Hampton Court Palace Wedding Photographer

Hampton Court Palace is run by Historic Royal Palaces and hired for weddings on a dry-hire basis, with a curated list of approved suppliers. Ceremonies can be held in the State Apartments, the Little Banqueting House, The Garden Room or outdoors by the Orangery and Privy Garden. The 2026-27 brochure says the spaces suit cultural weddings, including Asian and Jewish celebrations.

Our studio is at 21 Joel St, Northwood HA6, photographing weddings since 2001 and rated 4.8 out of 5 from 580+ Google reviews. We are glad to photograph at Hampton Court Palace, and coverage starts from £750.

Hampton Court Palace at a glance: rooms, hours and access

Address	Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey KT8 9AU (Historic Royal Palaces' registered address)
Hire basis	Dry hire, with approved suppliers
Ceremony spaces (2026-27 brochure)	King's Guard Chamber 140; Queen's Guard Chamber 120; Great Watching Chamber 100; Little Banqueting House 50; The Garden Room 180; Orangery and Privy Garden (outdoor) 140
Great Hall	The sources differ: the weddings page gives up to 200 for ceremonies and 220 for dining; the brochure lists it as a reception space only, 400 standing and 270 dining
Other reception spaces	Clock Court 400 standing; Cartoon Gallery 200 dining; The Garden Room 180 dining; Undercroft (evening) 220; West Terrace marquee 200 dining
Hire hours	State Apartments 18:30 to 00:00, paid extensions to 02:00; Garden Room 13:00 to 00:00 or 10:00 to 21:00
Parking	Limited visitor parking, first come first served, £1.80 an hour by card; Hampton Court Green car park 500m away
Nearest station	Hampton Court, about a five-minute walk, trains from London Waterloo every 30 minutes
Wedding enquiries	+44 (0)20 8132 9679
From our studio	About 14.0 miles in a straight line from the studio at 21 Joel St, Northwood HA6 1NU (road distance is longer)

Figures are as published by the venue or its licensing authority. Where a venue's own pages disagree, both are shown. Confirm anything you are planning around.

Sources

Hampton Court wedding hire fees for 2026-27

Historic Royal Palaces publishes its 2026-27 hire fees in the wedding brochure, all excluding VAT (brochure PDF):

State Apartments, drinks reception and wedding breakfast, 18:30 to 00:00: £18,000.
State Apartments with ceremony, drinks and breakfast: £22,000.
Ceremony only, 18:30 to 20:30: £8,000.
Extensions: £1,000 for 00:00 to 01:00 and £2,000 for 01:00 to 02:00.
The Garden Room: £5,000 Monday to Friday, £6,000 at weekends and bank holidays.
Little Banqueting House: £3,500 for a ceremony only, £6,000 for a reception.

This is dry hire: catering, décor and entertainment come from the approved suppliers and are priced separately.

Where you can marry at Hampton Court, and the Great Hall question

The brochure lists six ceremony spaces: the King's Guard Chamber (up to 140), the Queen's Guard Chamber (120), the Great Watching Chamber (100), the Little Banqueting House (50), The Garden Room (180) and, outdoors, the Orangery and Privy Garden (140). The Great Hall is where the sources part company: the weddings web page offers it for ceremonies of up to 200, while the brochure lists it only as a reception space. Ask Historic Royal Palaces which applies before you plan around it.

For cultural weddings the brochure is specific. The Garden Room "comfortably accommodates mandap structures and large guest numbers", and the courtyards and palace façades offer settings for baraat processions and ceremonial entrances. Approved suppliers cover cultural catering, décor and entertainment. Marquees can go in Fountain Court, Base Court, the East Front Gardens or on the West Terrace.

Not published, so ask in writing: which register office conducts ceremonies; whether horses or dhol are allowed for a baraat; whether a havan, candles or open flame are permitted; halal and vegetarian menus; and step-free access to the State Apartments for guests.

What Historic Royal Palaces publishes, and what to ask

Photography during the ceremony	Not published
Flash	Not published
Drones	Not published
Confetti	Not published
Candles and open flame	Not published
Finish time	State Apartments to 00:00, extensions to 01:00 and 02:00; Garden Room 13:00 to 00:00 or 10:00 to 21:00
Recommended suppliers	Approved supplier list for catering, décor and entertainment (dry hire)

Where a rule is shown as not published, ask the venue in writing before the day.

Getting ready for a Hampton Court wedding

Historic Royal Palaces does not name a getting-ready room on its weddings page or in its 2026-27 brochure. State Apartment hire starts at 18:30, so plan to get ready elsewhere and arrive dressed; ask the events team whether any room can be held for the couple before guests arrive.

An evening at the palace: a Hampton Court outline

When	What happens
Afternoon	Getting ready off site; no preparation room is published.
13:00 or 10:00	Garden Room hire can start at 13:00 (to midnight) or 10:00 (to 21:00), which suits a daytime mandap ceremony.
18:30 to 20:30	State Apartments hire starts; a ceremony-only booking runs to 20:30.
Drinks	Clock Court or the Orangery and Privy Garden; outdoor portraits only while the light lasts (see the table below).
Evening	Wedding breakfast in the Great Hall, Cartoon Gallery or King's Guard Chamber, or in a marquee on the West Terrace.
00:00 to 02:00	Hire ends at midnight unless the paid extensions are booked.

An outline for planning, not a schedule. Times are shown only where the venue publishes them; everything else is a stage to time with you and confirm with the venue.

Light over the Privy Garden by month

State Apartment hire starts at 18:30, so whether outdoor portraits in the Privy Garden happen in daylight depends on the month. On the 15th of May, June and July the sun sets after 20:30; from October to March it has set before the 18:30 start.

Month	Sunrise	Sunset	Golden hour from	Clock
January	08:00	16:22	15:25	GMT
February	07:16	17:16	16:28	GMT
March	06:16	18:05	17:21	GMT
April	06:07	19:57	19:12	BST
May	05:10	20:46	19:56	BST
June	04:44	21:20	20:26	BST
July	05:02	21:12	20:20	BST
August	05:47	20:24	19:38	BST
September	06:36	19:16	18:33	BST
October	07:25	18:09	17:23	BST
November	07:18	16:13	15:19	GMT
December	08:00	15:53	14:52	GMT

Computed for the 15th of each month of 2027 at the venue's postcode centroid with the NOAA solar equations. Evening golden hour starts when the sun drops to 6 degrees; trees and buildings shorten it. Times are UK clock time.

Courtyards, gardens and the riverside: photograph planning

Historic Royal Palaces names its own photo settings: the Privy Garden, the Great Fountain Garden, the riverside, the cobbled courtyards, the King's Staircase and Clock Court with Anne Boleyn's Gateway and the astronomical clock.
The Little Banqueting House has its own private riverside garden, the obvious portrait spot for a ceremony held there.
The Garden Room sits in its own private walled garden with doors opening onto it, which makes a daytime ceremony and outdoor family groups straightforward.
For a baraat, the brochure points to the courtyards and palace façades; agree the route and timing with the palace first.
No flash, drone or confetti rule is published, so ask before planning any of them.

Hampton Court station, Trophy Gate and the A308

Hampton Court station is about 200m from the palace entrance, a five-minute walk, with South Western Railway trains from London Waterloo every 30 minutes; it is in zone 6 and there is no Underground station. Cars and pedestrians enter by Trophy Gate on the A308 (getting here). We travel to Hampton Court from our Northwood studio.

Parking at Hampton Court Palace

Visitor parking on site is limited and first come, first served, at £1.80 an hour by card, with 10 Blue Badge bays. The Hampton Court Green car park is 500m away. Parking arrangements specific to weddings are not published, so ask the events team before sending directions to guests.

Hampton Court Palace wedding photography, frequently asked questions

Can I get married at Hampton Court Palace?

Yes. Historic Royal Palaces hires the palace for weddings on a dry-hire basis with approved suppliers. Its 2026-27 brochure lists six ceremony spaces: the King's Guard Chamber for up to 140, the Queen's Guard Chamber for 120, the Great Watching Chamber for 100, the Little Banqueting House for 50, The Garden Room for 180 and the Orangery and Privy Garden outdoors for 140. The register office that conducts ceremonies is not named on the pages read, so ask the events team when you enquire.

How much does a Hampton Court Palace wedding cost?

The 2026-27 brochure prices are excluding VAT. A drinks reception and wedding breakfast in the State Apartments, 18:30 to midnight, is £18,000; adding the ceremony makes it £22,000, and a ceremony alone is £8,000. Extensions cost £1,000 to 1am and a further £2,000 to 2am. The Garden Room is £5,000 on weekdays and £6,000 at weekends, and the Little Banqueting House is £3,500 for a ceremony or £6,000 for a reception. Catering and décor are extra, from the approved suppliers.

Can you have an Asian wedding with a mandap at Hampton Court?

The brochure says the palace spaces suit cultural weddings, including Asian and Jewish celebrations, and that The Garden Room comfortably accommodates mandap structures and large guest numbers. It also suggests the courtyards and palace façades as settings for baraat processions and ceremonial entrances, and its approved suppliers include cultural caterers and décor firms. What it does not publish is whether horses or dhol can join a baraat, or whether a havan or open flame is allowed, so ask about both in writing.

How many guests does the Great Hall at Hampton Court hold?

The two official sources give different answers. The weddings web page offers the Great Hall for ceremonies of up to 200 guests and dining for up to 220. The 2026-27 wedding brochure lists it only as a reception space, for 400 standing or 270 dining, and does not include it among the ceremony rooms. Because Historic Royal Palaces publishes both, ask its events team which use and which number apply to your date and layout before you build a plan around the Great Hall.

Where do guests park at Hampton Court Palace?

Historic Royal Palaces describes visitor parking as limited and first come, first served, charged at £1.80 an hour by card, with 10 Blue Badge bays. The Hampton Court Green car park is 500m away, and cars use Trophy Gate on the A308. Wedding-specific parking is not published. For many guests the train is easier: Hampton Court station is about a five-minute walk from the palace entrance, with services from London Waterloo every 30 minutes.

Our work

Asian wedding photography

Bride and groom seated together, groom in a sehra turban

Bride's and groom's feet on a red carpet during a wedding ritual

Bride in a purple veil and gold jewellery resting her head on her hands

Bride and groom walking a garden path in Asian wedding dress

Mehndi-decorated hands cupping red and white flower petals

Groom in a cream sherwani and turban stepping out of an open-top car

Other wedding venues we cover

Related pages

The photographer is Kaushik Bathia, a fellow of the BIPP and the MPA with five European Kodak Gold Awards and over a thousand weddings photographed since 2001.

Civil · Church · Hindu · Sikh · Muslim · Tamil

Planning a wedding at Hampton Court Palace?

Tell us the date and the venue and we will come back with availability and a price. Coverage starts from £750.

Wedding Photography at Hampton Court Palace