I recently photographed a small, intimate wedding at this venue before heading off to Claridge’s Hotel in Mayfair for some more photographs. This wedding was small enough that the bride, groom, guests and I….. all fitted into a London black cab! All six of us. A lovely family and throroughly enjoyable day.

Bellsiima Photo offer stunning wedding photography across London, the South East and also cover destination weddings abroad. Recent wedding and engagement shoots can be viewed on the blog as well as the wedding and engagement shoot galleries.

There are a range of packages available and please enquire about midweek specials – which is particularly relevant to the smaller room one can get married in at The Chelsea Old Town Hall which is only open on certain weekdays.

 Chelsea Registry Office Weddings | Chelsea Wedding Photographer |

The world renowned and extrmely popular Kew Gardens is not only ideal for plant lovers and leisurely strolls through the vast gardens, but is also one of London’s most spectacular wedding venues. In fact you will be soilt for choice in that there is the Nash Conservatory, the Orangery, Cambridge Cottage as well as the Joseph Banks building to choose from. I recently photographed an amazing wedding at Kew, with the ceremony taking place in the Nash Conservatory which is very close to one of the alternative entrance gates. Being close to an entrance gate is great in that allows the wedding car to drive up through the gate and drop the bride off right near the entrance, with of course all the guests inside excitedly looking on through the vast windows as she makes herway towards the entrance. It was in fact designed by John Nash for Buckingham Palace and was moved to Kew in 1836. It also used to house a variety of palms and plants but today is used as a functionand civil marraige ceremony venue. It is one of my personal favourite ceremony venues in London with no shortage of abundant light flowing in from three sides.

I have photographed receptions at the Orangery which is just a shot walk from the Nash Conservatory. As with all the other building in Kew Gardens, is is an amazing building and can seat 200 people. Plenty of room for a fantastic reception and party.

Another great aspect about getting married in Kew Gardens is that they provide a golf buggy for the couple and the photographer to buzz around the gardens for the couple portrait session. So there is no long walking required to take in a few.

Please browse our wedding blog, wedding photography and the engagement / pre-wedding shoot gallery.

We offer a range of wedding photography prices to suit all requirements.

Please get in touch via the contact form available in the main menu, by phone on 0773264259 or by email at dbell@bellissimaphoto.co.uk to discuss your wedding photography requirements in further detail.

Kew Gardens Weddings | Nash Conservatory | The Orangery

Monday evening started with an opening reception attended by most of the workshop attendees. It was great to meet everyone over a few bottles of wine, beers and some delicious snacks. Cliff set the scene for exactly what would be happening over the following few days and we all departed with abounding excitement to get stuck into the workshop the following morning. Each morning started off with an excellent catered for breakfast at the studio. Lunches were provided, to order, by the deli across the road.

Cliff is a complete open book during these workshops and pretty much any question, about anything related to photography and his studio, is permitted. Not only is Cliff very friendly and extremely generous with his knowledge, he is also a very effective teacher with the rare ability to convey his message in very clear and simple terms. We were taught some simple yet very effective techniques in dealing with a multitude of scenarios, in particular harsh light and an array of amazing flash techniques. What was so refreshing is that Cliff immediately got stuck into the nitty-gritty details which we all came to learn. No beating about the bush, just rock-solid, golden nuggets of information. I had many moments when I thought to myself: “why did I wait until now to attend this workshop when I could have done so earlier…!”.

The afternoon sessions were spent shooting at some amazing venues. On Tuesday we were bussed out to a stunning wedding venue in the Monmouth County, New Jersey – The Ashford Estate. The weather was playing along and it was a perfect sunny day. We split up into three small groups each with two models and spent a good few hours implementing and practicing what we had learnt in the morning. The purpose of the session was to embrace the harsh, direct sunlight and use it to our advantage to create stunning images – not to run for the shade as many photographers do on a sunny day! Cliff roamed from one group to the next, spending 1-1 time with each photographer and providing constructive feedback and how to improve our technique.

Wednesday was spent diving into the finer details of on and off-camera flash techniques. In the afternoon we went to one of Philadelphia’s top hotels and spent a few hours in the ballroom being taught a multitude of flash techniques. Simple stuff, yet so effective. Personally my flash technique going into the workshop was quite acceptable, however I have come away with a multitude of new techniques and refinements which will really lift my game. On the way back to the studio after leaving the hotel we stopped in a small park just before sunset. Cliff asked us to go out and have a half hour play and do whatever we liked. It was great to see how all the attendees embraced the setting sun and captured fantastic images.

Each night we all went out for dinner together before returning to the studio to continue discussions on a wide range of topics related to photography, including the business aspects. We even witnessed a live enquiry meeting with a real couple to see exactly how Cliff approaches these meetings. Really interesting and very informative. The final morning, after another delicious breakfast, was spent reviewing the images we submitted for critique and then spending time with Cliff’s studio manager to review workflow, post-processing and related topics.

The workshop flew by and before I knew it, it was over. Yes it cost me a fair bit of money including flights, hotels, car hire and so on, but it was worth every penny and a lot more as it far exceeded my expectations. Another great aspect was meeting like-minded photographers and I am sure we will continue to remain in touch for a long time to come.

So for all the photographers out there considering a workshop with Cliff, stop thinking and book it now!

Below are some of the images I took during the workshop. Note: these were all my own creations taken during our free time with the models.