An Intimate Ethical wedding, Micro weddings with a 1920’s twist and grooms share their anxieties…..all on Magpie Wedding! How cool?!
Ok, so an intimate, ethical wedding, a micro wedding with a 1920’s twist and anxieties of the groom on their wedding day sounds like a lot, but I know, I know….it’s been a heck of a while since I last blogged. But hear me out…..as an industry, we haven’t had a lot to write about recently. Either the lack of work (apart from the odd chink in the light with the intimate ethical wedding and the 1920’s inspired micro wedding in lockdown easing last year), the apathy that many of my contemporaries have fostered because of the situation or simply a lack of ideas (we creatives need to keep on it to continue to be creative) has meant that not much really has come into my head to write about.
But, there have been others, those who serve and highlight the work of others in the wedding industry, have been flying the flag for us and as a collective, have all been helping each other out over the past few months, none more so than a lot of the sources for ethically planned weddings, all things alternative and vintage as this is becoming more and more then normal with wedding planning. And crikey its been needed. Support within our industry has been everything and I feel honoured and privileged that one such fantastic outlet for all of this, Magpie Wedding, have been kind enough to allow me to showcase and express thoughts on their amazing website and blog.
A little bit about Magpie Wedding…..they are a UK based ethical and alternative wedding blog, wedding fair organiser and all round advocate for all things that should be normal within the wedding industry…..LQBTQ+ equality and recognition, sustainability and greener resources, ethically thought out planning etc, alternative looks and ideas for the wedding industry as a whole. Kate, the founder is a fantastic person to know and she herself is into all things vintage and quirky, has a great sense of humour, has a fantastic taste in music (we have had many a conversation about Sonic Youth, Nirvana and some pretty obscure bands as well) and really has a handle on all things alternative, equal and vintage. So, please do go and have a read of the Magpie Wedding website and not just the things I am going to write about here. If you’re planning your wedding day and want to have something a bit different, it’s a great place to have a look around and get some fantastic ideas, insights and thoughts from.
Anyway, I digress…..
Kate was very kind enough to ask if I would like to be featured on their site for a few things while the ‘Rona was ravaging the country and industry. Of course, I obliged with a very quick yes! I have posted about this before, but the first time was to have an micro wedding with a 1920’s inspired vintage look that took place at the Clayton Hotel and The University Arms Hotel, Cambridge I was privileged to photograph last September. I won’t go on with the details again myself, as that can be seen here where I mention a few of this type of wedding that became very much the normal in the last few months. But if you want to see Charli and Rob’s own thoughts of that fantastic, chilled out and happy day can be read about here on Magpie Wedding’s own blog. Many more images to see from the day too! Please do go check it out. One of the most fun and happy weddings I have done.
Charli and Rob couples shots in and around Cambridge during their intimate, vintage inspired wedding at The University Arms
Off the back of the success of that amazing wedding, I was then asked if I had shot any more weddings in the lockdown ease by Kate and her team. The answer was indeed, yes….another brilliant, small and intimate outdoor celebration at the stunningly beautiful and incredible Boxted Hall. Morwenna and David’s wedding was a little less “conventional” as they wanted to have both the vintage look but also a more ethically sourced and arranged wedding, as well as having a mini festival style and theme to their day. And what a venue to do that at! Again, I touched upon that in the previous article I posted about but Kate and her team allowed Morwenna and David to tell their own story of their incredible day, with a few more of my images added! Click here to go read about that one. As it turned out, this wedding was a lucky one….only just a few days later, the restrictions on weddings were put back in place and this wedding would no longer have been able to happen if any later than it was. But so glad they got to get their wedding, as the photos and the atmosphere of their amazing ethical wedding was just fantastic. I loved every second of it and Morwenna and David were absolute joy personified.
Morwenna and David (and their beautiful dog) in their ethical wedding at the gorgeous Boxted Hall
Most recently, Kate put a call out to married males in the wedding industry who had anxieties about their own wedding day. In some ways, the bride is the focus of attention (or brides, depending on the couple). But people overlook, don’t think, forget or don’t realise that the guys can have their own hang-ups about their weddings too. From fears of things going wrong, worries about messing things up, thoughts and issues about doing the right thing, they way they look, not being centre of attention…..seems a drop in the ocean to a lot of people, but it can be quite damaging to a lot of guys mentally. I was one of them. And as this article shows, there are many of us who struggled somewhat on our wedding days. Not only my contribution about my own anxieties of body image and fear of failure, but the inimitable Dom Harness of the incredible RandFWeddings luxury wedding planners expresses his own fears on his wedding day, which, as with most men, you wouldn’t think were there when you know and meet him. An unflappable and clear headed a guy as you will ever meet, he’s a bit of a legend, but he struggled somewhat on his day for a number of reasons. Another absolute legend of a man who comes across as super confident and happy go lucky is Dan of Two D Photography. I have had many a conversation with Dan through this lockdown and although yet to meet him in person, I KNOW we are going to get on like a house on fire. I already feel like I know him (and his fab wife Sarah, who is the other half of Two D). And from what I know of him now, compared to when I first “met” him online, he also expressed his own concerns very well in this article to the point of it could have been a bit of a disaster (spoiler alert….it wasn’t!).
Yep, that IS me and my amazing wife on OUR big day at Chilford Hall back in 2010. An absolutely incredible day, one of the best ever. But even I had my anxieties about it. Go read the article here (photo credit: Mike Thornton Photography)
So go check all those things out. As much as I felt like I haven’t been busy (and these guys above will say the same thing), things HAVE moved on, things HAVE been happening. Intimate weddings, ethically based weddings, lockdown mini and micro weddings, informing, educating and being open about all things wedding related….I did a lot more than I gave myself credit for. Pat on the back I think!
BIG thanks to Kate at Magpie Wedding for allowing me to showcase my work and express my opinions and thoughts, it means a lot, give me focus, something to do and it was a pleasure to do so. It’s been much appreciated.
Now, roll on weddings, in all shapes, sizes and forms, to come!!! Cannot….CANNOT wait!