A wedding at Clapton Country Club

When Viv and Jamie got in touch about being their Clapton Country Club wedding photographer I was excited to be ticking it off my list of venues I’ve had my eye on. It’s fair to say that Clapton Country Club isn’t your typical ‘country club’, what with being set in the heart of Clapton, not a location known for its rolling countryside scenery.

Instead it’s got more a industrial-warehouse-meets-forest-clearing vibe to it, set at the end of a cobbled lane and spread across two buildings full of reclaimed and recycled metal, brick, wood, and greenery. The perfect venue for couples planning a bit more of an alternative wedding, more interested in writing their own traditions than following everyone else’s.

Clapton Country Club is great for your whole wedding day, from prep before the ceremony through to the wedding breakfast and party. Just after I arrived to start the wedding photography V&J started their day with a ceremony rehearsal with their friends and family, just to make sure everything went to plan, and then went ‘backstage’ to the back rooms to get ready.

In fact they’d done all the marriage paperwork already, when they eloped the year before, so their ceremony was more of a humanist celebration of their existing vows. They had a friend officiating to ‘marry’ them with all their guests present, and got everyone joining in for a round of ‘When I’m 64’ instead of hymns. Then instead of confetti everyone had a bottle of bubbles to blow as they walked back down the aisle – just as much fun as confetti and much easier to get out of your hair afterwards…

Then everyone moved across the lane to The Department Of Life for drinks and nibbles, while the Clapton Country Club staff transformed the ceremony hall for the wedding breakfast – and after speeches they transformed it again ready for the party that night – they really work hard to make your whole day move along seamlessly.

Clapton Country Club for your non-traditional wedding

This was one of my favourite weddings of the year, just because it was so laid back and informal, and especially because of Viv’s incredible dress with the red trim, very non-traditional! And that sums up my Wedding Tip of the Day for this post: you don’t have to follow tradition.

If you want to sing, swap hymns for a classic, like It Must Be Love, or When I’m 64. If you’d like to see each other before the ceremony, perhaps for a quiet special moment away from the guests, do it. And if you already quietly eloped you can still have a ‘ceremony’ with all your family and friends – just skip the ‘signing the register’ bit and focus on celebrating each other with all your family and friends around you. You don’t have to have a big traditional wedding cake – Viv and Jamie got all their guests to bring a home-made cake. And you don’t need a park for your wedding portraits, the urban vibe perfectly suits a London wedding.

If you like my reportage-style wedding photography and you’re planning your own Clapton Country Club wedding (or know of someone who is) I’d love to have a chat about it – just get in touch to say hello and we’ll take it from there. And check out my Instagram to see more of my favourite wedding day photos.


Credit where it’s due

Wedding Photography : Me! | Ceremony & Reception Venue & Catering: Clapton Country Club  | Event Design & Coordination : the bride and groom | Floral Design : Scarlet & Violet | DJ : Jason King