Venue
Hampton Court Palace Wedding Photographer and Videographer
Memory Filming photographs and films weddings at Hampton Court Palace, with a focus on Asian and multicultural celebrations. We have filmed a wedding there, we know how its rooms and evening light behave, and we help you agree photography arrangements with Historic Royal Palaces before your date is confirmed.
Hampton Court Palace raises a question early: who is allowed to photograph your wedding here? Historic Royal Palaces runs the palace on a dry hire basis and keeps close control of suppliers. Photography has its own arrangements, and couples sometimes find them out after paying a deposit to someone else.
This page answers that question first, then covers the rooms, the light and the rules. It also covers what changes when the day includes a nikah, a mandap or a baraat. We filmed a Muslim and Christian wedding here in June 2023, so part of what follows comes from standing in these rooms with cameras, not from a brochure.
Who can photograph your wedding at Hampton Court Palace
Historic Royal Palaces, the independent charity that looks after the palace, hires it on a dry hire basis. You bring in caterers, florists, production and entertainment from its approved supplier list, and that list includes a short group of approved wedding photographers. Wedding and engagement photography at the palace is reserved for couples who hire it, so nobody can book a private shoot in the gardens just for pre wedding pictures.
We are not on that published photography list, and we would rather say so plainly. The Historic Royal Palaces venue hire guidance says photography is one of the few areas where it welcomes the supplier a couple has chosen themselves, as long as the event planner approves. That approval route is the one we work through. If you want us, we give your planner whatever the events team asks for and we plan around the palace rules from the first call.
If you want a photographer who is not on the approved list, ask your Historic Royal Palaces event planner for approval in writing before you pay a deposit to anyone.
If you prefer to stay with the published list, that is a sound route and the events team can point you to it.
How the rooms behave on camera
The Garden Room sits in its own walled garden, with doors that open onto the lawn. That makes it the easiest space for a daytime ceremony and for family groups outdoors. The palace brochure for 2026 to 2027 describes its spaces as well suited to cultural weddings, including Asian and Jewish celebrations, and Hindu weddings have taken place in the Garden Room. It holds up to 180 guests for a ceremony.
The Little Banqueting House is smaller, up to 50 guests, and stands beside the River Thames. It suits a small nikah or a civil ceremony with close family, and the riverside is close by for portraits straight afterwards.
The State Apartments are where the palace looks most like itself. The Great Hall was built for Henry VIII, and Historic Royal Palaces lists it with other State Apartment rooms as available for ceremonies. The King's Staircase has painted walls and a painted ceiling that glow on camera in a way no hired backdrop can copy. These rooms are hired in the evening, after the palace closes to visitors, so most of the light inside is chosen rather than found.
The Orangery and Privy Garden give guests an outdoor drinks reception, and the riverside setting works for portraits when the evening light is kind. Clock Court, with its astronomical clock, is a natural arrival frame.
Our own view is that wide frames work best here. At the wedding we filmed, the strongest images were the couple small on the gravel path with the long south front behind them, and again across the long pond as the palace turned orange at sunset. Close portraits are easy anywhere. The scale of the building is what couples cannot get elsewhere, and it needs space and time to photograph properly.
What we filmed at a Muslim and Christian wedding here
In June 2023 we filmed the wedding of Aaron and Sahra, a civil ceremony and reception that joined Muslim and Christian traditions. Aaron had contacted us unsure how to cover a day that brought two cultures together, and he asked to see proofs before deciding. We shared our portfolio and talked it through with him on WhatsApp.
The ceremony room was set with pale chairs and low arrangements of coral and green flowers. The groom family arrived to the sound of a dhol with guests dancing around them, and Sahra walked down the aisle with her father. During the civil ceremony we stayed with the vows and the ring exchange. For the Nikkah we slowed down and stayed with the contract and the consent, because that moment asks for a different pace and different angles. Sahra wore a red bridal dress and Aaron a sherwani for that part of the day.
Outside, the palace gave us plenty to work with. We photographed the couple at the foot of the King's Staircase, along the clipped yews and the gilded garden arbour, and beside the long pond at sunset. The evening finished with the cake and a first dance on a white floor.
A fusion wedding at Hampton Court Palace needs a team that can change pace between a civil ceremony and a Nikkah without stopping the day.
You can watch the full Aaron and Sahra wedding film at Hampton Court Palace.
Planning an Asian wedding at the palace
Historic Royal Palaces licenses its spaces for wedding ceremonies, and its brochure says the high ceilings and open layouts suit cultural weddings. The palace publishes less about the details that matter most to Asian families, so ask these questions in writing before you commit to a date:
- Can a dhol player lead a baraat through the courtyards, and can a horse or a decorated car be part of it?
- Are candles, a diya or the fire of a havan allowed in the room you have chosen?
- Which approved caterers can supply halal and vegetarian menus?
- Is there step free access to the room for elderly relatives?
- Can a room be held for the bride and groom to get ready before guests arrive?
Our part is the photography and film plan. A baraat arrival and a mandap ceremony each need a different position and a different moment on the timeline, so we ask for your ceremony order early and build the shot plan around it. If the day has a nikah or another religious ceremony alongside the civil one, tell us at the start so both are covered properly.
If part of your celebration is segregated, we can place a female wedding photographer with the women guests.
Daylight and the 6.30pm problem
In the 2026 to 2027 brochure, State Apartment hire starts at 6.30pm. Garden Room hire can start in the early afternoon. That gap decides your portraits more than any other planning choice.
In mid June the sun sets after 9pm in London, so a 6.30pm start leaves time for outdoor portraits in golden light. By mid October it sets just after 6pm, and from October to March it has set before hire begins. A winter evening in the State Apartments is a candle and lamp light wedding, and the portraits happen indoors on the staircase and in the halls. We plan lighting for that in advance and agree with the events team what we can use.
If you want golden hour portraits in the palace gardens, choose a spring or summer date, or a Garden Room hire that starts in the daytime.
Rules to check with Historic Royal Palaces before booking any photographer
The palace publishes photography guidance for visitors. It does not replace what your events team tells you for a wedding, but it shows what to ask.
- Drones may not take off from or land on palace land, which includes Hampton Court Green and Barge Walk.
- Tripods, monopods and gimbals are not allowed unless arranged in advance.
- Photography is not permitted in the Chapel Royal for visitors, so ask what applies to a wedding ceremony.
- Engagement and pre wedding shoots are reserved for couples who have hired the palace.
- Flash, confetti and open flame are not covered in the guidance we found, so get an answer in writing.
If you want a pre wedding session, we can arrange one at another London location through our pre wedding service. If you are thinking about aerial footage anywhere, our guide to drone wedding videography in the UK explains the wider rules.
Getting there and getting ready
The palace is in East Molesey, postcode KT8 9AU, beside the River Thames. Hampton Court station is a short walk away with trains from London Waterloo, and there is no Underground station nearby. Visitor parking is limited, so ask the events team what applies on your date before you send directions to guests.
Historic Royal Palaces does not name a getting ready room on its wedding pages. Ask whether one can be held. If not, plan to get ready elsewhere and arrive dressed. We travel to Hampton Court from our studio in Brentford.
What our Hampton Court coverage includes
We offer wedding photography, wedding films and photography and film together. For a palace wedding we usually suggest both, because the hire window is fixed and one team means one schedule to protect. The photographs and the film are planned from the same ceremony order, so the ceremony, the entrance and the speeches are covered by people who already know when each one happens.
We describe what is included on request and quote against your date and room. Send us the date and the room you are hiring and we will reply with what fits.
Hampton Court Palace, Hampton Court House and the golf club
Three venues share the name and couples mix them up. Hampton Court Palace is the Historic Royal Palaces site in East Molesey. Hampton Court House is a separate venue across the road, and Hampton Court Palace Golf Club is a separate venue in Kingston upon Thames. Each has its own owner and its own rules. This page is about the palace. If you are hiring one of the others, get in touch and tell us which.
The short version
- We have filmed a wedding at Hampton Court Palace and we cover Asian and multicultural weddings there.
- Historic Royal Palaces approves photographers for weddings, so ask your event planner for approval in writing before paying a deposit.
- Wedding and engagement photography is reserved for couples hiring the palace.
- Evening State Apartment hire starts at 6.30pm, so season and room decide whether you get golden hour portraits.
- Drones, tripods and gimbals are restricted. Ask about dhol, horses, candles and open flame before you build a baraat or a havan into the plan.
Questions couples ask about Hampton Court Palace weddings
Can Memory Filming photograph and film a wedding at Hampton Court Palace?
Yes. We filmed a Muslim and Christian wedding at the palace in June 2023. Because Historic Royal Palaces controls supplier access, we work through your event planner for approval and follow the palace rules on equipment, timings and locations.
Do we have to use an approved photographer at Hampton Court Palace?
Not necessarily. Historic Royal Palaces publishes a list of approved photographers, but its venue hire guidance says it welcomes your own choice of photographer for weddings, subject to approval by your event planner. Ask for that approval in writing before you pay any deposit.
Can we have engagement or pre wedding photos at the palace?
Only if you are hiring the palace for your wedding. Historic Royal Palaces reserves wedding and engagement photography for its own couples. If you are not hiring it, we can shoot your pre wedding session at another London location.
Are drones allowed at Hampton Court Palace?
Historic Royal Palaces says drones may not take off from or land on its land, including Hampton Court Green and Barge Walk. Ask the events team whether anything different applies to wedding suppliers and get the answer in writing before planning aerial footage.
Can we have a mandap or a baraat at Hampton Court Palace?
The 2026 to 2027 brochure says the palace suits cultural weddings, including Asian celebrations, and Hindu weddings have been held in the Garden Room. Dhol, horses, candles and open flame are not covered in the published material, so ask the events team about each one.
Which room is best for wedding photographs?
The Garden Room suits daytime ceremonies and outdoor family groups. The State Apartments and the King's Staircase give the most dramatic interiors but are hired in the evening. The Orangery and Privy Garden suit drinks receptions in good weather. The right choice depends on your hire time.
How much does a Hampton Court Palace wedding cost?
Venue hire is separate from photography and varies by space and day. Historic Royal Palaces lists royal themed weddings from £5,000 plus VAT, and larger evening hires cost far more. Catering and styling come from approved suppliers. Ask the events team for the current brochure.
How early should we book?
Ask Historic Royal Palaces for availability first, then send us your date and the room you are hiring so we can check our calendar. Popular dates, especially weekends, go early.
Check your date with us
Send us the date, the room you have hired or are considering, and your guest numbers. We will tell you whether our coverage fits the hire window and give you what your event planner needs. Call 07446 580004, message us on WhatsApp or use the contact form.
Written by the Memory Filming team, founded by Khurram Iftikhar in London and filming Asian weddings since 2000. Venue details were checked against Historic Royal Palaces guidance on 31 October 2026 and will be updated when the palace changes its rules.
Related links and guides
Venue and film pages
Weddings we have filmed here
Getting married at Hampton Court Palace Wedding Photographer and Videographer?
We already know the room. Tell us your date and we will confirm availability.