ALTERNATIVE LGBTQ+ WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER IN LONDON

I’m an alternative, LGBTQ+ inclusive wedding photographer based in London, and LGBTQ+ weddings have become a huge part of my work. In recent years, I’d say around 60–70% of the couples I’ve photographed have been LGBTQ+, although when I photographed my first gay couple wedding in 2013, I had no idea where that first connection would lead.

More than twelve years later, I’ve photographed many LGBTQ+ weddings, and some of the people I’ve met along the way are still my friends. I love the trust, openness and individuality I’ve found in this part of my work, and I care deeply about creating an experience where people can truly be themselves.

It all started with the lovely Dan and Matt.

HOW MY JOURNEY AS AN LGBTQ+ WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER BEGAN

I photographed Dan and Matt in 2013. I can still remember our first meeting in a little café near Victoria Station and then photographing their pre-wedding shoot around St Katharine Docks. At the time, the pre-wedding shoot was included in my wedding photography package, and it gave us a wonderful opportunity to get to know each other before their civil partnership in January 2014.

Something clicked.

I loved talking to them. I loved listening to their story and understanding what they wanted from their wedding photographs. There was a deep trust between us, and that mattered enormously to me.

I didn’t know then quite how important LGBTQ+ weddings would become in my life and my work.

WHY I LOVE PHOTOGRAPHING LGBTQ+ WEDDINGS

I’ve never been particularly interested in doing something simply because that’s how it’s supposed to be done.

I’m Italian, but London is my home. I’m a woman, a mother, a photographer and someone who has always found her own way through life. Maybe that’s part of the connection I feel with so many of my LGBTQ+ couples.

I’ve photographed weddings where traditions have been reinvented, mixed together or happily thrown out of the window. I’ve seen couples create celebrations around who they actually are rather than who anybody thinks they should be.

And I love that.

At a recent gay wedding, two women told their guests to dress however they wanted. Two guests arrived dressed as enormous inflatable dinosaurs.

Actual dinosaurs!

I thought it was hilarious and absolutely brilliant.

That’s the kind of freedom I love at weddings. It doesn’t have to mean dinosaurs, outrageous clothes, or doing something unconventional for its own sake. It can be something tiny. What matters to me is that you don’t feel you have to perform somebody else’s idea of a wedding.

It’s your day. You should do it your way.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO PERFORM FOR MY CAMERA

When I photograph a couple, I always celebrate who they are, and address them by name. 

You are people with your own personalities, relationships, body language, sense of humour, and ways of showing affection. That is what matters.

My photography is documentary and very people-focused. I’ll give you some direction if needed, but I don’t want to create a version of you that exists only for the photographs.

I want to understand who you are as a couple.

That means asking questions, listening, and never assuming. It also means you can tell me if something makes you uncomfortable. You can ask me anything about the photography, how I work or what will happen on the day. I would much rather have an open conversation than leave someone wondering whether they can say or ask me something.

BEING LGBTQ+ INCLUSIVE MEANS MORE TO ME THAN SAYING “EVERYONE IS WELCOME”

Of course everyone is welcome. But putting those words on a website is the easy part.

For me, being genuinely LGBTQ+ inclusive has to show in how I work.

Over the years, couples have spoken to me about complicated family dynamics, parents struggling with their relationship, religious differences and people they loved who weren’t ready to accept their marriage.

I’m not there to judge their families or tell them how to live their lives. I’m their wedding photographer. But I’m also a human being, a woman, a mother, a wife standing beside them on a very emotional day, listening and supporting.

Wedding days can be overwhelming for anyone. There’s excitement, nerves, families, timings and many things happening simultaneously. I like being a steady point in the middle of the chaos, someone you can talk to and trust.

I’m usually quite reserved. But injustice is different.

If I see somebody being treated unfairly or disrespectfully, I find it very difficult to keep quiet. It is something I feel incredibly strongly about. I don’t want anyone I’m working with to feel uncomfortable because of who they are or who they love.

And that extends beyond my photography!

THE PEOPLE I RECOMMEND MATTER TOO

I’ve often helped my couples find wedding venues and suppliers, and I’m very careful about the people I recommend.

One experience in particular has stayed with me. Two women I was working with were planning their wedding in Italy. I speak Italian, so I contacted venues and suppliers in Italy on their behalf.

I asked questions. I listened carefully.

And if somebody’s attitude changed when they realised that the people getting married were two women, that was enough for me. I wasn’t going to send my couple somewhere I didn’t believe they would be treated with genuine respect and be safe!

For me, inclusivity isn’t a badge. It’s in those decisions that nobody sees.

PRIVACY MATTERS

There is another side to being an LGBTQ+ wedding photographer that I take very seriously.

Not everybody can be equally open about their gay relationship. I’ve worked with people who have family or connections in countries and communities where being LGBTQ+ can still have serious consequences.

So I never assume that because I’ve photographed your wedding, you’ll automatically be comfortable with me sharing your photographs.

If there is something I need to know, please share it with me.

I love celebrating and sharing LGBTQ+ weddings because visibility matters. When another gay couple see what I do, it can help them know immediately that they’re in a place where they are very welcome.

But your personal circumstances are important to me. Let's talk about it openly and decide what you’re comfortable with.

MORE THAN A DECADE OF LGBTQ+ WEDDINGS

Since meeting Dan and Matt in 2013, LGBTQ+ weddings have become a huge part of my work.

That’s a lot of weddings. A lot of stories. A lot of families. And quite a lot of confetti.

But experience doesn’t lead me to assume; I always listen respectfully. 

The more people I photograph, the more interested I become in what makes each relationship so beautifully unique.

I want to hear your story; tell me about your love.

FINDING YOUR RIGHT WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER IS A LITTLE LIKE DATING

I really believe this.

Please look at different photographers. Look properly at their photographs. Read about them. Find out how they work. Talk to them.

And then talk to me.

Ask me lots of questions. I’ll ask you lots of questions too.

I don’t believe in selling hard, and I don’t want to persuade somebody to book me if the connection isn’t there. I work incredibly hard at what I do, and I care far too much about my couples to take a wedding simply because I could take another booking.

If I genuinely think I’m not the right photographer for you, I’ll tell you. Kindly and honestly. And if I know somebody who might suit you better, I’ll happily point you in their direction.

I’d rather do that than promise you something I don’t believe I can deliver!

But if we talk and there’s that magic- if you like my photographs, I understand what matters to you, you feel comfortable asking me anything, and we both think yes, this feels right, this feels like home- then that’s where something wonderful can begin.

Because ultimately, whether you’re two women, two men, non-binary, queer, trans, or you don’t particularly care for labels, I’m photographing people in love!

Your names. Your faces. Your families and friends. Your jokes. Your nerves. Your tenderness. Your wedding.

And if there happen to be two inflatable dinosaurs in the middle of it all, I’ll photograph them too.

LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR WEDDING

If you’re looking for an LGBTQ+-inclusive wedding photographer in London and feel a connection with my photographs and the way I work, get in touch and let’s have a chat.

Tell me about the two of you, your wedding plans, what matters to you and anything you’re wondering about. Ask me as many questions as you like. I am not a hard sell; let's talk to see whether we feel right for each other!