Music Room Brighton Pavilion | Andrea & James

Wedding ceremony in the Music Room

The Music Room at Brighton Pavilion. I’ve shot weddings at Brighton Pavilion several times but this was the first ceremony in the Music Room. Usually, they have been in the Red Drawing Room. But the larger Music Room can only be used in the evenings, once the Pavilion has closed to the public. I arrived, in the rain, and was allowed in as they closed the doors to the public. They then escorted me to the kitchen – they assumed I was a waiter!

Music Room Brighton Pavilion

This room is described on the Pavilion’s website as, ” (an) extraordinary interior lit by nine lotus-shaped chandeliers, with walls decorated with rich red and gold canvasses in the Chinoiserie-style. Windows are dressed with opulent blue silk-satin draperies supported by carved flying dragons. The domed ceiling is made up of gilded shells creating an illusion of height, making it hard not to gaze upwards as you enter the room.

One of George IV’s greatest passions was music; within this room, the King’s own band entertained guests with Handel or Italian opera. The Italian composer Gioachino Rossini performed here in 1823, Oscar Wilde also lectured and Charles Dickens gave readings in this resplendent room.

The Music Room has featured widely in news, film, and media around the globe and was the setting for one of the first same-sex weddings to take place in the UK.”

It is also, like just about all of the Pavilion, a room with rather subdued light. More so when the classic seaside July weather outside is pretty grim – dark, wet, and windy.

Drinks preceded the ceremony, in the very grand Banqueting Room. Guests then made their way down the Chinese-inspired Long Gallery, before Andrea and James made their entrance. Their son, Cyrus, decided to join them for most of the ceremony. The ceremony complete, the wedding guests were taken on a short tour of the Pavilion, before returning to the Music Room, to be greeted by the newly married couple.

The Flint House

Andrea and James then led everyone, in the rain, across North Street, and into The Lanes, to The Flint House, for the reception. A bit of a squeeze inside as the outdoor space was pretty wet, the rain still falling. But plenty of drinks and oysters were on hand.

Here are a few images from this wedding at The Music Room Brighton Pavilion…