Such a perfect day captures magical real weddings. Sarah and Catherine designed an elegant and intimate winter wedding in the heart of London. And the spontaneous decision to stop and drink a toast became one of their favourite shots
Photography: By Lumiere
Often the least planned shots become the most treasured photo memories. For Sarah and Catherine, their cosy winter wedding was a chance to celebrate the place they had first met. While there was always a plan to capture some of London’s iconic scenery through documentary-style shots, a spontaneous decision to head into a bar in Soho became a standout image of their day. Catherine, and Kate Hopewell-Smith of By Lumiere, take up the story.
Catherine: This was a tiny wedding, just us and five guests, and with no cake or dance or party. It felt very intimate and Sarah’s Dad’s speech summed up what we intended for the day – it was about our declaration of love for one another. Our big splurge was a suite at The Shard. After enjoying a glass of bubbly and some canapés there with our guests, we all made our way to Mayfair Library for the ceremony.
Our guests then headed to Gauthier restaurant, where we had booked a private dining room for dinner. We walked the streets of Soho, as we wanted more photos of the day. We were so excited and emotional that we decided to go into a bar for a couple of shots – and that’s where Kate captured this photo. When walking the streets, we had such a lovely reception from strangers. People came up to congratulate us and we felt so lucky; times have changed and people were so accepting and wonderful. It topped off a magical day.
“We had such a lovely reception from strangers – People came up to congratulate us and we felt so lucky”
Kate: Brent and I weren’t expecting Sarah and Catherine to jump out of the cab in Soho – and we caused quite a stir. Then they decided to toast each other. The bar they chose said we were fine to take photos, so I told them to just forget about us. The streets are very narrow around here, so I was outside and on the other side of the road. Meanwhile Brent was behind them in the bar backlighting the shots. We probably took around 10 or 12 shots and that was it. While Catherine and Sarah may have been aware of the odd camera flash behind them, it was dark and they would have felt as if they were alone. I think that this photo captures that sense of intimacy.
Photograph: By Lumiere; bylumiere.co.uk
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