Destination Wedding Photographer
A London wedding photographer who flies out with you. Italy, France, Portugal, Greece and further afield. You'll have met me, planned the day with me, and your gallery will be home within a week.
A lot of couples marrying abroad book a local photographer they've never met. It can work. It's just not how I'd want to do it.
I'm a destination wedding photographer based in London. I've photographed weddings and pre-wedding shoots in Ravello, Lake Como, Venice, Florence and Tuscany, in Paris and the châteaux outside it, in Sintra and Lisbon, on Santorini, in Austria and Switzerland, in Iceland, New York and Sydney. Twenty years and more than 500 weddings, from a base in London.
Someone you already know, on the day
By the time we land, we'll have talked the whole day through. You won't be meeting a stranger on your wedding morning.
I fly out the day before. I walk the venue, meet your planner, and work out where the light will be for the ceremony and the portraits. Nothing on the day is being worked out for the first time.
On the day it's the same as a London wedding. A few considered portraits where the place deserves it, and the rest of the time I photograph what happens, quietly, without stopping anything.
Then I fly home and edit. Every image, no watermarks, and your full gallery within a week. Not three months later when the holiday is a memory.
BarriePlaces I've photographed
If your venue isn't here, ask anyway. If I haven't worked there, I'll tell you, and I'll plan it the same way: a day early, on foot, with your planner.
Italy
The place couples ask me about most. I photographed Jayssen and Karuna at Villa Eva in Ravello, with portraits on the Terrace of Infinity at Villa Cimbrone. I have also shot two weddings in Tuscany, plus Lake Como, Venice and Florence. Long lunches, late light and a lot of heat.
The Ravello guide →
France
Paris itself, on the bridges and in the Louvre courtyard, and châteaux an hour outside it. Holly and Hammad married under a tree in the meadow at Château des Condé, with fireworks after dinner. Vaux-le-Vicomte is the one for candlelit evenings.
Paris →
Portugal
Palaces in Sintra, civil ceremonies in Lisbon and estates like Penha Longa. Pedro and Yi married at Pena Palace in July and the mist rolled in as the ceremony started. The soft Atlantic light does a lot of the work.
Pedro and Yi at Pena Palace →
Greece
I photographed a wedding on Santorini before this website existed, so there is no story to link to yet. Caldera sunsets, white walls that bounce light everywhere, and a ceremony time that needs to be later than most couples think. Summer dates here go first.
Ask about Greece →
Iceland and the USA
Places you can't get anywhere else. Christie and Greg spent five days in Iceland with me, from the ice caves to Diamond Beach, then booked Antelope Canyon too. Layla and Richard married at the James Burden Mansion in New York, with a first look in Central Park.
Christie and Greg in Iceland →
Further afield
Kiri and Jamie at Palm Beach in Sydney, where the bride arrived by seaplane. Rose and Henry at Eden Roc in Ascona, with fireworks over Lake Maggiore. Kaprun Castle in Austria. Same photographer and the same one-week gallery, whatever the time zone.
Kiri and Jamie in Sydney →Not sure where yet? Have a look at planning a Tuscany wedding, the South of France, or beach weddings further away.
Paris, on the day or around it
Couples come to Paris with me for the wedding itself, for the day before, or for an evening after the wedding when nobody is watching the clock. In a gown and a suit, on the bridges and in the courtyards, the pictures look exactly like a wedding day, because they are.
The places I go back to: Pont de Bir-Hakeim and Trocadéro for the Eiffel Tower, Pont Alexandre III, the Louvre colonnade and the pyramid at blue hour, the Palais Garnier, the Seine by Notre-Dame, and a café with a red velvet room if you want somewhere to sit down. Early morning means empty streets. The last hour of light means the stone goes gold.
The full shoots are on Paris pre-wedding photography and Layla and Richard's Paris post-wedding shoot. Paris on its own starts from £2,000; added to a wedding in France it is part of the same trip.
Three weddings abroad
Every one of these started with an email from a couple in London. Click through for the full story and gallery.
Pedro and Yi above the clouds
A clear, cloudless morning at a villa near Cascais. Yi arrived at the palace in a 1940s Citroën, and as the ceremony started the mist rolled up the hill and sat below the terrace. Vows in warm, low sun, speeches inside the palace, and flamenco after dinner.
Read the story
Jayssen and Karuna on the Amalfi coast
I had photographed their civil ceremony in London first. In Ravello we did portraits on the Terrace of Infinity at Villa Cimbrone before a late-afternoon garden ceremony at Villa Eva, then went up to the roof as the sun came down over the sea.
Read the story
Rose and Henry on Lake Maggiore
A church ceremony in the old town, candles and white flowers, and half of Ascona stopping to watch. A horse-drawn carriage back through the cobbled streets to Eden Roc, drinks on the jetty, a first dance outside and fireworks over the lake.
Read the story
More on the blog: New York, Sydney, Château des Condé, Iceland and a London civil ceremony before the big day in Italy.
A UK photographer or a local one?
A local photographer knows the venue. I'll know the venue too, because I'll have walked it the day before, at the time of your ceremony, and talked to your planner about where everyone will stand.
What a local photographer can't give you is the rest of it. We've met. We've talked through the day over a coffee in London. You know what my photos look like and you know how I work in a room. Your contract is a UK contract, in English, and if anything changes before the day you can call me.
And when the wedding is over, your gallery is with you within a week, while you're still on honeymoon. That's a promise I make for every wedding, in London or abroad.
If you're having a civil ceremony in London first and the celebration abroad, I can do both. Patricia and Thomas married at Old Marylebone Town Hall before their wedding in Italy, and Jayssen and Karuna did the same before Ravello.
From the first email to your gallery
Four steps, and none of them are complicated.
A proper chat
Send me your venue, your date and a bit about the two of you. I read every enquiry myself. Then we talk, on a call or over a coffee if you're near London.
Planning the day
Timings, the ceremony, travel between places, and when the light is best. If you have a planner, I talk to them directly. For most of Europe that means a ceremony at four or five and portraits in the last hour of light.
The day before
I fly out, walk the venue and meet your planner. Two or three nights is usual for a European wedding. If you've added a pre-wedding shoot, we can do it then.
Your gallery, within a week
I fly home and edit. Your full gallery is with you within a week, with high-resolution downloads and no watermarks.
Pre-wedding shoots abroad
Paris, Iceland or New York as a trip on its own, or a shoot the day before your wedding while we're all there anyway. Layla and Richard married in New York and then spent two evenings with me in Paris: Pont de Bir-Hakeim at sunset, the Louvre after dark, dinner at Le Café Richelieu in between.
Paris from £2,000, Iceland £2,995, New York £3,995. The full list is on the destination pre-wedding page, and if you'd rather stay closer to home, the London pre-wedding locations guide is a good place to start.
What a destination wedding photographer costs
One collection for the wedding, wherever it is. Travel and accommodation are charged at cost, with no markup, and I book early to keep them down.
Preparations through to the first dance.
- One collection for every destination
- Planning calls and a timeline for the day
- Venue scouting the day before
- Usually 400 to 600 edited images
- Extra hours £200 each
For couples who want the pictures without the wedding.
- Paris from £2,000
- Iceland £2,995
- New York £3,995
- Or add a shoot the day before your wedding
- Planned around the best light
For a full breakdown of travel and costs, see what destination wedding photography costs, and if you're still comparing, how to choose a destination wedding photographer. Getting married in the UK instead? The London and Sussex collections are on my wedding photography prices page, and the London side of my work is on luxury wedding photography.
What couples say
Google reviews from couples I've photographed, in London and abroad.
Barrie was the photographer for our late November wedding at the Old Marylebone Town Hall and we are absolutely delighted with the photographs. He was able to capture all the crucial moments before, d…
We had Barrie come by and photograph our civil ceremony / wedding registration at Old Marylebone Town Hall. We wanted it shot in an elopement style as it was just one of the many pre- weddings events …
Barrie was fab! He knew Old Marylebone Town Hall really well (even the registrars knew him). He made us feel comfortable and took us to really cute places to get some special shots. Would highly recom…
Barrie was the photographer for our civil wedding ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall and he was great! Professional, friendly and creative throughout the day. The photos are amazing, stylish and ple…
Barrie is incredible! He is a total pro and the best in the business! We love our photos so much. We got married at trading boundaries and he was the perfect photographer. So special. Thank you Barrie
Destination wedding questions
How far ahead should we book a destination wedding photographer?
A year to eighteen months is ideal. I only take a small number of destination weddings, and summer Saturdays in Italy and Greece go first. If your date is sooner, ask anyway.
How much does a destination wedding photographer cost?
My destination collection is £3,995 for eight hours, with extra hours at £200. On top of that you pay my flights and two or three nights' accommodation at cost, with no markup. Book early and for most of Europe that adds a few hundred pounds, not thousands. There is a full breakdown on my destination wedding costs page.
Is it cheaper to book a local photographer?
Sometimes, once you take travel out. What you give up is having met your photographer, seen the exact style you're getting, and signed a UK contract in English. And most local photographers won't have your gallery back within a week. Couples who fly me out have usually decided those things matter more than the flight.
What's included in the destination collection?
Eight hours on the day, planning calls and a timeline, venue scouting the day before, every image edited, and your full gallery within a week with high-resolution downloads and full print rights.
Who pays for travel?
You do, at cost. Flights and accommodation are added on top of the collection with no markup. I arrive at least a day before the wedding, so for a European wedding allow two or three nights.
Which countries do you cover?
Italy, France (Paris and the châteaux), Portugal, Greece, Switzerland, Austria, Iceland, the USA and Australia so far. If yours isn't on the list, ask. I plan an unfamiliar venue the same way I plan a familiar one: a day early, on foot, with your planner.
Can you photograph a short ceremony or an elopement abroad?
Yes. The collection is built around a full day, but if it's just the two of you and a few hours, tell me the plan and I'll quote for the day rather than the eight hours.
Can we add a second photographer?
Yes, on request. It's worth it for bigger weddings, especially when people are getting ready in different places.
How many photos will we get, and is 500 enough?
Usually 400 to 600 for an eight-hour day, and more on a long or busy one. Every one of them is edited. Five hundred good photographs is plenty. Two thousand unedited ones is a chore.
Can you do our London civil ceremony as well?
Yes. A lot of couples do the legal part at Old Marylebone Town Hall or Chelsea Old Town Hall and the celebration abroad. I can photograph both, and the London ceremony is priced by the hour.
What if the weather turns?
We work with it. Rain softens the light and wet stone looks lovely. I'll have scouted the covered spots the day before, so there's always a plan.
Getting married abroad?
Send me your date and your venue. I read every enquiry myself and I'll let you know straight away whether I'm free.
Rather use the longer form? Head to the contact page
Amazing experience! Barrie knew exactly what to do and was very patient with our family