Alternative wedding on 35mm film

This alternative punk rock wedding was one for the books. Tiffany and I bonded on the phone, and spent most of the initial consultation talking about our cats and rock music. It was a match made in heaven.

As with all weddings, I arrived early to spend some time chatting to the wedding party about how the day was going to unfold. There’s nothing more off-putting than a photographer turning up and immediately shoving their camera in your face! Sometimes I need to blend in to be a fly on the wall. This party had other ideas and I was well and truly in the thick of it. Having that level of trust to ‘just do my thing’ is the key ingredient to the non-wedding, wedding photos.

My bride is a florist, and did all of the flowers for the wedding. Don’t they look incredible? My groom is in the music industry, you should check out his cufflinks. All the guests, all the family were just so much fun and rolled with the beautiful chaos of the day. I feel like I made so many new friends, and it did not even feel like work.

Dearly beloved

After an emotional first look and a chat with Alan the officiant, it was time to say I do. This is how the ceremony started:

“Dearly beloved

We are gathered here today

To get through this thing called life

Electric word, life

It means forever and that’s a mighty long time..”

Yes, The officiant started the ceremony quoting the great man himself. That’s the first time I’ve had Prince involved in a wedding ceremony, and I hope not the last. My couple came joyfully back down the aisle as husband and wife, with Craig wearing a lot of Tiffany’s lipstick after that epic kiss.

Station to Station

The plan after the wedding was to go to the beach for photos, but the entrance was blocked and we could not work out how to get there! We accidentally ended up at the train station as the sun was setting and creating the most beautiful backlight. It was decided very quickly that it looked a lot cooler than a beach!

And you’ll never guess what happened next. A train came in! Tiffany started flicking her dress and giving me the most amazing shapes, to the amazement of the businessman getting off after a long day at work. Incredible.

The evening passed in a blur of great music, joyous people dancing and as usual the gathering of guests having a cheeky smoke outside. Those still standing went on to a dive bar afterwards. I used up the last six images on my last roll of film, then spent ages talking music photography with some of the guests. 

Pretty sure Tiffany & I are going to cause some mayhem at a concert near you, soon.

The Analogue Anarchist

As always, I’m so grateful to my couples for trusting in the ‘non wedding, wedding photos’ process. Part of that magic is capturing the day on analogue film, for a bit of instant nostalgia and a bit of anarchy. I used a variety of 35mm and medium format cameras, and for this wedding I took uncle Alan’s Polaroid SX-70 land camera I inherited.

Film used:

Kodak Portra 800 | Kodak Portra 400 | Kodak TMax 400 | Ilford HP5 400 | Polaroid SX-70

London Wedding Photographer

From 2023 I’m opening my books for London. Yes folks, I’m coming home! If you’re not into traditional wedding photos, and you’re getting married in London, the UK, Europe, and beyond, I’d love to talk to you.

You can find out more HERE

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