Lydia and Sam’s Colourful Kew Gardens Summer Wedding
Kew Gardens Wedding Photographer
I was absolutely stoked to be asked to be Lydia and Sam’s wedding photographer at their Nash Conservatory, Kew Gardens wedding. As a born and raised West Londoner myself, Kew has always had a special place in my heart and is somewhere I visited all the time as a child. Going back as a photographer to document a summery, vibrant, colourful wedding there really felt like a full-circle moment. Keep reading to see some photos of Lydia and Sam’s day and learn why Kew Gardens is a fantastic venue for a London wedding.
Kew Gardens Wedding Ceremony at Nash Conservatory
Sam and Lydia’s wedding started with a ceremony in Nash Conservatory. This is an absolutely dreamy conservatory with so much natural light and gorgeous Bath stone tiling. The ceremony space was decorated with stunning pastel flowers which really highlighted the summery theme. The ceremony was followed by bagpipes, a receiving line and some group photos on the lawn.
Kew Gardens Wedding Drinks Reception at the Princess of Wales Conservatory
The great thing about a wedding at Kew Gardens is that you and your guests get to experience so much of the gardens, because the ceremony, drinks reception and evening reception take place in separate spaces. This was true of Lydia and Sam’s day too because the next stop after the ceremony was the drinks reception in the iconic Princess of Wales Conservatory. There were custom cocktails and canapés on offer, and a range of different greenhouses for the guests to explore. This wedding took place at the end of June so I’m not going to lie, the cooler greenhouse was my favourite! The greenhouse with the giant lilypads is absolutely iconic, though, and was a great space for the guests to explore. And we were all relieved to be there the week AFTER the famous corpse flower bloomed rather than during!
Couple Photos in Kew Gardens Palm House
The Palm House at Kew Gardens is absolutely iconic and I was so excited to take some photos in here. As a documentary-style photographer, my aim is always to let couples enjoy their reception before going for photos, so after some time at the Princess of Wales Conservatory, a golf buggy came to pick us up and take us to the Palm House for photos. Talk about travelling in style!
When photographers talk about how much they love Kew or about how Kew Gardens is a wedding photographer’s bucket list venue, it’s got to be the Palm House they’re talking about. The light coming through the glass of the greenhouse is just stunning and it’s beautiful in basically every direction you look. The golf buggy driver waited outside The Palm House for us while we took some photos in there, which was really helpful because you can’t take any real flowers in for conservation reasons. We left Lydia’s bouquet and Sam’s corsage in the golf buggy and collected them on the way over to the evening reception.
Evening Wedding Celebrations at The Orangery, Kew Gardens
After couple photos at The Palm House, it was back in the golf buggy to deliver Lydia and Sam to their evening reception. Guests were all seated in The Orangery ready to cheer them in. Next on the agenda was speeches and a wonderful meal, which was followed by a surprise outfit change by Lydia and lots of music and dancing to round off a fantastic day. As a documentary photographer, the evening reception is always a great opportunity for me to take nice candid photos of the guests. The evening light in The Orangery was perfect and I was so pleased I was able to take lots of photos of the guests enjoying the speeches and of the dancing.
Kew Garden Wedding Photography on 35mm Film
As a hybrid film and digital photographer, I am always so pleased when couples choose to add film onto their wedding package. Lydia and Sam opted for 3 rolls of film, which I photographed alongside digital throughout the day. For such a gorgeous venue on such a lovely summery day it just had to be Kodak Portra and it just had to be my trusty Nikon F100 - a dream duo in any situation. I used a mixture of Kodak Portra 160 and Kodak Portra 400 to capture the day. Here’s just a few of the film frames:
Looking for a Kew Gardens wedding photographer?
Planning your wedding at Kew Gardens? I don’t know if I mentioned it but I absolutely love photographing weddings at Kew Gardens! I’d love to document your day too so get in touch and let’s chat about your plans.
Kew Gardens Wedding supplier squad
Lydia and Sam’s gorgeous summery day wouldn’t have been possible without a pretty epic team of suppliers. Here they are:
Venue: Kew Gardens
Catering: Saffron Culture
Bridal Makeup: Bibi Bellhouse
Bridal Hair: Thom James Hair
Flowers: Lilac and Bloom
Wedding Dress: Sophia Tolli by Bridal Caprice