Saturday 26 December 2015

Sharon & Daniel at Wick Court, Bath


It was when these two engaged in an all-or-nothing chip fight during their pre-wedding shoot that I knew they were going to be a rad, gnarly couple to photograph. 
Dan and Sharon didn't want a conventional wedding. They wanted something that was completely and utterly them and when we met up in a cafe to talk weddings and style, they explained their vision of something fun, natural and real. Something that reflected them and their quirky, artistic personalities. 
Their wedding absolutely oozed artistic personality. From hand painted pallets, a custom candy trolly, a toy crocodile head and jelly shoes, their wedding was a photographers dream and their company made it all the more fun. How many photographers have hidden under an antique four poster bed with the bride to ambush the groom after all? 

***This shoot was edited in my "Film" finish

The necklace was a vintage piece and a gift from Dan before the wedding. Sharon's engagement ring was also a vintage piece and her beautiful flower crown was handmade by one of her best friends. 




Sharon's bridal outfit consisted of a unique, hand-made two piece and a pair of jelly shoes. I must say, that girls got style. I absolutely love how these shoes showcase her tattoos. She even got a personalised tattoo for Dan (which was a complete surprise for him) reading "Your God is my God" which was heart wrenchingly beautiful however I won't share the image as there's some surprises and details that are just too personal to share with the web-sphere and belong to just these two, beautiful people.


Mother of the bride sees her daughter above. Below, Sharon receives a mysterious letter from Dan delivered via one of the bridesmaids.



The "I can do this!" face 







The car came to pick them up from the bridesmaids house on a windy little lane in Bath and transport them to Sharon and Dan's church; Oldfield park Baptist church, where the ceremony was to be.


The theme for the bridesmaids dresses was mismatched floral with matching festival style flower hairbands to bring them together. It was very rock and roll. 











In the place of button holes, Sharon and Dan had designed and made little wooden runes that matched the initial of each of the grooms party. The majority of their wedding was entirely hand made, from the brides dress and head garland to the button holes and pallets at the reception venue.








Obligatory 'I've just married my best friend' fist pump. 












Minature photo-bomber. 









After the ceremony, everybody was ushered into the church hall behind for a very village-fete style tea and cake session. The cakes were baked by friends and family and there was such a genuine sense of community in the hall, with young and old coming together to celebrate their loved ones. So much laughter, an abundance of silliness and fun was had at this wedding - Dan and Sharon had such energy and passion at it showed in all their celebrations and how much their friends knew how to enjoy themselves. 
After some group shots and a wave of confetti, Dan and Sharon hopped into the next snazzy, vintage car and drove on over to Wick Court a few miles away for their reception party. 



































Dan and Sharon, being arty and lovers of all things quirky, requested that I bring my polaroid camera. I warned them that the shots are unpredictable, as impossible project film yields a different result every time but not deterred, they ordered two packs of film and we had a rad time taking pictures with the old, instant camera that had once belonged to my granddad.










We took some chill out time in the grand bedroom in the upper levels of the manor. It had a mighty four poster bed (which we refrained from jumping on) and had fun goofing around and hiding from Dan, under the bed. How many couples have do you know that start an impromptu hiding game under an antique four poster bed on their wedding day? These guys were 100% my kind of people.













The speeches were such a joy to capture, even if some of them were in Welsh and I didn't understand a word! The moments shared between family members and the expressions on the faces of friends were utterly wonderful.



Mother and Grandmother of the bride share a moment during the speech 
















And then the ice cream van arrived... 













And then there was the massacre of the PiƱata... 





Guts... everywhere. But when these guys started dancing to the 'dela' song from the George of the Jungle movie, it hit me right in the feels. I fought back the tears of 18 years of childhood nostalgia  and photographed their dancing which got progressively more crazy.















and when the sun went down, everybody nipped indoors for a spot of Ceilidh let by some friends.





Departing at 9pm on the dot, for their honeymoon in Dan's home country of Celtic Wales.
In the end, Dan and Sharon ended up with over 1000 images of their wedding and it was hard to narrow it down to even this bundle. Their wedding was an ultimate mash of art, quirky, vintage and handmade with a blend of rock and roll and just a dash of hip. These two stylish beings knew what they wanted from the beginning and weren't prepared to be anything other than true to themselves and their values.
The manor isn't a traditional wedding venue and isn't generally available for such hire which made it all the more personal for them and their special day. Everything was a complete surprise, nothing was predictable or cliche, with a plastic toy crocodile head here, an ice cream van there and jam jars of soft drinks all over the place. For catering they went with a succulent, local Hog Roast company and instead of a band, they made use of their trusty, well-refined iPod playlist.
If I could use one word to describe their wedding it would be 'vibrant'. They totally subverted the traditional Christian wedding stereotype and celebrated the their love for one another before their God in such a heart felt, community strengthened and fun setting that it was needless to say, that absolutely everyone, including us, had the raddest of rad times.
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