London Pre Wedding Photo Shoot
Right after the wedding in gem venue Santorini, I took the plane to London, a fantastic city with over 2,000 years of history! This might be the best place to start your photography career. Thankfully, Santorini is connected by non-stop flights with some of the major airports of the UK, including Manchester and London. Ryanair landed at the airport of Stansted which is the airline’s largest base. At the arrivals area of the airport, I bought the Oyster card providing unlimited travel in central London on the tube, bus, trains and DLR networks. Car rental was not necessary since transportation in London is very convenient and almost always on time!
The young couple
Maria and Tiago is a cute couple originally from Brazil, but currently live and work in London. The soon to get married duo asked me to capture some prewedding pics of them in the city’s most popular locations. They were planning to get married in their country this fall and wanted to display the photos at their ceremony on a large video wall.The Holland Park
We started capturing pictures at one of the most peaceful, undiscovered and romantic locations of London, the public Holland Park. The park has beautiful Japanese gardens and labyrinth-like paths, including running waterfalls (said to be good for well being. I can vouch that it’s very relaxing!) as well as lanterns and plenty of koi fishes!! It’s wonderful for jogging or have a romantic walk with your special one too and the entrance is free. My flash units and a full-sized tripod were all allowed in Holland Park and the tourists didn’t seem to be bothered at all!
They are very approachable and familiar animals despite not being native. Maria didn’t miss the opportunity to play with them! How more natural photo shoot could you get than that?
The London Eye pier area
As of January 2015, this giant Ferris wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames is one of the world’s tallest Ferris wheel and one of the most popular paid tourist attractions in the UK. This is where we did a brief stop to capture the love of the Maria and Tiago. A heart touching moment was when Tiago held Maria’s hands, asked her to close her eyes and narrated her how he felt when he first meet her. During those moments Maria smiled, then teased and eventually gave a big hug to Tiago reminding him too how she felt when she first met him. For both of them, without any doubt, it was love at first sight!
The London Tower Bridge
It’s an iconic feature of the city, known worldwide as one of the most famous tourist attractions of London. The Tower Bridge open more than 100 years ago still standing perfectly over the River Thames. It’s an ideal spot for wedding or engagement photos due to it’s impressive presence. We couldn’t miss this (I have to admit) crowded landmark!
A visit to the Limehouse Basin Canalside
The Limehouse Basin Canalside is a very beautiful and quiet oasis where you don’t feel like you’re in East London. This is a secret gem! It’s located in a walking distance from the the river Thames. We walked along the canalside path. Lots of vessels on show, plus barges and houseboats. The residential houses and apartments are fantastic with beautiful views on the waters. There are loads of restaurants and cafes nearby including Starbucks if you are on a budget!
…and we had to find a place to cover ourselves. We spent around 15 minutes under the shelter of a lovely cafe. I took advantage of the moment and took this romantic black & white picture of Maria and Tiago while waiting for the rain to stop.
