South Atrium Hackney Town Hall Wedding

Best Hackney Wedding Venues for Big Weddings

I’d heard rumours drifting through the London Wedding Photographer community of a huge and mystical room in Hackney Town Hall where the ceiling reaches the skies. Some sort of ‘lift’ device moves between floors and delivers brides and grooms into the wondrous bare brick space, the cheering resounding through the building. On Saturday I witnessed the magnificence of The Hackney Town Hall South Atrium with my own peepers, its real!

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Kate and Jonny chose The South Atrium in Hackney Town Hall to host their wedding and drinks reception afterwards. I have photographed many Hackney Town Hall weddings but this was my first in this unique space. The shear size of the South Atrium is impressive and has a real wow factor. The wedding day started at The Old Ship Pub and Hotel, a classic jumping off point for a Hackney Town Hall wedding. Jonny, (the groom) was meeting and greeting guests and doing battle with tricksy buttonholes. Kate was in final stages of wedding prep in an Air bnb close by.

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I love to float about a wedding, I dress smartly as a guest and tend to blend into the celebrations. This enables me to capture those moments, the casual cool of a wedding. I was with the wedding party as they took their seats in the South Atrium ready for the grooms arrival. Jonny and his gang of fellas were acting out a celebrity fan boy moment. The groom arrived into the room via the lift and was walked through the guests like a super star with an entourage of secret service agents. It went down a storm. Kate joined with her father at her side and her bridesmaids + plus honorary pet dog card board cut out.

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After the wedding we all pilled outside for  Confetti a fun group picture on the iconic steps of the Town Hall. I love the little square outside Hackney Town Hall, the huge Hackney Empire sign dominating the skyline. Its always a place of celebration and good times. I worked quickly through a short list of family groups before nipping off for a little stroll with the bride and groom. I know the area around the Town Hall and have a perfect route that takes in a cute cobbled mews, a round trip of 15 minutes. I’m not a fan of taking a couple out of their own party for long, quarter of hour is always enough.

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We returned to the stylish South Atrium fora drinks reception. Sunshine poured through the glass ceiling as guests enjoyed beers and glasses of fizz. Tasty canapes circulated and I popped up to the balcony to get a eagle eye view of the party.

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Dinner was served in the Committee Rooms. Many people are unaware that Hackney Town Hall has its own chic Art Deco themed cocktail bar called the Bridgetown Bar. The Bridgetown Bar is directly off the Committee Rooms and acts as a separate little evening space. Fun Thyme did the catering and ran the bar for Kate and Jonny’s Hackney Wedding. I’ve worked with Fun Thyme before and they always put on an amazing spread.

East London Documentary Wedding Photographer

Speeches followed the food and rather than a first dance the couple preferred to do a ‘First Down’. I was a little confused at first thinking  ‘first down’ was a American Football reference, it was in fact literally a race to down a pint of lager before the DJ kicked off the dancing! Love it!

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There’s a cool little balcony overlooking the Committee Rooms which offered me a wonderful elevated view of the speeches and later the dancing. I stayed well into the party and quietly made my way back to Stoke Newington leaving a packed dance-floor and busy bar. I’m looking forward to another visit later in the year to The South Atrium. If you fancy looking at more of my London Wedding Photography then check out my Portfolio. I have a fun Journal that’s useful as a guide to all my fave London venues. If you are planning your own wedding then fell free to drop me a line through my Contact Page and check my availability.