Bingham Riverhouse Wedding Photographer
Some weddings just stick with you.
Matilda + Matt’s wedding at Bingham Riverhouse is definitely one of them.
Matilda is from France, Matt is from the USA, and bringing both families together in London made for such a brilliant mix of people, personalities and cultures.
Little did I know at the time that this wedding would eventually take me all the way to America.
A couple of years later, Matt’s sister Dory got in touch and asked me to photograph her wedding to Brian in Massachusetts.
So somehow photographing a wedding at Bingham Riverhouse in London eventually resulted in me flying across the Atlantic with my cameras.
Still blows my bloody mind a little bit.
Throw in gorgeous weather, a boat trip down the Thames, live music and a bloody good dance floor and I was a very happy photographer.
A London Wedding on the Thames
After the ceremony, everyone made the short walk down to the river and onto a boat for an hour-long cruise along the Thames.
This was actually a first for me.
A boat full of wedding guests, alcohol, live music and London passing by in the background.
What’s not to love?
More importantly, it gave me loads to photograph without needing to manufacture anything.
Everyone was chatting, drinking, laughing and enjoying themselves while I moved around looking for those little moments happening between people.
That’s exactly why I love documentary wedding photography.
Bingham Riverhouse Wedding Reception
After the boat trip, we arrived back at St Helena Pier and made the short walk over to Bingham Riverhouse for the reception.
It’s a gorgeous spot in Richmond, right beside the Thames, and worked perfectly for the relaxed wedding Matilda + Matt had planned.
There was amazing food, quick speeches and then it was time for my favourite part of the day.
The party.
Documentary Wedding Photography
This wedding also became particularly special to me afterwards.
Some of the photographs from Matilda + Matt’s day went on to receive recognition from This Is Reportage for documentary wedding storytelling.
And that means a lot to me because those photographs weren’t created or staged for an award.
They were simply real moments.
People being people.
That’s the whole reason I photograph weddings the way I do.
I’m watching, listening and trying to anticipate what’s about to happen rather than constantly directing everyone.
Sometimes the photograph you end up loving most is something you didn’t even know happened.
Bowie, Spice Girls and One Huge Dance Floor
Matilda + Matt are both massively into their music.
Which meant the dance floor was never going to be quiet.
Everything from Bowie to the Spice Girls kept everyone going until midnight and, as usual, I was right in amongst it.
That’s why I love being an all day wedding photographer.
I’m not interested in photographing the first dance and immediately disappearing.
The later it gets, the more everyone forgets about the camera.
And that’s when some of my favourite photographs happen.
And Then I Became Homeless…
There was one slight problem.
After leaving the wedding at around 12:30am, I discovered there had been an error with my hotel booking.
I had no room.
Brilliant.
My train back to Cornwall wasn’t leaving Paddington until 7am, so I did the only sensible thing.
I slept on Paddington station floor for about three hours.
Cold floor. Camera bags. Zero dignity.
I did deliberately set up camp next to Paddington Bear though.
If you’re going to accidentally become homeless for the night, you might as well get a photo out of it.
Would I recommend it?
Absolutely fucking not.
Would I photograph Matilda + Matt’s wedding all over again?
In a heartbeat.
Looking for a Bingham Riverhouse Wedding Photographer?
If you’re planning a wedding at Bingham Riverhouse and want photographs that are about the people, atmosphere and all the moments you didn’t even realise were happening, I’d love to hear what you’ve got planned.
Enjoy your wedding.
I’ll worry about telling the story.
Flowers: Resoria
Venue: Bingham Riverhouse
Choux tower (cake) supplier: Le Choux
DJ: Sound Generation
