TASH AND MIKE’S HACKNEY TOWN HALL WEDDING
(And associated East London wedding adventures)
Well and this was quite the East London adventure, starting off with just three days’ advance notice. Having been let down by their photographer and videographer, Natasha and Michael found me and asked if I could save the day! Well some of us just love a last-minute wedding, and as Hackney Town Hall and the wonderful Exmouth Market Coin Op venue are really just down the road from me, it was an opportunity too good to pass up.
It was also the perfect showcase for my ever popular Simple Combined Package, which offers tremendous coverage and value for money, as well as a chance to really flex my creative muscles as a wedding photographer and wedding videographer. Working with a team, I put together a really great package documenting this cool young couple’s day.
Bridal prep photography was a brief and simple affair, but it did offer the opportunity to capture Tash in her gorgeous full-length gown in the sophisticated Clayton London Wall Hotel in the heart of London’s city district. And First Look in the lobby gave me a chance to meet her wonderful parents, who let me share their taxi to the town hall.
Hackney Town Hall is a brilliant venue for a civil wedding ceremony, being one of London's finest examples of civic art deco architecture. opened in 1937, today the Grade II Listed building houses the original Assembly Hall which conveniently offers its own private entrance with two beautiful curved staircases leading guests to the elegant event space. After a recent improvement works the original 1930s building has been brought into the 21st century and now features two state of the art glass roofed atrium, giving you the sense being outside no matter the weather. The original wood panelled Council Chamber and Committee Rooms with their imposing grandiose chandeliers are the perfect setting for stand alone ceremonies.
I’ve shot in all the rooms here a number of times - the council chamber is my favourite but they are all terrific spaces - and I’ve always managed to get some fun Bridal Portrait Photography within the building, and at least a couple of group shots on the steps, with the fantastic imposing architecture as classic London backdrop. Beware, sometimes, at it’s busiest, you get very little time for photography here, so make sure your wedding photographer is, like me, nimble on their feet and keen and happy to work quickly.
To help all of this along, the staff are super efficient and super helpful, guiding bride and groom, and photographer and videographer to get the best out of their ceremony. They are really relaxed too, happily accommodating me and my team and everything we needed to document Tash and Mike’s civil ceremony.
Then it was all aboard the Routemaster Bus, held up a little by valiant Anti-War protestors, and en route for the Coin Op.
Now for those who don’t know, Exmouth Market Coin Op Laundry WAS in fact once a launderette. Today it is a super cool laid-back bar, serving craft beer, wine, decent food and an awesome vibe. Nestling just down the hill from Angel tube station - or, if you like, up the hill from Farringdon tube station, in the neighbourhood we used to call Mount Pleasant, Coin Op is very much an alternative wedding reception venue. Basically a really really nice pub with a little basement where you can have your DJ and properly let your hair down.
Another challenge here for your wedding photographer. The basement is DARK. Really dark. Be sure your photographer knows how to light a dark space, because “natural light photography” tends to mean light and airy and relying on some sunshine or other strong lighting, whereas down here in the moody shadows of the Coin Op basement, as you can see from the photos below, being able to light a dark space is crucial.
Dont let that put you off the Coin Op though, they were absolutely brilliant, as were Mike and Tash, who were the kind of relaxed and unfussy couple who were happier to take a natural vibe to their photography rather than lots of posed couple shots. Me, my style is to work WITH a couple, find their vibe and adapt to it, which I think we did pretty well here.
An amazing, funny, lively, slightly chaotic day, with an awesome crowd of family and friends and an absolutely legendary rock n roll couple. Congratulations to Tash and Mike
AND BELOW, BEHOLD!
THE FILMS!
HIGHLIGHTS
MAIN FILM
LOUIS PLAYS THE FAVOURITES (BONUS FOOTAGE)
SPEECHES