Luxury wedding photography in London
Editorial portraits, documentary everywhere else, and a photographer who has already stood in the rooms you are marrying in. Claridge's, The Ritz, Spencer House, the livery halls and the private members' clubs.
Most of my work sits at the top end of the London market. Twenty years of it.
What that buys you is someone who has already solved the problems. I know which room holds light at four in the afternoon and which one has gone flat by three. I know how long the walk between your ceremony and your portraits actually takes, as opposed to how long the schedule says. None of that is glamorous. All of it is the difference between a relaxed hour and a rushed one.
Luxury should mean something you can check
Luxury is a word that usually just means expensive. I would rather it meant something you can actually verify before you book.
First, I shoot the whole day myself. No associates, no second shooter fronting as the lead, nobody you have not met turning up on the morning.
Second, every frame is edited by me, and the full gallery is with you inside 24 hours for a smaller wedding, and inside a week for a full day. Not six weeks. Not three months.
Third, I take a limited number of weddings a year, which is the only reason the first two are possible.
The rest of it, the light, the timing, knowing when to step in and when to stay out of the way, is twenty years of doing this and not much else. There is a longer checklist in my guide to choosing a luxury wedding photographer in London, and more about me on my about page.
BarrieThe venues I know best
I work in the same handful of buildings often enough to know them properly. A venue like that hands you extraordinary material and then takes it straight back with a tight schedule and a room full of people. Knowing the building beforehand is how you get both.
Claridge's
Art Deco rooms, the chequered foyer and a ballroom that has seen a century of parties.
Hedsor House
A Georgian house in 100 acres, exclusively yours for 24 hours, forty-five minutes from London.
Goodwood House
Three centuries of Dukes of Richmond, 12,000 acres, and a motor racing story running through it.
Hotels
- Claridge'sMayfair
- The RitzPiccadilly
- The SavoyStrand
- The LanghamMarylebone
- The LanesboroughKnightsbridge
- Mandarin Oriental Hyde ParkKnightsbridge
- Corinthia LondonWhitehall
- The PeninsulaBelgravia
- Rosewood LondonHolborn
- The LandmarkMarylebone
- Shangri-La at The ShardLondon Bridge
- Hotel Café RoyalPiccadilly
Houses, halls and landmarks
- Spencer HouseSt James's
- One Whitehall PlaceWhitehall
- Two Temple PlaceEmbankment
- Stationers' HallCity
- Inner TempleTemple
- Syon ParkWest London
- Kenwood HouseHampstead
- Natural History MuseumSouth Kensington
- Kew GardensRichmond
- RIBA, 66 Portland PlaceMarylebone
- Hedsor HouseBuckinghamshire
- Goodwood HouseWest Sussex
Every venue and area I have written about is on my London and Sussex wedding venues page, along with the register office I photograph most often, Old Marylebone Town Hall, and the areas around it, including Mayfair, Knightsbridge, Belgravia and St James's.
Documentary for the day, editorial for the portraits
I don't move your guests around or stop the day to fix the light. For most of it you will forget I am there, which is exactly what you want from a room full of people who came to enjoy themselves.
The one part I direct is the portraits. Fifteen or twenty minutes at a time that suits you and the light, and you are back with your guests before anyone notices you had gone. Those are the frames couples come to me for, and they are built to hold up on the biggest wall in your house.
If a pre-wedding shoot would help you feel easier in front of a camera, we can do one first. Most couples find it changes how the wedding day portraits go. Pre-wedding shoots in London.
The things you spent a year choosing
At this end of the market a great deal of thought goes into the room: the flowers, the glassware, the light, the table you will only see laid once. I photograph all of it before your guests come in, because twenty minutes later it will never look like that again.
Then I leave it alone. Detail pictures matter, but they are not the wedding. The wedding is the people in the room, and that is where I spend the rest of the day.
You can see complete days rather than highlights in my portfolio, and the editorial side of the work on my editorial photography page.
What a day with me actually looks like
Every wedding is different, but this is the shape of most of them.
Before the day
We talk through the timings, the rooms and the family groups, and I tell you where the light will be. If your venue is one I know, I will tell you what works there and what fights you.
Morning and ceremony
Getting ready, the details, the arrivals. During the ceremony I work quietly from the sides on a long lens, and I never use flash in a service.
Drinks, groups and portraits
Groups from a list you send me beforehand, about twenty minutes. Then fifteen or twenty minutes of portraits, once, when the light is right.
Dinner and the evening
Speeches from a distance so the reactions are real, then the first dance and the party. Tell me about fireworks or a send-off beforehand so I am in the right place.
Weddings outside London work the same way, whether that is a Sussex wedding or a destination wedding abroad. For the full picture of how I cover the capital, see my London wedding photographer page.
What it costs
London collections, priced by the hours you actually need. Most couples marrying at a hotel or a private house choose Classic or Premium.
Ceremony through to the speeches.
- For smaller weddings and daytime receptions
- The ceremony and confetti
- Drinks, portraits and family groups
- Wedding breakfast details and speeches
- No evening party coverage
Preparations through to the first dance.
- The standard full wedding day
- Getting ready
- Arrivals, ceremony and drinks
- Fifteen or twenty minutes of portraits
- Speeches, cake and first dance
Preparations through to the last dance.
- For big celebrations where nothing gets missed
- Everything in Classic
- The evening party and dance floor
- Fireworks, sparklers and send-off
- An unhurried pace across the whole day
The same prices whether you marry at Claridge's or a register office. A second photographer is £1,250 and worth thinking about with a big guest list or two getting-ready locations. Albums are quoted separately, and every collection includes every image edited, full print rights and your gallery within a week, or within 24 hours for smaller weddings. The full breakdown, including hourly coverage, is on my London wedding photography prices page.
What couples say
A few words from couples I've photographed, in London, Sussex and further afield.
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
Luxury wedding photography questions
What makes a wedding photographer "luxury"?
Not the invoice. At the top end you are paying for someone who has already worked in rooms like yours and knows how they behave: where the light is at four o'clock, how long the walk to the portraits really takes, and how a five-star events team likes the day run. Everything else, the album, the second photographer, the film, sits on top of that.
How much does luxury wedding photography cost in London?
Full-day coverage from established London photographers regularly runs well past £3,000. Mine is £1,350 for five hours, £1,800 for eight and £2,200 for eleven, with every image edited and the gallery delivered within a week, or within 24 hours for smaller weddings. A second photographer is an optional £1,250.
Do you photograph the whole day yourself?
Yes. No associates, no second shooter fronting as the lead, and nobody turning up on the morning you have not met. I also edit every frame myself, which is why I only take a limited number of weddings each year.
Which London venues do you know well?
Claridge's, The Ritz, The Savoy, The Langham, the Mandarin Oriental, Corinthia and The Lanesborough among the hotels, and Spencer House, One Whitehall Place, Two Temple Place, Stationers' Hall, Syon Park and Kenwood House among the houses and halls. There is a guide to each on my venues page.
Do you travel outside London?
Yes. I live in Sussex and photograph weddings across the county and the South East, as well as abroad in Italy, France and Portugal. The prices are the same in London; travel further afield is quoted with the enquiry.
More answers on my FAQs page, and a fuller checklist in my guide to choosing a luxury wedding photographer.
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Getting married in London?
Send me your venue and date. I read every enquiry myself and I'll let you know straight away whether I'm free.
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Amazing experience! Barrie knew exactly what to do and was very patient with our family