From Italy to Chelsea Old Town Hall
Federica & Marco's anniversary love story
The couple who came back to the city they love to feel it all again
There is something about Chelsea Old Town Hall that stops you mid-step. Maybe it's the climbing roses that frame the entrance in summer, curling around stone like they've always belonged there. Maybe it's the way the light falls through the tall windows of the ceremony room, or the quiet grandeur of the King's Road just beyond the doors — all that London hum held at a respectful distance while something important happens inside.
I admit I have a particular soft spot for Chelsea Old Town Hall since I got married there myself, in the Rossetti Room a few years ago. So when Federica got in touch asking if I would photograph her and Marco in the neighbourhood they've called home since their wedding in Italy a decade ago, it felt like a project I understood from the inside.
Just the two of them, the streets of Chelsea, and a few hours to mark ten years together in the city they chose. That kind of honesty is always the best starting point.
Kay's Atelier Photography
We started at the Town Hall itself, which, if you haven't been, is worth the visit alone. The entrance is framed by an extraordinary climbing display of roses that cover the doorway almost entirely, and it makes for a genuinely striking backdrop that manages to be both grand and completely unforced.
Beauty in the details
The details are never an afterthought. The bouquet, the dress, the way light catches fabric, these are the things that bring a day back to you years later, in a way that the wide shots sometimes can't.
The entrance to Chelsea Old Town Hall is famous for a permanent, iconic, and luxurious silk floral arch, often maintained by Fleur de la Couture. These high-quality faux flower arrangements frame the grand stone entrance and steps, providing a stunning, year-round backdrop for wedding ceremonies, photos, and confetti moments on King’s
Key details about the entrance flowers:
I. Permanent Installation
The floral arch is typically in place year-round, featuring a consistent,, luxurious, and romantic aesthetic, often described as an "iconic" feature for London weddings.
II. Sustainable luxury
The arrangements are crafted from high-quality silk, offering a sustainable, ultra-realistic, and durable alternative to fresh flowers.
III. Photo opportunities
The decorated steps provide a popular, picturesque setting for both intimate couple shots and large group photos.
IV. Detailed decoration
The floral designs often feature a mix of colors and designs that enhance the Victorian architecture of the building.
Cinematic & Candid Photography
Capturing light, feelings & moments and all the things in between people and life.
From there we crossed into the Chelsea streets, the kind of quiet, residential pockets that most people walk past without stopping. Wide pavements, white stucco, very little noise.
It's a neighbourhood that photographs well partly because it's so assured in itself. It doesn't need to try.
Federica and Marco moved through it the way people do when they're somewhere they genuinely know, which made my job considerably easier and the photographs considerably better.
Editorial & Fine Art Photography
"Every shot looks like it came straight out of a movie. She managed to capture not just images, but real feelings and moments that we will cherish forever."
Marco
"A very talented and dedicated person. Made us remember and dream about our wedding once more."
Federica
My belief is that every person should be framed in the moments they’ve felt the most loved and cared for.
Why Chelsea Old Town Hall
is one of London's most loved wedding venues
Chelsea Old Town Hall sits on King's Road, SW3, and has been one of London's most sought-after wedding venues for decades. A Grade II listed late Victorian building, it houses six licensed rooms ranging from the very intimate to the genuinely grand, which means it works for almost any size of celebration.
It's the kind of venue that doesn't need much doing to it. The architecture, ornate ceilings, tall sash windows, warm stone, does the work. And the steps outside on a wedding morning have a way of making the whole street feel like it's in on it.
Because it is a register office, ceremonies here are civil, no religious content, but deeply personal, often beautifully written, and always meaningful.
What to expect on the day
Arrival and timing
Chelsea Old Town Hall runs on a tight schedule, as all register offices do. You'll typically have around 30 minutes for your ceremony slot. Arriving a little early is always worth it. The steps and entrance are some of the best moments of the day, and they go quickly
The ceremony rooms
The register office has three intimate ceremony rooms.
The Brydon Room seats up to 38 guests and is the largest of the three register office rooms.
The Rossetti Room accommodates up to 12 guests and is the most popular choice for smaller ceremonies.
The Harrington Room is the most intimate, accommodating up to 8 guests, and is only available on weekday mornings.
For larger celebrations, the Main Hall can seat up to 340 guests for a ceremony, while the Small Hall seats up to 140, featuring a coved ceiling, decorative carved crests and a Minstrels' Gallery.
After the ceremony
This is where Chelsea really earns its reputation as a backdrop. The streets surrounding the Town Hall, the mews, the garden squares, the rows of white stucco, are some of the most naturally photogenic in London. Federica and Marco spent the rest of the morning wandering, and there was no shortage of places worth stopping.
Confetti
Permitted on the steps, and worth doing. Dried petal confetti in particular catches the light in a way that's very hard to manufacture in post.
EDITORIAL & FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY
The neighbourhood and your venue
One of the things I appreciate most about shooting at Chelsea Old Town Hall is that the venue doesn't end at the door. Within a short walk you have Paultons Square, the quiet mews off Radnor Walk, the King's Road for something more urban, and the Thames Embankment if you want open sky. Each has a completely different character and light.
For couples who actually live in Chelsea, like Federica and Marco, there's an added layer to all of it. The locations aren't chosen for aesthetics alone. They mean something. That comes through in the photographs, even when it isn't obvious why.
A note on timing
The venue photographs well year-round, butt each season is quite different.
Spring and early summer bring the best of it.
The entrance is at its most striking, the light is generous, and the streets have an energy that's harder to find in winter.
Autumn is underrated.
Lower light, longer shadows, and a moodier palette that works particularly well in black and white.
Winter is quieter and more intimate.
Shorter windows for good light, but when it's there, it's often the most interesting of the year.
As a general rule, late morning, around 11am, tends to give the most workable light both inside and out.
Is Chelsea Old Town Hall right for you ?
This iconic venue suits couples who want something considered rather than produced. People who love London not as a backdrop but as a place, and want their wedding to feel like a genuine part of it.
It works well for elopements, intimate weddings, vow renewals and anniversary shoots, right through to larger celebrations in the Main Hall. Whatever the size, it's a venue that has a way of making the day feel like it belongs entirely to you.
