An Alternative Wedding with Naomi and Stuart.
I first met alternative bride and groom Naomi and Stuart at Leicester Tigers wedding fair over a year ago. It was one of the rare but lovely times when we all just clicked with each other immediately.Both Naomi and Stuart looked striking with multiple tattoos and piercings and I could tell that they where both hugely impressed with the style and quality of my photography . I was therefore very happy to hear back from them when they had their date and venue booked in The City Rooms in Leicester on 18 August. I just knew that this was going to be a wedding that I would be very much connected to.
Pre Ceremony Photos.
The day began as always with details and bride/groom portraits. The style of Naomi and Stuarts wedding was hippy goth. The ceremony room was adorned with flowers with the colour pallet being black, gold and pink with lots of leafy greens. It was like being surrounded by the outdoor natural world which means so much to both Naomi and Stuart. Naomi's creative skills where also put to good use as she also designed and made tarot card table placements and all the signage too.
Naomi's make up was expertly applied by the super cool Kate Reynolds - alternative wedding specialist https://katereynoldsmua.co.uk/ If you are looking for an alternative wedding make up artist she is the one to go to, very much recommended.
Naomi looked fab in her black wedding dress supplied by Divine Boutique of Leicester https://divine-boutique.co.uk/ and was so easy to produce beautiful portraits for. Finding the light is so important to produce great quality bridal portraits and the light in the bridal suite was lovely.
When I had finished Naomi's portraits it was time for the grand reveal with dad, not one but two dads so first up Naomi's dad, quickly followed by Naomi's step dad - two great shots for the price of one.
I just had time to catch Stuart for portraits before the ceremony began who also looked great in his suit by Cavani and multiple facial piercings.
The Ceremony.
Naomi made her entrance to the theme from Corpse Bride and wore the most exquisite long black train, wow what an entrance. This was a very emotional moment for both Naomi and Stuart and Naomi did say that on hearing the opening chords to Corpse Bride she did shed a tear or two. They both did great, however, and managed to get through the ceremony very well. Stuart requested music from Silent Hill for the signing of the register. Sorry Stuart no idea about that one Im afraid, music from games not my speciality.
Anyway, once they made their exit it was time for a lovely confetti shot, whats not to like about that?
Alternative Bride and Groom Portraits.
As lovely a venue is as the City Rooms one thing it does not have is a lot of outdoor space to shoot in. This is where experience of venues and good communication comes into play. Knowing that we would face this issue I arranged a meeting with Naomi and Stuart four weeks before the wedding so we could make a plan to go somewhere during the day to produce some beautiful bride and groom portraits. So after the confetti shots we drove the short distance to Castle Gardens which worked out just fine.
Shooting on Black and White 35mm film and Polaroid film.
I made the decision to shoot some of this wedding on 35mm film and polaroid film. I love the feel and quality of analogue film photography and it takes me back to my first love and passion for photography when I worked at JohnOs darkroom in East London. The polaroid images where for one of my lovely signed polaroid frames. This is a new and innovative idea of mine from earlier in the year, so I shoot soem of the wedding on polaroid, chief bridesmaid's job is to get the mount signed on the day and I mount the polaroids in the frame before I go home leaving bride and groom with a beautiful product to take home on the day of the wedding.
I love the feel and quality of polaroid photography, its so lovely to have an instant photograph develop before your eyes and it gives my bride and groom something physical to take home on the day of the wedding. There is a unique and vintage aesthetic to polaroid film which cannot be achieved with digital photography and I love that these images are one of a kind and the prints cannot be reproduced.
Speeches.
Once back to the venue it was time for the speeches. Naomi did ask me to ensure that I caught the reactions to the speeches as they had something special to announce, well there is only one thing thats going to be - and yes, Naomi announced during the speeches that she and Stuart where having a baby, what a way to break the news, barely a dry eye in the house and some wonderful moments for me to capture.
Phew once we had all composed ourselves we found that I had a few hours to kill until evening fun, so I thought it would be time to shoot some more lovely bride and groom portraits, rude not to really.
Cake Cutting, First Dance and Evening Fun.
With the cake cutting photo I wanted to bring in as many guests as I could and try and get a lot of energy and life into the shot.
Then into the first dance which was played by the band Smoke over Elsewhere who played a demented version of Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel - very cool.
When you're wearyFeeling smallWhen tears are in your eyesI'll dry them allI'm on your sideOh, when times get roughAnd friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled waterI will lay me downLike a bridge over troubled waterI will lay me down.
The band then launched into their own set which for me was a welcome relief from the usual wedding music dross I have to endure, No Ed Sheeran, no Christina Perri, just bloody load and heavy music, just how I like it. Not all the guests enjoyed it though ha ha.
Final Shot.
I knew I had produced some great images from Naomi and Stuart during the day, but I did want to produce one final beautiful image before I left. The rain had fortunately held off most of the day but it was starting to rain a little when I left and I do love producing images in the rain as they can look dead good. I put Naomi and Stuart in the entrance of the venue and using my portable studio flash unit behind them I managed to create a beautiful silhouette image of them both, this Naomi told me was one of her favourite images from the day, so I am so pleased that I stayed to produce this shot for them.
So that was Naomi and Stuarts amazing alternative Gothic wedding, exactly the kind of wedding I love to shoot.
If you are planning a similar alternative styled wedding I would love to hear from you, and I'd love to hear your play list too. I will even recommend some of my favourite Goth tunes for the dance floor, let's get it on with Sisters of Mercy, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus and The Cure. Now thats my kind of wedding.
https://www.masseyphotography.co.uk/contact-us/
Naomi and Stuarts Dream Team
Photographer - massey photography https://www.masseyphotography.co.uk/
Venue - The City Rooms https://thecityrooms.co.uk/
Make Up - Kate Reynolds https://katereynoldsmua.co.uk/
Flowers - Hidden Botanics https://hiddenbotanicsweddings.com/
Band - Smoke Over Elsewhere https://hotvox.co.uk/artist/smoke-over-elsewhere/
Wedding Dress - Divine Boutique https://divine-boutique.co.uk/