Asylum Chapel Wedding with Pub Reception.
You can’t beat Asylum Chapel weddings; the way the light streams through those windows in rays, you set your own rules for your ceremony and the overall ambience is top dollar.
Asylum Chapel weddings are often some of the weddings I look forward to most in the year. It was an autumn wedding in the very heart of Peckham: we were blessed with sunshine and a warm day. They way the light hit Lara’s silk Stella McCartney wedding dress was sublime and inside the chapel the light was hitting the room in its usual atmospheric way. The white and green wedding flowers had been installed and the order of the days laid on the chairs. The calmness and stillness didn’t last long!
This Asylum Chapel wedding wasn’t your bog standard wedding. When I say “lively” I mean almost like a whirl wind. Lara and Tom wanted their wedding to be pumping. This was a wedding full of electric, buzzing energy. The kind of vibe that makes you jump from one event to the next with wide open eyes. Smiles everywhere. Laughter ringing through the air. Energy pumping. Very little time was used doing portraits and group shots. There was simply too much fun to be had.
We were blown away by all the amazing shots and so impressed that one person can cover so much ground without even being noticed by us on the day. We loved her chilled, friendly, positive and professional manner (plus, her work outfit was on point!). *Lara
An important picture for me was one of me and my dad walking down the aisle, and WOW – Michelle couldn’t have done better. My dad had a tear to his eye when he saw the picture, and even made it his FB profile picture – he doesn’t even use FB which says a lot! *Lara
Ceremony
As I mentioned earlier, one of the great things about Asylum Chapel weddings is that you can choose exactly how you want to do your ceremony. Lara and Tom had a friend conduct theirs (they’d done the legal bit a few weeks earlier down at the town hall) which made it so personal. The whole room was in stitches listening to the stories about how these guys met and fell in love, they served champagne before the ceremony for guests to take in with them and it generally felt warm and personalised.
I’d never seen Tom cry or even get teary until I walked down the aisle, so I love this shot of him welling up looking at me… finally he showed some emotion. The beautiful architecture comes through in this, and love the back of my dress *Lara
Portraits at Asylum Chapel weddings.
I always do my portraits at The Asylum in the same format, so long as it’s good weather. After the ceremony I keep the bride and groom outside, at the back of the building until the guests have all started to file outside for drinks at the front. Once they are nearly all out, we then sneak back in and shoot some fun, authentic portraits. Before the guests have even lined up for the confetti we can shoot in three or four parts of the chapel and be back out, ready to enjoy the party.
One of my favourite shots, we were so lucky to have a sunny day and it came through so beautifully in the venue. We first did a few posed shots and Michelle could immediately tell we felt a bit uncomfortable and awkward so we bought us into the middle to be a bit more natural – our acoustic guitarist starting singing a song we both liked and we had a little dance in the middle – it a magical happy moment that was captured so well.
Friends have said it looked like an image from an editorial magazine shoot!
*Lara
Sooo many of my cute niece Ayda. This was one request and Michelle absolutely smashed it and captured my love for her! Seeing that she’d had the best time made us happy. We have a printed photo album that Ayda looks through regularly. *Lara
Group Shots at Asylum Chapel Weddings
The best place for group shots, especially if you’re having a late ceremony and the light is dipping, is on the steps in front of the Asylum Chapel. Lara and Tom sent their guests inside for more drinks and canapés whilst we shot formal group shots. Right at the end we snuck in one last bride and groom portrait in the doorway before jumping into the drinks reception.
Transport: The London Bus
You can’t beat a double decker bus in my opinion. It brings back memories of fun times and late nights. This wedding route master was bang on point with it’s party atmosphere. In my experience, people who do Asylum Chapel weddings, also do a great party bus. Think LOUD music, champagne sprays and dancing. Yes – it might well have been The Venga Bus (I’m pretty sure that was on the bus playlist).
The Pub reception
The light had dropped, by the time we arrived in Dulwich Village. We were transported to a pub full of warm candle light with an incredible band playing their first set through dinner. It had the ambience of the kind of jazz bar you dream of finding by accident and food to die for. The spirit of the wedding was not allowed to dampen, nor even mellow though. As the best man announced the couple, the room was instructed to “Bring the party vibes to the wedding”. Everyone stood up and cheered accordingly!
I left the party in full swing; everyone was up on the dance floor and having the time of their lives. So my advice would be, if you want a lively party… tell your guests to BRING IT, like Lara and Tom.
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