Last month I headed down to somewhere in the middle of England to take photographs for my pal Chris’s wedding – navigating my way through London at rush hour on the tube. (FUNFUNFUNFUNFUN). Seriously though, it baffles me how people can be so unfriendly on public transport.
I met Chris years ago when I found myself on tour with his band Hold Your Horse Is to document life on the road, and given his tendency to do things his own way (like playing at a festival the day before the wedding), I knew that the weekend wouldn’t be a stuffy affair.
It was the hottest weekend of the year, pushing 30C – which didn’t bode well for traditionally sweaty drummers. In a very English fashion, we ended up drinking in the pub whilst Chris got ready before the service.
It really was stupidly hot.
Thank god for kilts.
Chris did manage to upgrade from the white tour van that we’d arrived in to a Cadillac for leaving the church with Beth. It’s probably symbolic somehow, but I’ll let you draw your own inferences!
I’ve done a lot of weddings, and it’s a testament to the both of these guys that it was such an enjoyable and easy day. Beth is a really organised, confident person, so when she got teary mid-speech just after this picture was taken it was rather sweet.
She might kill me for writing this though.
Bright sun is never a photographer’s friend, but we managed to fight past that and make the most of it, downing liberal amounts of gin as we went.
Weddings are always funny moments, where people who care about each other come together and evaluate their own lives; how far they’ve come; and celebrate the commitment of others to stick together… especially poignant at the age that we’re at just now. I’m glad I was a part of it.
Of course, things inevitably descended into a full-blown party outside, underneath the willow tree, with alcohol that had been… ahem… liberated from elsewhere.
Yes, that is one of my hip flasks.
I always smile a little when people ask if I can take photos up till 7PM and then I’ll be finished, as by that point my natural party photographer instincts kick in and I couldn’t stop taking pictures if I tried.
The memories are fuzzy, but they’re good.
All the best.
