We like to be the unusual wedding website… the one that says, you can do this whole thing YOUR way! So here’s a wedding we love, and we hope you will too! Let’s just say… it will keep you grounded as you plan your day…
York Place Studios have been a part of English Wedding for years. They keep us real – amongst all the wedding fluff and styling, it’s good to remember that weddings are these amazing parties we throw for our absolute best people, to celebrate our love and commitment. And of all the wedding photographers in the UK, York Place seem to capture the authenticity of every celebration brilliantly. It’s the love that matters, right?
For Harriet and Phil, the emphasis of their wedding was on FUN. Their ceremony is romantic and full of love. The reception has everything you could possibly need: hearty food, families and a relaxed vibe.
As always with York Place Studios, there are photos here to make you chuckle, to bring a tear, and genius compositions to make you look twice. Think of this wedding as a slow-scroller. Blink and you’ll miss the gentle humour and cheeky shots that make Phil & Harriet’s wedding photos such a lovely, authentic and heartwarming record of their day.
And if you’re looking for documentary wedding photographers anywhere in the world, not just London, check out Dom and Liam at York Place.
We recommend them completely, having worked with them for many years now! They’re the photographers other wedding photographers admire for their approach, their innovation and their talent. Alongside them are York Place Films – wedding videographers with the same ethos and approach to capturing authentic wedding memories.
Harriet & Phil’s celebration at The West Reservoir Centre, London just invited spontaneity. The casual dress-code, the unfussy, easygoing BBQ dinner, the beautiful peculiarities of West Reservoir Centre’s informal setting. From the moment the guests arrived everything about this wedding shouted out that they were here, first and foremost to have fun. And have fun they 100% did! ~ York Place Studios
London documentary wedding photographers York Place Studios and York Place Films are members of English Wedding
Wedding photography: www.yorkplacestudios.co.uk
Studio photography: https://kaleid.me/
As a newly engaged couple, one of the earliest things you book is likely to be a wedding photographer. You’re about to discover a whole world of different styles and ‘approaches’ to wedding photography – so I’d like to introduce you to one of my favourites.
It’s February 2023 now, and most wedding photographers are taking bookings for 2024 and 2025 already. Couples are still having weddings that were originally cancelled in the pandemic, and demand for suppliers is super high! But this doesn’t mean you should rush into booking a photographer. Always choose carefully, explore your options and enjoy learning what you love when it comes to wedding images!
Since 2009, I’ve been featuring documentary wedding photography on English Wedding. In my heart it feels like the long term option – a style that won’t date, and that captures the heart and soul of your guests. You’ll always love looking back on your photos. Documentary (also known as reportage, and increasingly ‘natural’) wedding photography means your photographer(s) will take photos of the day as it unfolds – a narrative in pictures, where you won’t be taken away from your guests, or posed. You’ll hardly be aware of the photographer’s presence as they gather shots of you and your guests, and the interactions between you. (Those human connections we all missed so much in 2020? They’re at the heart of good documentary wedding photography.)
One of our favourite documentary wedding photographers is York Place Studios. They’re a member of English Wedding, and are based in London but capture weddings throughout the UK and worldwide. They’re the photographers other photographers choose to capture their weddings – and known for their unique take on, and talent with, authentic wedding photography.
“Whether you choose to celebrate your marriage in a mountaintop chateau or your own living room we approach every wedding with the same heart & curiosity and the same intrigue about the people around us and the relationships you share. Whatever the background we will utilise it as a character of the day but ultimately our photographs aim to tell stories of people, not places.” ~ York Place Studios
I’ve included a small selection of images from a London wedding in Lewisham, which so beautifully illustrates the art of documentary photography, and layering. Because it’s not just about snapping away at natural moments, but framing them artistically. I read on York Place’s website that they create images their clients can slowly look through, from left to right, seeing multiple stories in every frame. This, to me, is the magic of reportage wedding photography – that every image can be delved into like a book, with love and joy and often a sense of humour captured all together.
“That homely feel, that relaxed familiarity with their environment, filled with their loved ones and closest friends made this background anything but ordinary and everything that we love to photograph: family dynamics, laughs, interactions, relaxed personalities fully on show.” ~ York Place Studios
Other wedding photography styles include Fine Art (which has a light, airy vibe – see Wedding Sparrow). Then there’s the more editorial stye of photography – often to be found on Rock My Wedding or Love My Dress. Traditional wedding photography tends to feature more in local print wedding media – a traditional wedding photographer will capture posed moments and natural ones, with a subtle / minimal editing style. Often all of these wedding photographer styles will have an element of ‘documentary’ in their portfolio, meaning that they include natural shots as your guests are mingling.
“Documentary wedding photography, in its simplest form is the capturing of authentic wedding imagery without the photographer posing or directly controlling the scene in front of them. …there’s rather more to it than that. Documentary photography is a highly skilled and conceptual artform; great documentary images are not just reactive shots of something happening, they are as carefully composed and considered as any crafted portrait.”
Dom and Liam are the sister & brother duo behind York Place Studios. They’re both award-winning wedding photographers whose focus has been on documentary images for years. And they’ve honed their craft to master the art form. As a wedding blogger I see thousands of wedding images every month – many are ‘documentary’ but few rival York Place for being considered, artistic and emotive. You might not think your favourite wedding image would be the one of sixteen of your guests chatting about random stuff… but when you look closely and realise it captures who you are, surrounded by love, perhaps this is the one you’ll hang in pride of place on your wall.
“The moments that truly matter are rarely ‘perfect’. They don’t happen on a mountain top surrounded by rainbows, they don’t occur on schedule and they rarely go in any way to plan. The moments that matter are the real moments, the spontaneous moments, the moments of people just being people and revealing something of themselves, of your true relationship to one another. ” ~ York Place Studios
Most of the images you’ll see on wedding blogs and magazines are of fashion and styling. Dresses, decor, florals… the list goes on. And there’s happiness in all of those things as you plan your wedding.
But after the day, you’ll want to remember the people. You’ll smile at the memories of things done and said, of hugs and catchups and stories your favourite people shared about their lives. Not so much the streamers or the bouquets (as lovely as they will be).
Documentary wedding photography works everywhere. You can celebrate your marriage in a grand stately home, an urban warehouse space, a barn or your own back garden – and the authentic images will be amazing because they’re all about the people. English Wedding doesn’t focus as much as other blogs on the styling details, perhaps because we’ve been around for over a decade or perhaps because we learned some things from covid. There’s so much joy in focusing on moments and laughter and rapport and humour in weddings – as well as the artistry of our favourite wedding creatives – don’t you think?
I will leave you with one last thought from York Place Studios, which sums up the art of documentary photography in a perfect little nutshell.
“The job of a documentary wedding photographer is to move our own feet, not yours to create interesting compositions… to let events unfold without our interference so that your wedding photographs show the real you. To create imagery that showcases the real personalities of your family and friends on the biggest day of your lives.”
London documentary wedding photographers York Place Studios and York Place Films are members of English Wedding
Wedding photography: www.yorkplacestudios.co.uk
Studio photography: https://kaleid.me/
The first York Place Studios wedding of the year is always a treat for me. I feel as though I’m letting all of you newly engaged couples out there into a really special secret. Here we have the kind of wedding you rarely see on big wedding websites: it’s authentic, brilliant and almost like a normal day but set to maximum joy and love!
I should probably explain this better.
York Place Studios are documentary wedding photographers (and sister & brother duo) Dom and Liam. They capture the story of a wedding via all the little moments that make the day amazing. For Sian & Sam, that meant an incredible day full of small excited people, tons of really special hugs, lots of folks having fun and food and sharing their best day ever.
Because here’s the thing: your wedding is still a day. No day can ever be ‘perfect’ – there’ll be nerves and excitement and if there’s a plan it won’t happen quite that way. But if you gather your favourite people together in a fab place, feed and water them and make them happy, then make LOVE the centre of the day – it’s going to be amazing.
This is what reportage wedding photography captures. The amazingness. The bits you missed and the massive emotion behind the squeezy hugs. The memories of all your best people for you to look back on in 10, 20, 50 years time. And these are memories which will bring a laugh or a tear, and you’ll relive the day – as if it were yesterday. Because with images like these, it will still feel real.
The venue: Home Farm Glamping
The photographers: UK, London & Yorkshire wedding photographers York Place Studios
“Sian and Sam’s wedding took place at the beautiful Home Farm Glamping in Elstree – a stunning setting deep in the Hertfordshire countryside with tipis, firepits, haybales and the most wonderful place for an outdoor ceremony beneath the branches of a huge and very beautiful tree. It was everything we love about weddings: a day brimming with characters and a couple who truly understood and connected with our work. They didn’t care about the wedding formalities and they just wanted us to capture the real feel and fun of their day. It was a playground of opportunities for two photographers who were just so happy to be shooting again we bounced around the fields capturing everything in our York Place street style.” ~ York Place Studios
Award-winning wedding photographers York Place Studios and York Place Films are members of English Wedding
Wedding photography: www.yorkplacestudios.co.uk
Studio photography: https://kaleid.me/
Allow us to introduce a rather special little sausage dog this morning! Little Peggy was guest of honour at Megan & Cameron’s York wedding, and she is adorable! This is one of those amazing weddings we invite you to scroll through super slowly. It’s from documentary wedding photographers York Place Studios, whose style is for us the pinnacle of natural wedding photography.
Previously based in York, and now travelling throughout the UK from their base in London, York Place Studios capture the story of a wedding in the most authentic way. Looking through the images of Megan and Cameron’s day, it feels as though you were there.
… and that’s just what I would want from a wedding photographer. (I’m sure loads of you will agree!) To be able to look back on the images and feel like I was right back there, amongst favourite people, laughing and celebrating and feeling that overwhelming love as if it were yesterday!
Megan and Cameron’s day was filled with bright sunshine (and the fantastic wedding day weather was captured so creatively!) with guests celebrating in the lovely gardens before a wedding reception and speeches which had the entire room laughing! The couple just glow with happiness – they look amazing and we’re head over heels in love with Megan’s dress and that glorious bouquet!
Award-winning wedding photographers York Place Studios and York Place Films are members of English Wedding
And now for something completely different…
I’d like to think this wedding is at the heart of everything you’ll see on English Wedding. It’s full of fun and character, loaded up sky high with hearty chuckles and must have been the BEST day for everyone who was there.
Bride and groom Gemma & John share a brilliant sense of humour, and there are plenty of photos here which will make you laugh out loud. Their wedding was sent in by our good friends, London wedding photographers York Place Studios. It really shows how essential it is to ‘click’ with your wedding photographers… whether that’s over a shared sense of humour, love of Monty Python or anything else that makes you grin!
Gemma’s gorgeous; John her perfect partner and you can see their love and laughter just bursts from the screen. There’s every bit of wedding magic here: the stunning dress and fabulous suit, the beautiful bouquet, the lovely venue full of fairy lights… and that’s just for starters. The props and signage are utter genius, the entire day just looks incredible. Often I’ll try to pick out a favourite ‘bit’ of a wedding we feature here, but (dead parrots, spam and eggs notwithstanding) I can’t choose which moments I love best, and I can’t stop scrolling and laughing at John and Gemma’s uniquely wonderful day!
Huge thanks to Dom & Liam at York Place Studios for sharing this gem of a wedding with us today. You can (and we recommend you do!) find out more about their documentary wedding photography style over at https://www.yorkplacestudios.co.uk.
Oh, and if you’re looking for wedding table centrepiece ideas, do consider the classic dead parrot, won’t you?!
Award-winning wedding photographers York Place Studios and York Place Films are members of English Wedding
Web: www.yorkplacestudios.co.uk