If you’re planning a wedding at The Asylum Chapel and want something that feels personal, colourful, and completely your own, Chiara & Nicki’s day is exactly the kind of inspiration worth seeing.
Set against the worn textures and faded walls of The Asylum, their wedding felt vibrant in every sense of the word. Bold colours, relaxed energy, emotional moments and absolutely no pressure to do things the “right” way. Just a day built around the people they love and the atmosphere they wanted to create. Nothing felt overly staged or performative. It was joyful, slightly chaotic in the best way, full of personality and honestly a perfect reminder that alternative weddings don’t have to fit neatly into one aesthetic to feel beautiful!
Getting Ready at Home
The morning started with Chiara & Nicki getting ready separately at their flat, surrounded by close friends, good music, half-finished drinks, outfit details, and the kind of relaxed chaos that somehow makes wedding mornings feel more real.
Nothing about the atmosphere felt overly polished or performative. People moved between rooms & floors helping with final details, laughing, fixing buttonholes, hunting for missing bits at the last second and trying to keep emotions together as the day slowly started to sink in.
Their styling worked beautifully against the softer, lived in backdrop of home before heading into the dramatic textures of The Asylum Chapel later in the day. The whole morning felt warm, emotional, slightly chaotic in the best possible way, and completely centred around the people closest to them.
First Look + Heading to The Asylum
Before the ceremony, Chiara & Nicki met for a quiet first look away from the noise of the morning. It gave them a chance to properly pause together before everything officially began, no audience, no pressure, just a few minutes to take it all in together.
From there, we headed across London towards The Asylum Chapel in a booked black cab made specifically for weddings, which honestly felt like the perfect choice for the day. Classic London energy mixed with colourful styling, emotional moments, and a slightly chaotic excitement building with every stoplight.
Romantic Portraits Before The Ceremony
Instead of squeezing portraits into a tight gap later in the day, Chiara & Nicki chose to do theirs before the ceremony, which completely changed the pace of everything in the best way. With no pressure to rush back to guests or stick to a rigid timeline, we had space to wander, slow down and make the most of the incredible textures around The Asylum Chapel before it filled with people.
The contrast between the colourful styling and the worn walls of The Asylum worked so perfectly visually. Everywhere we turned felt cinematic without needing to overcomplicate anything. A lot of the portraits ended up coming from tiny in-between moments rather than anything heavily posed — movement, laughter, adjusting outfits, quiet moments together, and just letting the atmosphere of the place do its thing.
Doing portraits before the ceremony also meant they could properly settle into the day together instead of worrying about photos later on. It stopped everything feeling overly scheduled and gave the whole wedding a much more relaxed rhythm from the start.
A Ceremony at The Asylum That Felt Completely Theirs
The ceremony at The Asylum Chapel hit that perfect balance between emotional and relaxed without ever feeling overly formal or performative. Every part of it felt intentional. Personal readings, genuine reactions, moments of laughter mixed with quieter emotional ones, nothing felt forced, and that’s exactly what made it so powerful to photograph.
The atmosphere inside The Asylum always has this incredible sense of texture and character anyway, but paired with the colourful styling throughout the day, it created something that felt modern, personal, and full of life without losing the dramatic feeling the space is known for.
You could feel how much the day meant not just to Chiara & Nicki, but to everyone packed into the room with them. The whole ceremony felt warm, emotional, slightly chaotic in places, and completely centred around connection rather than tradition for tradition’s sake.
Into the Reception: Drinks, Speeches & Good Energy
After the ceremony, everyone headed into the reception with the kind of energy that only comes after an emotional ceremony and a lot of anticipation finally paying off.
The whole evening felt relaxed in the best possible way. Drinks flowing, conversations happening in every corner, people drifting between tables, music building in the background, and guests properly settling into the celebration side of the day.
The styling by @evaroseweddings carried through beautifully here too, colourful details against the atmosphere of the venue, personal touches everywhere, and absolutely nothing feeling overly polished or forced.
Then came the speeches.
Funny, emotional, slightly chaotic in places and exactly the kind of speeches people actually remember afterwards. The kind where half the room is laughing while the other half is trying not to cry. By this point, the entire day felt less like a formal event and more like a room full of people genuinely happy to be there together.
What I loved most about Chiara & Nicki’s wedding was how unapologetically personal it felt from start to finish. Nothing was there because it was expected. Every part of the day reflected them, their people and the atmosphere they wanted to create together.
Against the dramatic backdrop of The Asylum Chapel, all the colour, movement, emotion and slightly chaotic energy came together perfectly.
Planning a london wedding? get in touch here
Suppliers involved:
Styling: @EVAroseweddings
Ceremony: @TheAsylumChapel
Reception: @TheVictorianBathHouse
Bouquet: @gemmafernandesfloraldesigner
Cake: @let_them_eatscake
Ready to chat?
If you’re looking for an alternative wedding photographer who gets what you want and delivers photos you can be proud of, I’d love to hear from you.
Fill out the contact form, send me an email, or let’s chat over a coffee if you’re nearby. I’m here to help make your day feel effortless, so you can focus on what matters.
