“Yellowing classics
And canons at dawn
Coffee wallahs and pith helmets
And an English song”

BabyShambles

Rusty Harmonicas

There is something wonderfully nostalgic about an English Pub Wedding. I’m a romantic at heart and I see London via a nostalgic lens of all things past. Dickens, trilby hats, spit, and sawdust, cobbled back alleys, and rusty harmonicas being played alongside the piano.

Live Music. The smell of real ale. The constant chit chat and laughter. London Pub weddings especially have that old English character that infuses a wedding day with a kind of familiarity.

Pubs Have Character

People immediately feel comfortable in their surroundings. Everyone knows their way around a public house. And I’ve photographed pub weddings all over the country from London to Brighton to Essex, Surrey, and Yorkshire.

All have been venues that have inspired some of my best documentary photography. Pubs have character. And weddings are full of characters. The two combined make for some amazing documentary photographs.

Vintage Phenomenon

It’s a sad truth that the old traditional English boozer is in danger of becoming something of a vintage phenomenon, a relic of a bygone era, but there are still a whole bunch of them peaking from amongst glass and steel facade of the modern age.

Also, if a couple chooses to get married in a pub, they tend to choose an awesome one. The place will surely have a wonderful character and a sense of history. With a marriage celebration in full swing, you cannot help but be inspired as a photographer.

a Cinematic Approach

Pubs also appeal to my cinematic approach to photography. I love movies and a pub's wedding always reminds me of a movie set and the guests are the characters creating scenes.

My work is to capture those scenes and bring them alive through my images. There is also nothing like a party in a Pub venue. Food and hearty speeches are out the way and the band has set up and are ready to get you rocking the night away.

Often the dance floor is less than spacious and the band's proximity is close. It’s a packed house. This kind of reception is a glorious affair. There is no place to hide and I have photographed so many weddings where the guests have taken the roof off in celebration alongside the happy couple.

If you are getting married shortly lets hook up a chat. I’d love to hear all about your plans.

Additional Resources

Hitched List of Pub Wedding Venues

Wedding Planner - Venues

You may also want to check out Coco Wedding Venues

Feel free to drop me an email on gary@lashmar.creative.com for more wedding photography information. Or simply use the contact menu at the top of the site.

More Pub Weddings