Nothing beats an inspiring venue when it comes to shooting weddings. London-based photographer Emilie White jumped at the chance to shoot couple Georgina and Mark’s wedding, especially when she found out they were to exchange vows at the Caroline Gardens Chapel at Asylum, a venue dating back to the early 19th century (and contrary to what the name implies, it wasn’t an psychiatric asylum but rather a sanctuary for retired pub landlords!), and who could blame her.
“I absolutely love the colors, textures and the light that shines through the old chapel,” White says. “I was thrilled to get the chance to capture a wedding there. I like moody environments, playing with light and shadows, and this venue is ideal for that. The sun shining through the windows of the Asylum is just something else and definitely brings a touch of magic to it all.”
Georgina and Mark tied the knot toward the end of last summer and had planned a fun, relaxed and informal-feeling day of celebrations. After the ceremony, the wedding party headed over to the reception held in an old Victorian pub, White says, “that had been converted into a photographic and fi
lming location. The backdrop was therefore very nice for me!”
White was hard-pressed to find a challenging aspect to shooting this wedding—the weather was on their side (a miracle in London), the venues were amazing, the couple was laid-back and easy to work with, the family was welcoming—but, she says, “the only difficulty may have been the tight space in the dining room of the pub. It made it harder to move around and capture the guests’ reactions to the speeches. But I had a great second shooter (Christine Wehrmeier) there to give me a hand and between the two of us, we are able to capture what we needed.”
IN THE GEAR BAG
Cameras: Canon 5D Mark III (x2)
Lenses: 35mm, 50mm (Sigma Art), 85mm and 135mm (“I mainly used the 35mm and 85mm for this wedding,” White says, “as I love to create a cinematic and atmospheric feel in my images, and the 35mm definitely helps me do this.”)
Check out more Weddings of the Week, and email Libby Peterson or Jacqueline Tobin with submissions.