A&D’s wedding at the Belvedere Suite, Pembroke Lodge

Pembroke Lodge wedding photography

I always love shooting a wedding in Richmond Park and the gardens at Pembroke Lodge are just stunning, especially in the middle of summer. Richmond Park was our nature escape during lockdown, and I very much enjoyed our walks in the gardens around the lodge for some gardening inspiration. Beautiful views too. Pembroke Lodge has two separate venues - the Belvedere Suite which can seat up to 140 guests, and the Russel Suite for up to 70 guests. Both have their own beautiful outdoor spaces for drinks and canapes, and of course photos.

First look and outdoor ceremony

Anna and Daniel had quite a few guests, so they chose the Belvedere. They decided to have a first look and exchange personal vows in the rose gardens before the official ceremony. It being a weekday, there was hardly anyone around. We then walked back to the Belvedere for their outdoor ceremony on the terrace. The weather was absolutely perfect, not too hot, with a few welcome clouds around. The ceremony was very sweet and emotional with a couple of readings and plenty of happy tears.

Group and couple photos in Richmond Park

As there was no wedding happening at the Russel Suite, so we were able to go to the front of the building for their family photos and were very happy to see a few Wisteria blooms out in the middle of July. Anna and Daniel wanted to spend as much time with their guests as possible, so we allowed some time for them to enjoy the drinks and mingling before we snuck out for half an hour or so to take their couple photos. The great thing with this venue is that we don’t need to go far for beautiful photo locations, and we could easily get a gorgeous selection of photos within 30-40 minutes.

Wedding reception at the Belvedere

One other thing I really like at this venue is that the rooms are all lovely and bright with plenty of natural daylight. As it was the middle of July, it didn’t actually even start getting dark until after the first dance. The room was filled with lots of gorgeous flowers and the evening proceeded with some great speeches, dinner and the cutting of the doughnut tower. There was plenty of time to pop out and enjoy the views from the terrace in between, before their first dance.