we headed off to the ceremony, stopping along the way for some photos before greeting friends and family at Chelsea Town Hall. Tom and Ellen added a fun twist by hiding the rings under one of the guests’ seats, so the ring bearer was a total surprise to everyone. After their confetti moment on the iconic steps, we headed across the road to The Builder’s Arms for drinks and some fun group photos with their friends. Ellen had a big group of girl mates so there was a lot of fun catwalk style photos - girl after my own heart!

Everyone then jumped on a red Routemaster bus to The River Café in Hammersmith, a legendary London restaurant and long-time haunt of actors and musicians. A few of Tom’s best men used the bus journey for their speeches - such a good way of spreading them out across the day. If you need to travel via bus during your wedding day, you can make use of the time by adding speeches, music and drinks etc!

The drinks reception continued the relaxed theme of the day, with guests mingling and chatting away. Once we moved into the wedding breakfast room, a pianist playing Billy Joel set the tone of the evening and each guest found photographs and handwritten letters waiting for them at their place setting. Such a thoughtful idea and a really lovely way to make each guest feel included in the day.

Ellen and Tom, what a day! Thank you for having me to capture it all, it was such a joy to be there - just everything I love about being a London wedding photographer.

If you’re planning a laid-back London wedding and want natural, joyful photos, I’m your gal!