bride and groom on steps of Royal Exchange London

Creative Royal Exchange London wedding photography

night time photograph of bride and groom outside The Royal Exchange London

I had been looking forward to Nikki and Lex’s Nigerian wedding at The Royal Exchange London for a long time. I love traveling to different venues and I love photographing weddings from different cultures. So a Nigerian wedding at one of London’s most stunning venues was extremely exciting!

In terms of the number of guests, this was also the biggest wedding I have every photographed. There were over 300 guests and the atmosphere was absolutely amazing. Nigerian weddings are full of colour, beautiful outfits and dancing and it was so much fun to photograph. The whole day was like a huge party and the dance floor was packed almost as soon as we arrived back after the wedding ceremony. For a wedding photographer like myself who likes to shoot natural moments, this was a dream. Everywhere I looked there was dancing and smiling.

Wedding photographs at St Bartholomew the Great Church

I traveled down to London the day before the wedding with my awesome friend Toni Darcy. Toni also helped me at the wedding and took some stunning wedding photographs so a huge thank you Toni! We arrived in London in time to attend the wedding rehearsal at St Bartholomew the Great Church. This gave us both a chance to meet Nikki and Lex and also see the church itself. St Bartholomew the Great is a beautiful church located just next to the famous Smithfield Market. It is hard to find but a real hidden gem. It is stunning inside.

The Royal Exchange London is an incredible building. You can just tell that it is a venue steeped in history. The original building was opened in 1571 by Queen Elizabeth 1 but unfortunately was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. In 1669 a second site was opened but that too was destroyed by a fire. The stunning building which we have today was opened in 1844 by Queen Victoria.

As soon as I saw the front of the building, the design of which was based on the Pantheon in Rome, I knew that I wanted to take the wide angle photograph which you can see above. I had to use my widest lens to take that photograph with my back up against a statue but it worked and I managed to fit in the whole building. It was a bonus that we had beautiful sunshine when I took it too.

Nigerian wedding photography at The Royal Exchange London

The weather on the day of the wedding was glorious. The sun didn’t stop shining the whole day and it was really warm. A really beautiful summer’s day.

I started the wedding day by photographing Nikki getting ready with her bridesmaids before we made our way on to the church for the wedding ceremony. The party really started though when we got back to the Royal Exchange! As is traditional with Nigerian weddings, both families danced in to the venue before being joined by the bridal party and finally the bride and groom. This kicks off the reception really well and gets every one in the mood for a huge celebration.

The rest of the evening was incredible and I loved capturing everything. I hope that my wedding photography conveys just how fabulous it was. The whole day was an amazing experience that I will remember for a long time.

Thank you again Niki and Lex for asking me to be your wedding photographer. I absolutely loved being a part of your Nigerian wedding and I am so grateful for all your kind words about your photographs. I am so pleased you are so happy with them. You were both amazing to work with and I wish you a lifetime of happiness together.

Here is some of my Royal Exchange London wedding photography from your special day.