Petersham Nurseries: A Gorgeous Greenhouse Wedding Reception in Richmond 🌿

Weddings

7 Oct

If your dream wedding event space includes LOTS of lush plants and greenery, as well as the most stunning flower arrangegements - then I highly recommend a look at Petersham Nurseries in Richmond. It’s romantic, a little bit wild and far more interesting than a room that only starts to look like a wedding venue once you’ve decorated it.

At Petersham Nurseries, the wedding breakfast/reception can feel like a proper occasion in its own right. Its private dining menus are built around seasonal food served to share, with ingredients including vegetables, herbs and edible flowers from the Petersham House kitchen garden. Perfect for a relaxed table full of people talking, passing plates and enjoying themselves. As you can see there are lots areas for your wedding photography.

Bride and groom smiling among outdoor plant displays and terracotta pots at Petersham Nurseries in Richmond.

Bride and groom holding hands and looking back at the camera inside the leafy greenhouse at Petersham Nurseries, Richmond.

Bride and groom holding drinks outside the Garden Shop greenhouse, surrounded by plants at Petersham Nurseries in Richmond.

Terracotta pots filled with succulents and leafy plants alongside orange watering cans at Petersham Nurseries, Richmond.

Entrance to the Garden Shop greenhouse at Petersham Nurseries, Richmond, framed by greenery and pots of pink flowers.

Orchids, trailing plants and gardening accessories displayed on rustic wooden shelves inside Petersham Nurseries, Richmond.

Bride holding a drink and smiling among potted plants and hanging baskets inside the greenhouse at Petersham Nurseries, Richmond.

Bride kissing the groom’s cheek beside outdoor plant displays at Petersham Nurseries, Richmond.

Orchids, trailing greenery and gardening accessories displayed against a rustic wooden wall at Petersham Nurseries, Richmond.

Air plants displayed on a weathered wooden chair beside terracotta pots inside Petersham Nurseries, Richmond.

Greenhouse walkway lined with leafy plants, terracotta pots and gardening displays at Petersham Nurseries, Richmond.

Wedding guests chatting around a table among greenhouse plants beside a private event sign at Petersham Nurseries, Richmond.

Wedding Reception inside The Central Greenhouse

The Central Greenhouse is a lovely choice if you want your wedding reception to feel like a relaxed gathering among the plants. With space for 30 to 70 guests, it suits couples planning a smaller celebration who still want everyone together for a proper wedding breakfast. You’ll dine surrounded by flowers and greenery, with that feeling of being in a garden while sitting indoors.

For plant-loving couples, the surroundings are a big part of the appeal. There’s already plenty of colour, texture and character, so you can let the space guide your table styling. I love the idea of keeping things simple and giving everyone time to settle in, chat and enjoy the meal. From a photography point of view, all that greenery adds interest to the photos while the people, conversations and reactions around the table remain the focus.

Groom chatting with a wedding guest over drinks, surrounded by flowers and greenery in the Central Greenhouse at Petersham Nurseries, Richmond.

Wedding table setting with a handwritten menu, white napkin and green favour bag in the Central Greenhouse at Petersham Nurseries.

Champagne being poured into the groom’s glass during a wedding reception in the Central Greenhouse at Petersham Nurseries.

Bruno Paillard Champagne bottles arranged on a wooden shelf beside foliage in the Central Greenhouse at Petersham Nurseries.

Bride and groom posing with six wedding guests among outdoor plants and terracotta pots at Petersham Nurseries, Richmond.

Bride and a wedding guest smiling together at a flower-filled table in the Central Greenhouse at Petersham Nurseries.

Wedding breakfast table decorated with colourful flowers, ferns and an ornate candleholder in the Central Greenhouse at Petersham Nurseries.

Potted fern and colourful dahlias in glass vases decorating a wedding table at Petersham Nurseries, Richmond.

Two wedding guests smiling with their arms around each other beneath festoon lights in the Central Greenhouse at Petersham Nurseries.

Wedding guest holding a glass of wine and laughing during the reception in the Central Greenhouse at Petersham Nurseries.

Bride laughing with a guest in a blue suit at their flower-filled wedding breakfast table at Petersham Nurseries.

Peach dahlia in a glass bud vase beside wine glasses and fern foliage on a wedding table at Petersham Nurseries.

Wedding guests chatting at long, flower-filled tables beneath climbing greenery in the Central Greenhouse at Petersham Nurseries.

Bride and groom laughing together during their wedding breakfast at Petersham Nurseries, Richmond

Wedding order of service displayed beside a potted fern and white orchids at Petersham Nurseries.

Close-up of Margot and Richard’s wedding order of service for St Peter’s Church, Petersham, beside white orchids.

Wedding guests laughing during the speeches in the Central Greenhouse at Petersham Nurseries.

Guest giving a wedding speech as the bride and groom smile at their table in the Central Greenhouse.

Bride, groom and guests raising their wine glasses for a wedding toast at Petersham Nurseries, Richmond.

Sharing dish of colourful vegetables and white cheese being served during a wedding breakfast at Petersham Nurseries.

Bride smiling at a standing guest while seated beside the groom during their Petersham Nurseries wedding reception.

Wedding place setting with a green favour bag, potted fern and colourful dahlias at Petersham Nurseries.

Two wedding guests in cream and olive-green dresses smiling among greenhouse plants at Petersham Nurseries

Wedding guests seated at long tables beneath the glass roof, woven blinds and climbing plants of the Central Greenhouse at Petersham Nurseries.

A lovely choice after a local ceremony

Petersham Nurseries in Richmond does not currently have a licence for wedding ceremonies, so you would hold your ceremony elsewhere and come here to celebrate. The venue suggests local options including St Peter’s Church (literally walking distance away) York House and Orleans House Gallery in Twickenham. It’s an appealing plan for couples who want the ceremony and the meal to each have their own setting, but be a commutable distance away.

If Richmond and South West London are already part of your story, all the better. You get to celebrate somewhere that feels connected to the area you love, while giving your guests a place they’ll remember.

And the photography?

As a documentary wedding photographer, I love venues where there’s lots happening naturally: guests arriving and looking around, champagne being served, congratulatory hugs among the greenery and those quieter moments together between it all.

Petersham Nurseries has character in every direction, but the best photographs would still be about the people in it. You can enjoy your wedding breakfast without feeling that you need to disappear for a long, awkward photo session. I’d keep things relaxed and make space for a few portraits of the two of you while capturing the celebration as it unfolds.

If you’re planning a Petersham Nurseries wedding breakfast and want natural, personal photographs of the day, I’d love to hear what you have in mind. Get in touch and tell me all about it!