Orleans House Gallery Wedding Photographer

Orleans House Gallery is a free public art gallery in Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and managed by Richmond Arts Service. The stunning Grade I Listed Octagon Room is available for weddings and can accommodate up to 60 guests. It’s a beautiful setting nestled in woodland next to the River Thames.

I had never visited the gallery before, so I was delighted to be asked by Louise and Aaron to photograph their wedding at this beautiful venue. As a photographer I’m always drawn to great light and the huge windows in the Octagon Room fill the space with beautiful, flattering light.

After the marriage ceremony the couple emerged to a shower of confetti and made the short walk down to the river for the boat trip along the Thames to The Wharf restaurant in Teddington.

ORLEANS HOUSE GALLERY IS A SPECTACULAR SPACE FLOODED WITH BEAUTIFUL LIGHT. ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WEDDING CEREMONY ROOMS IN LONDON.

The weather threw everything at us on the boat, but slate-grey skies soon gave way to spectacular sunshine and rainbows as we arrived at Teddington Lock. The restaurant had been transformed with flowers by Johanna Pedrick creating a stunning backdrop for the rest of the day. Although my style is to photograph the natural moments of the day, I always like to take the bride and groom off for a short portrait session. The nearby Teddington footbridge was a great spot and a welcome chance for Louise and Aaron to get some fresh air and have a few moments to themselves, away from all their guests.

In all, a wonderful wedding in a beautiful venue and thanks to Louise and Aaron for having me along for the day to photograph it all.

If you are planning your wedding and looking for an Orleans House Gallery wedding Photographer please do get in touch now for a chat and my availability.

WE SPOKE TO A FEW WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS BUT NONE OF THEM FELT QUITE RIGHT. NICK WAS RECOMMENDED TO US AND FROM FIRST CONTACT WE KNEW HE WAS THE ONE.

On the day of the wedding Nick showed up early to get some photos of me getting ready which are some of my Aaron’s favourite shots of me ever taken. We had quite a complicated wedding, in three different venues, and Nick was able to rally the family and our friends together and direct them around without being intrusive or overbearing. He then stayed late into the evening to get key pictures as we danced the night away along with friends and family. 

The shots we got back were brilliant. They tell the story and bring back every feeling from our wedding day. They also give us a glimpse into the parts that we missed! Nick perfectly captured the energy, fun and laughter of our wedding day.

We cannot recommend Nick highly enough. On a personal level, Nick is easy to work with and by the end it felt like he was also a friend. And, as you can see from his portfolio, his photos speak for themselves… they are stunning.

The story of the day in Louse and Aaron’s own words

I didn’t really have any preconceived ideas about how our wedding would look. We actually looked into Hawaii as a destination but felt it was probably more difficult to organise in the timeframe we were working with. When looking for venues, we decided that it had to be local to us. We spent a good amount of time visiting different locations – local to our town, a bit further afield and in London itself. After spending around 2 months looking and evaluating the different choices, we eventually settled on Orleans House Gallery for the ceremony and The Wharf for our reception and we were absolutely thrilled with our choices. Both venues were conveniently local to us. Both had a bright ambience and atmosphere regardless of the time of year. Orleans House is a Grade 1 listed building with ornate decorations that you would find in other famous and grand buildings. The Wharf is a fantastic restaurant and bar in our local town on the bank of the River Thames, which we have dined at before and pretty much knew what to expect there. The best part was the idea of travelling by boat down from the ceremony to the reception, with canapés and drinks on board for our guests. All of these factors, along with the flexibility and freedom to design our perfect wedding were the reasons for choosing these two special venues.

We took inspiration from weddings we’d attended in the past and included our own take of what we wanted at our wedding as well as what we loved about previous weddings. Our general vision was to have an intimate wedding with the right number of people. We wanted it to be bright, which influenced our choice of venues. We also wanted it to be a relaxed and fun day for everyone, ensuring that guests were happy, entertained and left the venue with huge smiles. Of course we wanted everyone to look great too for the photos and we had a semi-formal dress code at our wedding – not black-tie formal and not smart-casual wear either.

To create our unique wedding, as Louise’s dream wedding was to get married in Hawaii, we tried to bring a taste of Hawaii into an English wedding by opting for tropical elements, colours and objects. Our amazing florist expertly provided tropical looking flowers and little pineapples, the venue already had large palm plants adorned by the bar and our wedding invitations were created with tropical motifs. Even though we have had a gorgeous summer this year, having a late-September wedding in England will not bring tropical weather to your day, but that did not detract from the tropical feel we wanted to bring to our occasion.

Louise and I met through our interest in running. We both attended Reading parkrun at the time and were members of the running club, Reading Roadrunners. On a Saturday evening in late April 2014, we both attended a spring do organised by the running club and the only memory that Louise left with was my bright orange running jacket and dodgy dancing. Since then, a friendship was quickly struck and we’ve been together ever since.

Fast forward 4 years. We were in Malaysia over the Christmas and New Year’s holiday to spend time with my family and relatives, and it was my intention to end the year with a proposal. I had always wanted to propose in a beautiful setting in Langkawi and did some research on where the best places are. Unfortunately the timing didn’t quite work out as we only just arrived in Langkawi the day before New Year’s Eve and we hadn’t done much on the island since. On the 2nd January 2019, we went on a jetski tour to visit neighbouring islands. With the ring tucked at the bottom of the dry bag (there was no way I was going to let it fall into the sea!), we made our way to Pulau Dayang Bunting, translated to the Island of the Pregnant Maiden. The island has a wonderful large fresh water lake surrounded by hills and dense rain forests.

We rented a pedalo to paddle out to a secluded part of the lake, far away from anyone else. After summing up some courage, on a hot sunny mid-afternoon I popped the question to Louise and I don’t think she had any idea what was coming that day. Kneeling down in a pedalo was very difficult in case it rocked suddenly but I managed to do a half attempt anyway. She quickly said ‘Yes’ and I don’t think there was a better or more memorable way to pop the question to her.

Seeing all our guests at Orleans House and going through the ceremony was both special and nerve-wracking. It was special as we were making a commitment to each other in front of our friends and family. Our personalised vows that we wrote really hit each other and our guests. Nerve-wracking as I didn’t really know how emotional I would get during the ceremony – thankfully I didn’t get too emotional. Once the ceremony was over, we felt like the pressure was off and we could really enjoy ourselves.

The other special moment was spending quiet time with Louise to get photos and videos done. There were many beautiful backdrops to get photos taken near our venues, my favourites are the front of the boat and Teddington Lock – as we cross the river regularly it serves as a constant reminder of our special day.

Other special moments included the boat trip on the River Thames and the stellar entertainment that the magician provided to get people together. The speeches went down very well and the guests remarked how much they enjoyed them. Finally, performing our first dance – a really fun number to get the party started!  

I would say decide pretty early on whether you would like the freedom to choose your own suppliers or choose a venue that has a pre-approved list of suppliers. Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages, so take that into consideration. If the venues and the idea of travelling by boat on the Thames appeals to you, then line up your venue and boat availability as early as possible to avoid disappointment. Don’t rush the research process – your wedding is a significant event and you want to choose the suppliers that will make your day memorable. Think about what is important for you at your wedding and plan your wedding around those requirements. Be flexible and don’t be afraid to spend a little more if you have to, especially on the areas that you know will make the day more memorable.

Choosing favourite photographs is a very difficult thing to do as they are all excellent. If I had to choose, I would say the natural shots of all our guests showing a wide range of unforced emotions, e.g. laughter, surprise, joy, nervousness. These are very difficult to capture cleanly and spontaneously and to capture so many candid photos is Nick’s strength and preference for wedding photography. Other favourite photographs include Louise getting ready, all the scenes in the ceremony, the portrait photos at Teddington Lock and the landscape photos involving the river, sky and the beautiful rainbow that we were lucky to have on our big day.