A city wedding guide – 7 reasons why a city-chic wedding is worth considering
The British countryside is undeniably beautiful. We have one of the most colourful spring transformations anywhere, and gorgeous photo opportunities can be found throughout the year. Country-houses, Marquees, woodland weddings and an overwhelming presence of green!
But quintessential isn’t for everyone. Some of our couples take a completely different approach, and I wanted to use a couple of weddings to show you why an urban wedding can be everything you want and more. I love to shoot urban weddings; the lines, the structure, the busy backgrounds, and graffiti all offer something unique and a ton of fun to use for your wedding and your photos. Hopefully, our city wedding guide will have some useful snippets of information for you
The Venue choices and Architecture
The above images were taken in Milton Keynes, Sheffield and Coventry. An urban wedding does not need to equate to London! You will find fantastic architectural and historical venues in almost every city or large town in the UK. Some of them offer vast amounts of character, perhaps you can find something which represents who you are as a couple?
For example, if you both have a love of dinosaurs and natural history, why not get married at the Natural History Museum?
If you met in a bookstore and bonded over your love of books, why not a grand library somewhere? The library in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is fantastic, and there are even more historical libraries to choose from in the city.
There are buildings in this gorgeous nation of ours which can reflect your own interests and personalities, stunning and full of opportunity, without a single tree in sight! You don’t need a ton of natural light, nor acres of grounds. We can make your shots work for you in so many different scenarios. If it’s what you want, we will find a way to make it work! My personal favourite in London is Tower Bridge, but you can find your perfect venue in any city.
Easy and fun for guests
If you have family and friends from all over the place (especially internationally), a city wedding can be an excellent way to make life a little easier for them. Often enabling your travelling guests to combine your wedding with an enjoyable break away from home. Most cities have tourist infrastructure, including attractions and places to visit around your wedding, as well as numerous great places to eat, opportunities for exploration, and excellent transportation links (usually) to get to and from your venue easily.
You could even plan to do something with them, either the day before or after your wedding, why not all agree to meet at a great restaurant or try to go to the theatre (any excuse to keep the celebration going!).
Great options all year-round
It’s a quick point, but a good one. Whilst the surroundings of your countryside manors and barns will change significantly throughout the year, especially in terms of colours and foliage, it can also mean that at specific venues, the outside space can be a little bleak in the winter months. However, city weddings and urban backgrounds look consistently excellent throughout the year, even without flowers in bloom. – No problem!
Capacity – Do you need a large venue?
Considering the grandeur of many of the country’s venues, couples may be surprised to discover that they often cannot accommodate more than 100 guests, and some cannot even accommodate 50. Whilst you will find gorgeous grand ballroom options at countryside venues like Offley Place, many others cannot accommodate larger weddings.
City venues have been hosting large-capacity events for centuries, from stadiums to theatres to city halls, where you will find something to suit even the largest of weddings.
Shapes and Colours at city weddings
Urban and city weddings have a distinct advantage over countryside weddings in these elements. The sheer variety of the style and ages of architecture means that unusual colours and shapes can be found almost anywhere in a city. We can turn a new corner and discover a massive block wall of bright yellow, or we can utilise the red we find in the hotel foyer.
Lines and Reflections
My favourite reason is that we cannot help it! Countryside architecture can be stunning, but city venues usually have to work around fitting large capacity wedding venues into tiny spaces; they need to work hard on the design to maximise light and floorspace. This can lead to some seriously gorgeous and unbelievably clever architectural designs in city buildings.
Graffiti and Street Art
I know we can think of graffiti and immediately conjure images of barely legible and crude scribblings, but there can be so much more to it. Unfortunately, while there may not be a Banksy on every corner, most cities have their own collection of talented artists just waiting to create on any available blank spaces.
We love to utilise these fabulous designs and colours to create some truly breathtaking images for you!
You might even find that your city chic wedding can make it onto our “wish list” Here. It’s worth checking this list if you think a city wedding might be proper for you. You can always get in touch to discuss your plans with me, pop me a message.
