Sheela and Brandon live near San Francisco, and they’d been planning to have their engagement photos taken there. While looking at pre-wedding photographers, Sheela came across photographs from shoots in London and Paris, and they decided to fly to London for four days and have them done here instead. The shoot ran on a cold but sunny winter day, from St Paul’s Cathedral, across the river, down to Tower Bridge and Shad Thames, and finished on the South Bank as the sun went down.
St Paul’s and the Millennium Bridge
We met on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral, then walked down to the Thames and across the Millennium Bridge. From the south side you look straight back at St Paul’s with the City skyline around it, which is one of the classic London views.
A black cab to Shad Thames
From there it was a black cab to Shad Thames. There were road works and closures at the time, and the cabbie found a way round them and had us at Tower Bridge in a few minutes. Nobody knows the London streets like a black cab driver.
Shad Thames was known as the “larder of London” in the 1800s. Ships unloaded tea, coffee, spices and dried fruit into the warehouses of Butler’s Wharf, and the street is still criss-crossed by the overhead gantries that once linked the warehouses.
Tower Bridge
After Shad Thames we walked along to the foot of Tower Bridge for some classic London engagement photographs.
Sunset on the South Bank
The last stop was the South Bank, with Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament across the river. In winter the sun is going down by 4pm, so this part of the day has to be timed around it.
Congratulations to Sheela and Brandon.
Planning a London pre-wedding shoot
- Go east to west. St Paul’s, the Millennium Bridge, Shad Thames and Tower Bridge are close together. Westminster is further, so finish there.
- Use a cab for the longer hops. Walking works between neighbouring spots, but a black cab saves time between the City, Tower Bridge and Westminster.
- Go early for empty backdrops. St Paul’s is quieter before the office workers arrive, and Tower Bridge is best early in the morning, with Sundays the quietest.
- Watch the winter light. In November and December the sun sets around 4pm, so plan the last location for the light you’ve got.
More about locations, timings and costs is on my London pre-wedding photography page, with guides to St Paul’s Cathedral and Tower Bridge. For a similar route, see St Paul’s to Hyde Park with a Singapore couple, or a full day across London with Yuefasi and Lian. If you’re planning the wedding too, have a look at my prices and send me your date.
