diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailcore/rich_text.py b/wagtail/wagtailcore/rich_text.py
index 16d64be511..d4ac8d6561 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailcore/rich_text.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailcore/rich_text.py
@@ -4,15 +4,6 @@ from django.utils.html import escape
 
 from wagtail.wagtailcore.whitelist import Whitelister
 from wagtail.wagtailcore.models import Page
-
-from wagtail.wagtaildocs.models import Document
-
-# FIXME: we don't really want to import wagtailimages within core.
-# For that matter, we probably don't want core to be concerned about translating
-# HTML for the benefit of the hallo.js editor...
-from wagtail.wagtailimages.models import get_image_model
-from wagtail.wagtailimages.formats import get_image_format
-
 from wagtail.wagtailcore import hooks
 
 
@@ -22,80 +13,6 @@ from wagtail.wagtailcore import hooks
 # elsewhere in the database and is liable to change - from real HTML representation
 # to DB representation and back again.
 
-class ImageEmbedHandler(object):
-    """
-    ImageEmbedHandler will be invoked whenever we encounter an element in HTML content
-    with an attribute of data-embedtype="image". The resulting element in the database
-    representation will be:
-    <embed embedtype="image" id="42" format="thumb" alt="some custom alt text">
-    """
-    @staticmethod
-    def get_db_attributes(tag):
-        """
-        Given a tag that we've identified as an image embed (because it has a
-        data-embedtype="image" attribute), return a dict of the attributes we should
-        have on the resulting <embed> element.
-        """
-        return {
-            'id': tag['data-id'],
-            'format': tag['data-format'],
-            'alt': tag['data-alt'],
-        }
-
-    @staticmethod
-    def expand_db_attributes(attrs, for_editor):
-        """
-        Given a dict of attributes from the <embed> tag, return the real HTML
-        representation.
-        """
-        Image = get_image_model()
-        try:
-            image = Image.objects.get(id=attrs['id'])
-            format = get_image_format(attrs['format'])
-
-            if for_editor:
-                try:
-                    return format.image_to_editor_html(image, attrs['alt'])
-                except:
-                    return ''
-            else:
-                return format.image_to_html(image, attrs['alt'])
-
-        except Image.DoesNotExist:
-            return "<img>"
-
-
-class MediaEmbedHandler(object):
-    """
-    MediaEmbedHandler will be invoked whenever we encounter an element in HTML content
-    with an attribute of data-embedtype="media". The resulting element in the database
-    representation will be:
-    <embed embedtype="media" url="http://vimeo.com/XXXXX">
-    """
-    @staticmethod
-    def get_db_attributes(tag):
-        """
-        Given a tag that we've identified as a media embed (because it has a
-        data-embedtype="media" attribute), return a dict of the attributes we should
-        have on the resulting <embed> element.
-        """
-        return {
-            'url': tag['data-url'],
-        }
-
-    @staticmethod
-    def expand_db_attributes(attrs, for_editor):
-        """
-        Given a dict of attributes from the <embed> tag, return the real HTML
-        representation.
-        """
-        from wagtail.wagtailembeds import format
-        if for_editor:
-            return format.embed_to_editor_html(attrs['url'])
-        else:
-            return format.embed_to_frontend_html(attrs['url'])
-
-
 class PageLinkHandler(object):
     """
     PageLinkHandler will be invoked whenever we encounter an <a> element in HTML content
@@ -127,35 +44,38 @@ class PageLinkHandler(object):
             return "<a>"
 
 
-class DocumentLinkHandler(object):
-    @staticmethod
-    def get_db_attributes(tag):
-        return {'id': tag['data-id']}
-
-    @staticmethod
-    def expand_db_attributes(attrs, for_editor):
-        try:
-            doc = Document.objects.get(id=attrs['id'])
-
-            if for_editor:
-                editor_attrs = 'data-linktype="document" data-id="%d" ' % doc.id
-            else:
-                editor_attrs = ''
-
-            return '<a %shref="%s">' % (editor_attrs, escape(doc.url))
-        except Document.DoesNotExist:
-            return "<a>"
-
-
-EMBED_HANDLERS = {
-    'image': ImageEmbedHandler,
-    'media': MediaEmbedHandler,
-}
+EMBED_HANDLERS = {}
 LINK_HANDLERS = {
     'page': PageLinkHandler,
-    'document': DocumentLinkHandler,
 }
 
+has_loaded_embed_handlers = False
+has_loaded_link_handlers = False
+
+def get_embed_handler(embed_type):
+    global EMBED_HANDLERS, has_loaded_embed_handlers
+
+    if not has_loaded_embed_handlers:
+        for hook in hooks.get_hooks('register_rich_text_embed_handler'):
+            handler_name, handler = hook()
+            EMBED_HANDLERS[handler_name] = handler
+
+        has_loaded_embed_handlers = True
+
+    return EMBED_HANDLERS[embed_type]
+
+def get_link_handler(link_type):
+    global LINK_HANDLERS, has_loaded_link_handlers
+
+    if not has_loaded_link_handlers:
+        for hook in hooks.get_hooks('register_rich_text_link_handler'):
+            handler_name, handler = hook()
+            LINK_HANDLERS[handler_name] = handler
+
+        has_loaded_link_handlers = True
+
+    return LINK_HANDLERS[link_type]
+
 
 class DbWhitelister(Whitelister):
     """
@@ -189,7 +109,7 @@ class DbWhitelister(Whitelister):
         if 'data-embedtype' in tag.attrs:
             embed_type = tag['data-embedtype']
             # fetch the appropriate embed handler for this embedtype
-            embed_handler = EMBED_HANDLERS[embed_type]
+            embed_handler = get_embed_handler(embed_type)
             embed_attrs = embed_handler.get_db_attributes(tag)
             embed_attrs['embedtype'] = embed_type
 
@@ -202,7 +122,7 @@ class DbWhitelister(Whitelister):
                 cls.clean_node(doc, child)
 
             link_type = tag['data-linktype']
-            link_handler = LINK_HANDLERS[link_type]
+            link_handler = get_link_handler(link_type)
             link_attrs = link_handler.get_db_attributes(tag)
             link_attrs['linktype'] = link_type
             tag.attrs.clear()
@@ -238,12 +158,12 @@ def expand_db_html(html, for_editor=False):
         if 'linktype' not in attrs:
             # return unchanged
             return m.group(0)
-        handler = LINK_HANDLERS[attrs['linktype']]
+        handler = get_link_handler(attrs['linktype'])
         return handler.expand_db_attributes(attrs, for_editor)
 
     def replace_embed_tag(m):
         attrs = extract_attrs(m.group(1))
-        handler = EMBED_HANDLERS[attrs['embedtype']]
+        handler = get_embed_handler(attrs['embedtype'])
         return handler.expand_db_attributes(attrs, for_editor)
 
     html = FIND_A_TAG.sub(replace_a_tag, html)
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailcore/tests/test_rich_text.py b/wagtail/wagtailcore/tests/test_rich_text.py
index 9c98c6d3f0..8ffb917d87 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailcore/tests/test_rich_text.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailcore/tests/test_rich_text.py
@@ -3,10 +3,7 @@ from mock import patch
 from django.test import TestCase
 
 from wagtail.wagtailcore.rich_text import (
-    ImageEmbedHandler,
-    MediaEmbedHandler,
     PageLinkHandler,
-    DocumentLinkHandler,
     DbWhitelister,
     extract_attrs,
     expand_db_html
@@ -14,112 +11,6 @@ from wagtail.wagtailcore.rich_text import (
 from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
 
 
-class TestImageEmbedHandler(TestCase):
-    fixtures = ['wagtail/tests/fixtures/test.json']
-
-    def test_get_db_attributes(self):
-        soup = BeautifulSoup(
-            '<b data-id="test-id" data-format="test-format" data-alt="test-alt">foo</b>'
-        )
-        tag = soup.b
-        result = ImageEmbedHandler.get_db_attributes(tag)
-        self.assertEqual(result,
-                         {'alt': 'test-alt',
-                          'id': 'test-id',
-                          'format': 'test-format'})
-
-    def test_expand_db_attributes_page_does_not_exist(self):
-        result = ImageEmbedHandler.expand_db_attributes(
-            {'id': 0},
-            False
-        )
-        self.assertEqual(result, '<img>')
-
-    @patch('wagtail.wagtailimages.models.Image')
-    @patch('django.core.files.File')
-    def test_expand_db_attributes_not_for_editor(self, mock_file, mock_image):
-        result = ImageEmbedHandler.expand_db_attributes(
-            {'id': 1,
-             'alt': 'test-alt',
-             'format': 'left'},
-            False
-        )
-        self.assertIn('<img class="richtext-image left"', result)
-
-    @patch('wagtail.wagtailimages.models.Image')
-    @patch('django.core.files.File')
-    def test_expand_db_attributes_for_editor(self, mock_file, mock_image):
-        result = ImageEmbedHandler.expand_db_attributes(
-            {'id': 1,
-             'alt': 'test-alt',
-             'format': 'left'},
-            True
-        )
-        self.assertIn('<img data-embedtype="image" data-id="1" data-format="left" data-alt="test-alt" class="richtext-image left"', result)
-
-    @patch('wagtail.wagtailimages.models.Image')
-    @patch('django.core.files.File')
-    def test_expand_db_attributes_for_editor_throws_exception(self, mock_file, mock_image):
-        result = ImageEmbedHandler.expand_db_attributes(
-            {'id': 1,
-             'format': 'left'},
-            True
-        )
-        self.assertEqual(result, '')
-
-
-class TestMediaEmbedHandler(TestCase):
-    def test_get_db_attributes(self):
-        soup = BeautifulSoup(
-            '<b data-url="test-url">foo</b>'
-        )
-        tag = soup.b
-        result = MediaEmbedHandler.get_db_attributes(tag)
-        self.assertEqual(result,
-                         {'url': 'test-url'})
-
-    @patch('wagtail.wagtailembeds.embeds.oembed')
-    def test_expand_db_attributes_for_editor(self, oembed):
-        oembed.return_value = {
-            'title': 'test title',
-            'author_name': 'test author name',
-            'provider_name': 'test provider name',
-            'type': 'test type',
-            'thumbnail_url': 'test thumbnail url',
-            'width': 'test width',
-            'height': 'test height',
-            'html': 'test html'
-        }
-        result = MediaEmbedHandler.expand_db_attributes(
-            {'url': 'http://www.youtube.com/watch/'},
-            True
-        )
-        self.assertIn('<div class="embed-placeholder" contenteditable="false" data-embedtype="media" data-url="http://www.youtube.com/watch/">', result)
-        self.assertIn('<h3>test title</h3>', result)
-        self.assertIn('<p>URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch/</p>', result)
-        self.assertIn('<p>Provider: test provider name</p>', result)
-        self.assertIn('<p>Author: test author name</p>', result)
-        self.assertIn('<img src="test thumbnail url" alt="test title">', result)
-
-    @patch('wagtail.wagtailembeds.embeds.oembed')
-    def test_expand_db_attributes_not_for_editor(self, oembed):
-        oembed.return_value = {
-            'title': 'test title',
-            'author_name': 'test author name',
-            'provider_name': 'test provider name',
-            'type': 'test type',
-            'thumbnail_url': 'test thumbnail url',
-            'width': 'test width',
-            'height': 'test height',
-            'html': 'test html'
-        }
-        result = MediaEmbedHandler.expand_db_attributes(
-            {'url': 'http://www.youtube.com/watch/'},
-            False
-        )
-        self.assertIn('test html', result)
-
-
 class TestPageLinkHandler(TestCase):
     fixtures = ['wagtail/tests/fixtures/test.json']
 
@@ -155,42 +46,6 @@ class TestPageLinkHandler(TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(result, '<a href="None">')
 
 
-class TestDocumentLinkHandler(TestCase):
-    fixtures = ['wagtail/tests/fixtures/test.json']
-
-    def test_get_db_attributes(self):
-        soup = BeautifulSoup(
-            '<a data-id="test-id">foo</a>'
-        )
-        tag = soup.a
-        result = DocumentLinkHandler.get_db_attributes(tag)
-        self.assertEqual(result,
-                         {'id': 'test-id'})
-
-    def test_expand_db_attributes_document_does_not_exist(self):
-        result = DocumentLinkHandler.expand_db_attributes(
-            {'id': 0},
-            False
-        )
-        self.assertEqual(result, '<a>')
-
-    def test_expand_db_attributes_for_editor(self):
-        result = DocumentLinkHandler.expand_db_attributes(
-            {'id': 1},
-            True
-        )
-        self.assertEqual(result,
-                         '<a data-linktype="document" data-id="1" href="/documents/1/">')
-
-    def test_expand_db_attributes_not_for_editor(self):
-        result = DocumentLinkHandler.expand_db_attributes(
-            {'id': 1},
-            False
-        )
-        self.assertEqual(result,
-                         '<a href="/documents/1/">')
-
-
 class TestDbWhiteLister(TestCase):
     def test_clean_tag_node_div(self):
         soup = BeautifulSoup(
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtaildocs/rich_text.py b/wagtail/wagtaildocs/rich_text.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..44f42a2e9e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wagtail/wagtaildocs/rich_text.py
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+from django.utils.html import escape
+
+from wagtail.wagtaildocs.models import Document
+
+
+class DocumentLinkHandler(object):
+    @staticmethod
+    def get_db_attributes(tag):
+        return {'id': tag['data-id']}
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def expand_db_attributes(attrs, for_editor):
+        try:
+            doc = Document.objects.get(id=attrs['id'])
+
+            if for_editor:
+                editor_attrs = 'data-linktype="document" data-id="%d" ' % doc.id
+            else:
+                editor_attrs = ''
+
+            return '<a %shref="%s">' % (editor_attrs, escape(doc.url))
+        except Document.DoesNotExist:
+            return "<a>"
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtaildocs/tests.py b/wagtail/wagtaildocs/tests.py
index 1a38f9ea36..00a8227e0e 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtaildocs/tests.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtaildocs/tests.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 from six import b
 import unittest
 import mock
+from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
 
 from django.test import TestCase
 from django.contrib.auth import get_user_model
@@ -16,6 +17,7 @@ from wagtail.tests.models import EventPage, EventPageRelatedLink
 from wagtail.wagtaildocs.models import Document
 
 from wagtail.wagtaildocs import models
+from wagtail.wagtaildocs.rich_text import DocumentLinkHandler
 
 
 class TestDocumentPermissions(TestCase):
@@ -576,3 +578,39 @@ class TestServeView(TestCase):
     def test_with_incorrect_filename(self):
         response = self.client.get(reverse('wagtaildocs_serve', args=(self.document.id, 'incorrectfilename')))
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, 404)
+
+
+class TestDocumentLinkHandler(TestCase):
+    fixtures = ['wagtail/tests/fixtures/test.json']
+
+    def test_get_db_attributes(self):
+        soup = BeautifulSoup(
+            '<a data-id="test-id">foo</a>'
+        )
+        tag = soup.a
+        result = DocumentLinkHandler.get_db_attributes(tag)
+        self.assertEqual(result,
+                         {'id': 'test-id'})
+
+    def test_expand_db_attributes_document_does_not_exist(self):
+        result = DocumentLinkHandler.expand_db_attributes(
+            {'id': 0},
+            False
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(result, '<a>')
+
+    def test_expand_db_attributes_for_editor(self):
+        result = DocumentLinkHandler.expand_db_attributes(
+            {'id': 1},
+            True
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(result,
+                         '<a data-linktype="document" data-id="1" href="/documents/1/">')
+
+    def test_expand_db_attributes_not_for_editor(self):
+        result = DocumentLinkHandler.expand_db_attributes(
+            {'id': 1},
+            False
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(result,
+                         '<a href="/documents/1/">')
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtaildocs/wagtail_hooks.py b/wagtail/wagtaildocs/wagtail_hooks.py
index 41ce020bf1..597d1652d6 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtaildocs/wagtail_hooks.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtaildocs/wagtail_hooks.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ from wagtail.wagtailcore import hooks
 from wagtail.wagtailadmin.menu import MenuItem
 
 from wagtail.wagtaildocs import admin_urls
+from wagtail.wagtaildocs.rich_text import DocumentLinkHandler
 
 
 @hooks.register('register_admin_urls')
@@ -53,3 +54,8 @@ def register_permissions():
     document_content_type = ContentType.objects.get(app_label='wagtaildocs', model='document')
     document_permissions = Permission.objects.filter(content_type = document_content_type)
     return document_permissions
+
+
+@hooks.register('register_rich_text_link_handler')
+def register_document_link_handler():
+    return ('document', DocumentLinkHandler)
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailembeds/rich_text.py b/wagtail/wagtailembeds/rich_text.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e099d5dd69
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailembeds/rich_text.py
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+from wagtail.wagtailembeds import format
+
+class MediaEmbedHandler(object):
+    """
+    MediaEmbedHandler will be invoked whenever we encounter an element in HTML content
+    with an attribute of data-embedtype="media". The resulting element in the database
+    representation will be:
+    <embed embedtype="media" url="http://vimeo.com/XXXXX">
+    """
+    @staticmethod
+    def get_db_attributes(tag):
+        """
+        Given a tag that we've identified as a media embed (because it has a
+        data-embedtype="media" attribute), return a dict of the attributes we should
+        have on the resulting <embed> element.
+        """
+        return {
+            'url': tag['data-url'],
+        }
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def expand_db_attributes(attrs, for_editor):
+        """
+        Given a dict of attributes from the <embed> tag, return the real HTML
+        representation.
+        """
+        if for_editor:
+            return format.embed_to_editor_html(attrs['url'])
+        else:
+            return format.embed_to_frontend_html(attrs['url'])
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailembeds/tests.py b/wagtail/wagtailembeds/tests.py
index 93231372ed..b0799da383 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailembeds/tests.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailembeds/tests.py
@@ -2,8 +2,10 @@ import six.moves.urllib.request
 from six.moves.urllib.error import URLError
 
 from mock import patch
-import warnings
 import unittest
+from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
+
+from wagtail.wagtailembeds.rich_text import MediaEmbedHandler
 
 try:
     import embedly
@@ -320,3 +322,55 @@ class TestEmbedBlock(TestCase):
 
         # Check that the embed was in the returned HTML
         self.assertIn('<h1>Hello world!</h1>', html)
+
+
+class TestMediaEmbedHandler(TestCase):
+    def test_get_db_attributes(self):
+        soup = BeautifulSoup(
+            '<b data-url="test-url">foo</b>'
+        )
+        tag = soup.b
+        result = MediaEmbedHandler.get_db_attributes(tag)
+        self.assertEqual(result,
+                         {'url': 'test-url'})
+
+    @patch('wagtail.wagtailembeds.embeds.oembed')
+    def test_expand_db_attributes_for_editor(self, oembed):
+        oembed.return_value = {
+            'title': 'test title',
+            'author_name': 'test author name',
+            'provider_name': 'test provider name',
+            'type': 'test type',
+            'thumbnail_url': 'test thumbnail url',
+            'width': 'test width',
+            'height': 'test height',
+            'html': 'test html'
+        }
+        result = MediaEmbedHandler.expand_db_attributes(
+            {'url': 'http://www.youtube.com/watch/'},
+            True
+        )
+        self.assertIn('<div class="embed-placeholder" contenteditable="false" data-embedtype="media" data-url="http://www.youtube.com/watch/">', result)
+        self.assertIn('<h3>test title</h3>', result)
+        self.assertIn('<p>URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch/</p>', result)
+        self.assertIn('<p>Provider: test provider name</p>', result)
+        self.assertIn('<p>Author: test author name</p>', result)
+        self.assertIn('<img src="test thumbnail url" alt="test title">', result)
+
+    @patch('wagtail.wagtailembeds.embeds.oembed')
+    def test_expand_db_attributes_not_for_editor(self, oembed):
+        oembed.return_value = {
+            'title': 'test title',
+            'author_name': 'test author name',
+            'provider_name': 'test provider name',
+            'type': 'test type',
+            'thumbnail_url': 'test thumbnail url',
+            'width': 'test width',
+            'height': 'test height',
+            'html': 'test html'
+        }
+        result = MediaEmbedHandler.expand_db_attributes(
+            {'url': 'http://www.youtube.com/watch/'},
+            False
+        )
+        self.assertIn('test html', result)
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailembeds/wagtail_hooks.py b/wagtail/wagtailembeds/wagtail_hooks.py
index 955f8216b0..863544c5a3 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailembeds/wagtail_hooks.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailembeds/wagtail_hooks.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ from django.utils.html import format_html
 
 from wagtail.wagtailcore import hooks
 from wagtail.wagtailembeds import urls
+from wagtail.wagtailembeds.rich_text import MediaEmbedHandler
 
 
 @hooks.register('register_admin_urls')
@@ -27,3 +28,8 @@ def editor_js():
         'wagtailembeds/js/hallo-plugins/hallo-wagtailembeds.js',
         urlresolvers.reverse('wagtailembeds_chooser')
     )
+
+
+@hooks.register('register_rich_text_embed_handler')
+def register_media_embed_handler():
+    return ('media', MediaEmbedHandler)
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailimages/rich_text.py b/wagtail/wagtailimages/rich_text.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..aa2f9edd09
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailimages/rich_text.py
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+from wagtail.wagtailimages.models import get_image_model
+from wagtail.wagtailimages.formats import get_image_format
+
+class ImageEmbedHandler(object):
+    """
+    ImageEmbedHandler will be invoked whenever we encounter an element in HTML content
+    with an attribute of data-embedtype="image". The resulting element in the database
+    representation will be:
+    <embed embedtype="image" id="42" format="thumb" alt="some custom alt text">
+    """
+    @staticmethod
+    def get_db_attributes(tag):
+        """
+        Given a tag that we've identified as an image embed (because it has a
+        data-embedtype="image" attribute), return a dict of the attributes we should
+        have on the resulting <embed> element.
+        """
+        return {
+            'id': tag['data-id'],
+            'format': tag['data-format'],
+            'alt': tag['data-alt'],
+        }
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def expand_db_attributes(attrs, for_editor):
+        """
+        Given a dict of attributes from the <embed> tag, return the real HTML
+        representation.
+        """
+        Image = get_image_model()
+        try:
+            image = Image.objects.get(id=attrs['id'])
+            format = get_image_format(attrs['format'])
+
+            if for_editor:
+                try:
+                    return format.image_to_editor_html(image, attrs['alt'])
+                except:
+                    return ''
+            else:
+                return format.image_to_html(image, attrs['alt'])
+
+        except Image.DoesNotExist:
+            return "<img>"
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailimages/tests/test_rich_text.py b/wagtail/wagtailimages/tests/test_rich_text.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a9f91a4688
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailimages/tests/test_rich_text.py
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+from django.test import TestCase
+
+from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
+from mock import patch
+
+from wagtail.wagtailimages.rich_text import ImageEmbedHandler
+
+
+class TestImageEmbedHandler(TestCase):
+    fixtures = ['wagtail/tests/fixtures/test.json']
+
+    def test_get_db_attributes(self):
+        soup = BeautifulSoup(
+            '<b data-id="test-id" data-format="test-format" data-alt="test-alt">foo</b>'
+        )
+        tag = soup.b
+        result = ImageEmbedHandler.get_db_attributes(tag)
+        self.assertEqual(result,
+                         {'alt': 'test-alt',
+                          'id': 'test-id',
+                          'format': 'test-format'})
+
+    def test_expand_db_attributes_page_does_not_exist(self):
+        result = ImageEmbedHandler.expand_db_attributes(
+            {'id': 0},
+            False
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(result, '<img>')
+
+    @patch('wagtail.wagtailimages.models.Image')
+    @patch('django.core.files.File')
+    def test_expand_db_attributes_not_for_editor(self, mock_file, mock_image):
+        result = ImageEmbedHandler.expand_db_attributes(
+            {'id': 1,
+             'alt': 'test-alt',
+             'format': 'left'},
+            False
+        )
+        self.assertIn('<img class="richtext-image left"', result)
+
+    @patch('wagtail.wagtailimages.models.Image')
+    @patch('django.core.files.File')
+    def test_expand_db_attributes_for_editor(self, mock_file, mock_image):
+        result = ImageEmbedHandler.expand_db_attributes(
+            {'id': 1,
+             'alt': 'test-alt',
+             'format': 'left'},
+            True
+        )
+        self.assertIn('<img data-embedtype="image" data-id="1" data-format="left" data-alt="test-alt" class="richtext-image left"', result)
+
+    @patch('wagtail.wagtailimages.models.Image')
+    @patch('django.core.files.File')
+    def test_expand_db_attributes_for_editor_throws_exception(self, mock_file, mock_image):
+        result = ImageEmbedHandler.expand_db_attributes(
+            {'id': 1,
+             'format': 'left'},
+            True
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(result, '')
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailimages/wagtail_hooks.py b/wagtail/wagtailimages/wagtail_hooks.py
index 8a324ef8c2..6565acf72d 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailimages/wagtail_hooks.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailimages/wagtail_hooks.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ from wagtail.wagtailcore import hooks
 from wagtail.wagtailadmin.menu import MenuItem
 
 from wagtail.wagtailimages import admin_urls, image_operations
+from wagtail.wagtailimages.rich_text import ImageEmbedHandler
 
 
 @hooks.register('register_admin_urls')
@@ -108,3 +109,8 @@ def register_image_operations():
         ('width', image_operations.WidthHeightOperation),
         ('height', image_operations.WidthHeightOperation),
     ]
+
+
+@hooks.register('register_rich_text_embed_handler')
+def register_image_embed_handler():
+    return ('image', ImageEmbedHandler)