A timeless wedding at Kensington Palace Orangery, London
Mimi and Simon got married at the Kensington Palace Orangery, and what an extraordinary venue it is. The Orangery, a Grade I listed building commissioned by Queen Anne in 1704, has a quality of light, an openness of space, and a quiet grandeur that makes every single thing you put inside it look like it belongs in a film.
The celebrations started at the Builder’s Arms in Kensington,
where guests were met by cocktails and entertainment.
Watching a wedding party come together the evening before is always one of my favourite things to document. The nerves haven't arrived yet. The formality hasn't kicked in. People are just happy to be there. The Builder's Arms delivered everything you'd want from a London pub the night before a wedding.
Mimi got ready at her home in Kensington. The light through the windows, the stationery details laid out carefully, the white lace of the gown, there is a specific kind of calm that settles over a wedding morning, and this setting had it completely. The details were considered throughout: the invitation suite, the flowers, everything captured with intention.
The Orangery is a photographer's dream, but it requires familiarity with the space to use it well. The light changes significantly throughout the day; the morning light from the east-facing windows is different from the late afternoon quality that filters through the western glazing. I time portrait sessions to make the most of both.
The Kensington Palace Orangery is one of the finest wedding reception venues in London. The building runs the full width of the north facade of Kensington Palace, with floor to ceiling Georgian sash windows looking out across the formal gardens. Inside, the long central space with its classical columns, whitewashed walls, and beautiful natural light, provides a backdrop that requires almost nothing additional to be magnificent. Mimi and Simon added the rest: vast white arrangements of garden roses, peonies, and gypsophila down the length of the tables, candlelight, and a room full of people who were genuinely delighted to be there.
The drinks reception on the palace grounds, with Kensington Palace itself visible behind the guests, was one of those moments that I had to remind myself to keep shooting, because the whole thing was almost surreally beautiful.
The speeches were everything: funny, moving and exactly right. The first dance happened under the Orangery's high ceiling, the Georgian windows dark against the July evening outside.
Then the party. The donut wall was a highlight. A dessert station that produced the kind of crowd around it that most wedding cakes don't. The dancing went late. The photographs from the final hours of the evening are some of my favourites from the day,the kind of images that happen when people stop being conscious of the camera and just exist inside the moment.
If you are planning a wedding at the Kensington Palace Orangery and looking for a wedding photographer who knows the venue, I would love to talk.
Get in touch here!
Photography Igor Demba
Venue Kensington Palace Orangery
Planner Emma Murray Jones
Dress The Wedding Club Official
Church Florals Ricky Paul Flowers
Venue Florals Pinstripes and Peonies
Videography John Nassari
Second Shooter Ross Hurley
Hair Hadley Yates
MUA ABK Makeup
Planner Support Events & Patrimoine / Weddings by Mary
Entertainment Sternberg Clarke / Muzika
Event Production London Event Productions
Catering Zafferano
Stationery GG Print London
Linen Chateau Noir Event Hire
Bar Stations Options Great Hire
