Same sex wedding photography in London, two grooms or two brides, shot properly
Two brides told me their venue’s preferred photographer had spent their engagement shoot trying to make one of them be the man. Stand here, you’re taller, put your arm around her, protect her. Both of them are femme, both wore dresses, and neither wanted to play a role written for someone who wasn’t in the relationship. By the end they felt like they’d been cast in someone else’s wedding.
That instinct, to find the man in a couple that doesn’t have one, is the single most common failure in same sex wedding photography. It comes from a posing education built entirely on one bride and one groom, and it makes a couple feel invisible on the one day they should feel most seen.
Two grooms, two brides, any pairing at all. The posing should come from your relationship, not from a missing role someone keeps trying to fill.
The posing problem nobody warns you about
Wedding posing is taught as a set of moves for a tall masculine partner and a smaller feminine one. He stands behind, she leans back, his hands frame her. Almost every pose in the standard repertoire assumes that shape and falls apart without it.
So a photographer who only knows that repertoire will keep assigning roles. One of you becomes the stand in groom, the other the stand in bride, and the photos come out looking subtly wrong because they’re built on a fiction.
A same sex wedding photographer has a different toolkit entirely, posing two equals without forcing a hierarchy. That’s a learned skill, and it’s the main thing you’re hiring for.
Two suits, two dresses, or any combination
Same sex weddings come in every styling. Two grooms in matching suits, two brides in very different dresses, one of each, a suit and a jumpsuit, whatever you’ve chosen. Each combination photographs differently, and a good photographer adjusts rather than defaulting.
Two people in suits need light and angles that flatter both without one looking like the afterthought. Two dresses need framing that lets both shine rather than treating one as the lead. It’s detail work, and it’s the difference between both of you loving the photos and one of you quietly not.
Tell me what you’re both wearing when we plan, because it genuinely shapes how I’ll shoot the portraits.
Getting ready when there’s no his and hers
The classic getting ready coverage splits cleanly into two gendered rooms. Same sex couples often don’t, and the morning might be two brides in the same room, two grooms across town, or everyone piled into one flat together.
We plan it around your actual morning rather than a template. If you’re together, I shoot the shared nerves and excitement. If you’re apart and want both, we talk timing or a second photographer so neither of you gets short coverage.
The getting ready hours are some of the most relaxed and honest of the day, so they’re worth doing properly however you’ve arranged them.
Walking in, with no one given away
The processional is loaded with tradition that assumes a father giving a bride to a groom. Same sex couples rewrite this constantly, and the variations are lovely. Both walking in together, each walked by their own parents, walking in alone, no processional at all.
Whatever you’ve chosen, I need to know it beforehand so I’m in the right place. The walk in happens once and fast, and a photographer expecting the standard version will be pointing the camera at the wrong door.
However you enter your wedding, it deserves to be caught properly, because it’s often the moment the whole day becomes real.
Family dynamics, handled with care
Same sex weddings sometimes carry family tension that needs a careful hand. A relative who came round slowly, a parent who’s still adjusting, someone notable by their absence. A photographer demanding huge cheerful group shots can press on a bruise without realising.
I get a quick brief beforehand on who’s a yes and who to leave be, then handle the family photos so they’re warm rather than forced. Chosen family belongs in these frames with full weight, because for many same sex couples they’re the people who actually showed up.
If you want context on this, Stonewall writes well about families and acceptance.
Where in London
I shoot same sex weddings across the city, from register offices to grand halls to relaxed venues around Hackney. The kind of venue matters less than whether the photographer understands the couple in it.
If you’ve chosen somewhere personal rather than a standard wedding venue, that’s welcome, and those places tend to make the most characterful photos. Tell me the space and I’ll plan for its light and quirks.
For a sense of how I shoot couples and real moments, more of my work is at LemonLens.
Shooting the day as it happens
The photos you’ll love most are the ones nobody posed. The look between you during the vows, the surprise on your face at a speech, the dance floor when it finally lets go. I shoot weddings documentary first, so those moments are the priority rather than an afterthought.
The portraits and group shots get done efficiently so they don’t eat your day, then I get back to catching what’s actually unfolding. The goal is a record of how the day felt, not a stack of stiff arrangements.
Staying unobtrusive is the whole craft here, so the camera never pulls you out of your own wedding.
Group photos that actually include everyone
Group shots are the part of the day most likely to go sideways, and at a same sex wedding there’s an extra layer to get right. The standard approach assumes a neat his family and her family split, which rarely maps onto your guest list. A photographer working from that assumption ends up confused and slow while everyone bakes in the sun.
I’d rather plan the groupings with you beforehand, written as a short list in the language you use, so on the day I can call them out quickly and get everyone back to the party. Mixed families, friend groups that matter as much as relatives, chosen family who need their own frame, all of it gets planned rather than improvised.
The trick is keeping the list short enough that it doesn’t eat an hour. Pick the groupings that genuinely matter and let the rest happen naturally in the documentary coverage. Twenty minutes of well organised group photos beats an hour of a confused photographer reading names off a vague list.
What it costs
Same sex wedding coverage in London usually starts around £1,200 for core coverage and rises with a full day, a second photographer, an album, or an engagement session. A wedding is a long, high stakes day followed by many hours of careful editing, which the price reflects.
Every photographer on the queer.photo/ roster sets their own rate, so you'll see a real figure on each profile before you book. You weigh the work against the price together.
The best photographers book a year or more out, so start your search earlier than you think you need to.
Choosing the right photographer
Hire someone whose portfolio actually shows two grooms or two brides posed as equals, not a folder of straight couples with a single token same sex shot. Real experience of your kind of day shows in the work.
Tell us about the two of you and what you’re planning, and we’ll match you with someone from the roster who’ll pose you as the couple you are. We aim to reply within a day.
Common questions
Will the photographer try to make one of us “the man”?
A good same sex wedding photographer never does. They pose two equals from how you actually are together rather than forcing one of you into a stand-in groom or bride role. That posing skill is the main thing you’re hiring for.
We’re both wearing suits. Can you shoot that well?
Yes, and it needs deliberate light and angles so both of you are flattered and neither looks like the afterthought. Tell the photographer what you’re both wearing when planning, since it genuinely shapes the portraits.
There’s no father giving anyone away. How does the entrance work?
However you want it to, whether that’s walking in together, each walked by your own parents, alone, or with no processional. Just tell the photographer beforehand so they’re at the right door for a moment that happens once and fast.
Our families are a bit complicated. Can that be handled gently?
Yes, with a quick brief on who’s a yes and who to leave be. The photographer keeps the family photos warm rather than forced, and gives chosen family full billing alongside blood relatives.
How much does a same sex wedding photographer in London cost?
From around £1,200 for core coverage, rising with a full day, a second photographer, an album, or an engagement shoot. Each photographer lists their own rate, and the good ones book a year ahead.
Ready when you are. see wedding options, or find a photographer.
