Trafalgar Tavern Wedding Photography

My first wedding of 2024 was a trip into London for Ellie & Si’s Trafalgar Tavern wedding in Greenwich. The chapel at the Old Royal Naval College provided a grand setting for the ceremony before we made the short walk around the corner to the tavern for the reception.

When Ellie & Si contacted me about their Trafalgar Tavern wedding photography I knew it would be the perfect day for me to capture as they made it clear they didn’t want a day full of posed couple shots or endless group photos. I took one image of the entire wedding party on the steps outside the chapel where they got married and the rest of the day was pure documentary coverage – perfect!

My morning started with a quick look around the chapel and the tavern to set my bearings and take a few scene setting shots. At the Trafalgar things were starting to come together as staff laid tables and the flowers arrived. I bumped into Ellie’s dad who was picking up the main bouquet to take over to her hotel. Since he had to drive over to the hotel I hopped in the car with him rather than get an Uber. I love little unpredictable moments like that on a wedding day and it’s great to spend a bit of time with key members of the wedding party early on in the day and get a rapport going. I think morning prep coverage is important for this reason. While the photos are great, getting everyone used to me being there and photographing them early pays off later in the day. Everyone feels relaxed around me as I’m treated like a natural part of the day and this leads to better photos throughout the day.

Over at the hotel things were quiet and calm. Ellie had opted not to have a big bridal party to keep things simple and meant her morning was nice and relaxed as she chatted with her mother and one friend during her hair and make-up. I left ahead of the bride with her mother and a few family members in a taxi to capture arrivals at the Royal Naval College. The choice of ceremony location was a very personal one for Ellie & Si as Si’s dad had been the chaplain of the college’s chapel in the 1980’s and Si himself had entered the military. Guests arrived to the sound of a military piper, which attracted members of the public and tourists who took in the sight of gathering uniforms and well-dressed guests outside of the chapel.

After the ceremony the newlyweds walked out under a traditional military honour guard before having a small drinks reception on the grounds of the college for around 15 minutes. We were then led the 5 minute walk over to the Trafalgar Tavern by the piper to continue the drinking and mingling.

Trafalgar Tavern Wedding Reception

Once we arrived at the Trafalgar a sea shanty group kept up the naval theme and sang traditional sea songs as guests mingled in the upstairs The Hawke and Howe Bar. We had been lucky with the weather, it was forecast to rain for large chunks of the day, but aside from some morning drizzle the day was dry and even had a bit of low winter sun pop through the clouds shortly before sunset which gave us a wonderful rainbow over the Thames, something guests were able to enjoy through the large windows.

We then moved through to the Nelson Room for a receiving line before dinner and speeches, where a string quartet kept the live music going. In the evening the string quartet gave way to a DJ and the couple and their guests partied the night away.

We had a nice surprise about half way through the evening. There was a completely unralted fireworks display on the Thames which we were able to tak in from the balcony, not a bad freebie to add into your wedding day!

A huge congratulations to Ellie & Si. I had such a brilliant day with them and their family & friends and I’m very much looking forward to my next experince as a Trafalgar Tavern wedding phototgrapher in the future.

Here are a selection of photos from their day.