Royal Exchange London Wedding ~ Claire & Jean-Baptiste
Welcome to this blog post from Claire and JB's Royal Exchange London Wedding, back in May.
A long, long time ago, I used to work in the city of London (sadly, not doing anything particularly glamorous).
Every day I would get off the tube at Bank Station and walk past The Royal Exchange, up Threadneedle street, onto Liverpool Street and into my office. I probably did that for the best part of five years.
And not once did I set foot inside The Royal Exchange, despite many times casting a wandering eye over this huge pillared icon of London architecture, right at the centre of the square mile.
So when Jean Baptiste and Claire asked me to be their photographer for the Royal Exchange wedding they were planning, I, of course, jumped at the chance.
On the morning of the wedding, I headed straight to the exchange, and I'm not sure, in all my years as a wedding photographer if I've seen so much activity going on in the creation of a wedding.
The tables were being dressed, bars being stocked, deliveries being made. It was quite some whirlwind and an amazing thing to see (and I have tried to represent this activity in some of the images below).
As Claire was finalising her wedding gown upstairs, I popped in just in time to see the bridesmaids reactions at her beautiful dress.
Back downstairs, in the now fully converted wedding hall, the guests waited anxiously for Claire and her bridesmaids.....thought I think JB seemed a little more nervous than maybe he was.
This Royal Exchange London Wedding was well and truly underway when the pianist took to the keys, and the bridal party entered the room.
Later, as the day unfolded, it was apparent to see the amount of love and affection, not only between Claire and JB but also from their friends and families.
After the dinner and speeches, the newly-weds took to the floor for their first dance, closely followed by the friends and family members who didn't have much choice with the fantastic music coming from the band that Claire and JB had chosen.
As I mentioned, I'd never shot a Royal Exchange London wedding before, though I have another couple in the books for the next eighteen months and its a wedding venue I do hope to visit many more times.
The Royal Exchange London Wedding of Claire & Jean Baptiste (Selected Stills)
“HI KEVIN,
THESE ARE AMAZING, THANK YOU SO SO MUCH.
YOU REALLY CAPTURED THE DAY, WE ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM.”
