Royal Pavilion /Gay Wedding Photographer/ Liza O'Malley

“We love the photos. They brought all the emotions back from the day”

I love, love, loved photographing this Gay Royal Pavilion Wedding. Mike and Justin are the loveliest, sweetest people on earth. There was such a beautiful and fun togetherness vibe throughout their whole wedding day. It was such a fab day all round.

When I first caught up with the boys for a coffee and chat in Brighton back in May 2018, I warmed to them right from the getgo with the kind of day they envisaged for their wedding. These two down to earth, genuine guys wanted a day to celebrate and be proud of with their family and close friends. The boys were super organised and wanted to get all the planning out of the way so they could really enjoy the run-up to their big day with the least amount of stress.

Gay Royal Pavilion Wedding – Perfect Venue

Mike and Justin chose the extravagant and eccentric Indian style, much loved Brighton landmark for their Gay Royal Pavilion Wedding. They both loved the colourful style and history of this historic Royal building They got married in the gorgeous, opulent Red Room, followed by some lovely portraits with their Mums in the amazingly gold and exotic Music Room.

This venue is fit for a king or maybe even a queen or two!! I love this venue because it is so Brighton! Having shot quite a few weddings there now, I really feel home at the Pavilion. Like all Brightonians the staff at the Pavilion are friendly and helpful. They are considerate and also proud of their beautiful Palace.

This was such a beautiful and moving ceremony with emotions spilling over. I think Mike set just about everyone in the Red room off when he made his entrance with his Mum Ann. (Yep I also shed a few tears!)

Fun Group Photos

We were spoilt for choice for their couple photos and the boys’ good friend and usher Mike was so lovely and helpful, as my unofficial assistant! It makes such a difference having a friend or member of the family help organise the group photos, it also means we can whizz through them super quick and leave more time for the couple to celebrate with their friends and family.

Unofficial Assistant!

Mike went well and beyond helping – he was lugging and guarding my ginormous camera bag, organising people for photos plus cracking some great jokes to get some fab expressions from the boys! Biggest shout out and thanks to you Mike! You’re a star! It is, without doubt, down to him that I managed to get such awesome photos of the boys, especially as walked from the Pavilion to the Old Ship Hotel. I even asked him what he was up to on Saturdays for the rest of the Summer!!!

Cracking Portraits!

We got some absolutely cracking portraits of the boys on the terrace under the columns outside the Music Room. Despite them being not too keen on having their photos taken, these guys really enjoyed the process, and golly gosh it shows in their photos. So in the end, they were not as daunting as you thought eh Mike? I was super pleased with them!

Paganini Ballroom at the Old Ship Hotel

Wow! The Paganini Ballroom at the Old Ship Hotel. What a little gem this place is! This Grade II listed building is the oldest hotel in Brighton built in 1559. Sitting right on the seafront it is in an awesome location just a short walk to the Brighton Palace Pier and the Lanes! This is another grand and romantic building and made a perfect wedding venue combo, with the Royal Pavilion. It was the perfect venue for their High Tea Party, followed by speeches and the party!!

Fizz, sandwiches and cake!

What a gorgeous spread the Old Ship Hotel put on. Even for a gluten-free gal like myself, they came up absolute trumps. The sandwiches, scones and cake and even more cake were divine!! The gluten-free version was amazing, you’d never have guessed. Some beautiful and hilarious speeches from Mike’s best man and Justin’s best woman. Then it was time for some more gorgeous photos on the seafront with the boys as the light was getting very exciting!

Dancing in the Street…

Mike and Justin had an amazing reception from the hotel crowd when they were due to meet me on the street in front of the hotel to go for a wander on the seafront. A quality entrance to be had by Mike and Justin as they literally danced out the door on to the street and continued dancing – (which did bring to mind for me, the classic Bowie and Jagger tune “Dancing in the street!”)

I loved that – it had to be one of the highlights of my day! After some more photos and chats on our walk around the seafront and in front of the West Pier, the guys headed back to do their actual official first dance!

This was such a lovely day and wedding celebration. Thank you so much, Mike and Justin, for having me as your wedding photographer.

If you are looking for a Gay Royal Pavilion Wedding Photographer – give me a call!