Til’ Death - A Plymouth Wedding.
Back in October I photographed a wedding unlike any before. I encourage you to brace yourself for the unexpected as you explore this unique and quirky celebration of love and all things spooky.
Holly & Sasha love Halloween almost as much as they love each other. And so their theme for the wedding was, you've guessed it - Halloween. It's bold move to celebrate your love and commitment alongside the dead, the dark, the disgusting and the demonic. But this couple did it and they did it well too! But it wasn't just a celebration of love or of Halloween, it was Holly and Sasha - a representation of both of them, not watered down to fit in with whatever society thinks a wedding should look like. And I respect that more than I can put into words.
It was amazing to see that all of the wedding guests embraced the theme, some even made costumes especially. It was a beautiful thing to witness the grim reaper turning up at Plymouth registry office. I'm not sure if the registrars have seen anything quite like it before, I know I haven't. The two brides walked down the aisle not in costume but in gorgeous wedding dresses. Holly’s dress was from Bridal Reloved and Sasha’s was from St Luke’s Charity Shop. The Bride’s were accompanied with their bridal parties, consisting of witches and Spiderman. They said their vows in the presence of their loved ones and walked out as a married couple.
When the ceremony was finished it was roughly 4:30pm (ceremony was at 4pm) and the light was quite nice but I knew it was fading fast. So we captured a few group photos outside the registry office, followed by some just married portraits of the newlyweds before we set off for their reception venue which was a 20 minute drive away.
But before we move on to that, I have to finally mention Sasha's fx make up. Isn't it devilishly amazing? It was done by the very talented Kelsey at Bohemia Beauty who did both of the Bride’s hair and make up.
As soon as we arrived at The Staddy I wasted no time in getting through the rest of the group photos that the couple had requested. I was thankful for CDEC Wedding Cars for moving the cars where I wanted them, it was nice to be able to include them in the photos. Holly and Sasha hadn’t given me too many group shots to work through which was a blessing because the daylight was fading very quickly and people’s bellies were ready for some food. We worked quickly which meant we had a little bit of time for some more photos of just the newlyweds. Sasha had bought along their gender fluid flag to include in some photos so we were really pleased to have some time to get creative with that before the buffet opened.
The buffet was open as soon as we arrived back with the guests. I don’t like to photograph people when they are eating, I think it can make people feel uncomfortable and it doesn’t really result in pretty pictures either. So I made myself busy by taking photos of all the decorations (which were bought/made and arranged by the Bride’s and some friends). There was so much around the room for me to capture, it was clear that a lot of thought and time had gone into bringing the Halloween theme to life.
After the speeches, everyone had to leave the room so that it could be turned around for the party. This was a good opportunity for me to take a little break and I returned ready for the cake cut. The cake was made by Just Add Cake and the cake topper was made by Kelsey Annes Creations. The couple danced their first dance and then it was time to party. Music was provided by DJ Amps and Decs Entertainment Cornwall.
For the rest of the evening I captured candid moments, dance floor action and I also took photo requests from anyone who wanted a picture with a loved one.
“From the moment we made contact Leah was outstanding, she was highly approachable, considerate and informative. Leah took the time to get to know us as individuals and as a couple and any questions we had were always met with a warm response. I would strongly recommend Leah too LGBTQIA+ couples, she was incredibly respectful, considerate and welcoming of us and our guests, including those with different gender identities and pronouns, it made such a positive difference to our day. From the pre wedding shoot, Leah helped us to feel more at ease in front of the camera, her suggestions led to some of our favourite photos. Finally the wedding day itself, Leah dedicated every minute of her time with us to capturing some of the most incredible photos of everyone involved, she was friendly and professional to everyone and kept in touch regularly with updates whilst editing our photos after.”
“Leah was a absolute joy to have as our photographer, she was very calm, patient and enjoyable to be around. from booking, to the pre wedding photoshoot to the big day Leah made everything run smoothly and we are in love with the photos we’ve received back so far. ♥️ I’d particularly recommend Leah to LGBT+ couples, Leah treated us both like brides, asked us what we’d prefer to be called and was considerate of guests who may have different pronouns. Thank you so much Leah.”