When I shoot a wedding there’s normally a pretty big contrast between the respective houses where the bride and groom are getting ready. The guys’ place is generally pretty relaxed, just a few dudes kicking back and ironing shirts; whereas the bride’s house is a hotbed of hair and make-up, cars arriving, flowers being delivered, dresses being fitted, champagne being popped and all sorts of nervous and excitable emotions.
At least that’s what normally happens.
When I arrived at Anthony’s parent’s place on Saturday I was met by a scene of chaos. Anthony’s mum was dominating the front of the house – there were four sewing machines strewn about the room, with four seamstresses frantically making last minute alterations to wedding day garments in a scene that could only be described as a sweat shop. There were girls getting hair and make up done in the dining room, kids playing on the iPad on the couch, family members scattered about the house, an excitable dog holding court in the back yard and Anthony and his four groomsmen taking it all in their stride. An hour later when I left to head over to the bride’s place Anthony’s mum quietly said to me “It won’t be like this over at Bec’s house, they’ll be sipping champagne over there”.
And she was spot on.
Stepping into Bec’s parent’s house was like walking into a day spa, a picture of organisation and tranquillity. The girls were almost finished with their hair and make-up and the bubbles were just being poured. A coffee urn was quietly bubbling over, next to it a bowl of fancy chocolates, and another filled with cashew nuts. If you were looking for stress then you weren’t going to find it here. Bec’s dress was carefully laid out ready to be worn; too heavy to hang up it was draped over the couch and looking resplendent. I later learned that Anthony’s mum had hand made the dress in the months leading up to the wedding, along with the dresses for each of the four bridesmaids. Suddenly the sweatshop was starting to make sense.
When I returned to Australia at the end of 2009 I figured rain was going to be least of my worries as a wedding photographer, but for some reason it feel like every wedding I shoot has at least a few showers in the offing, and this was no different. Fortunately it rained when it didn’t matter and stayed dry when it had to. The ceremony at Rostrevor College was great, they’ve got a beautiful chapel there on stunning grounds, and the reception at Carrick Hill was something else again. I reckon I could shoot a dozen weddings there and come up with new and different photos every time.
As the evening wore on and the speeches grew near there was an excited buzz in the air, everyone was in fine form and the forecast for hilarity was high. The respective fathers of the bride and groom got the ball rolling, but when Anthony’s brother Tim took to the stand the reception officially become a party. You’d have to sit through a lot of speeches to find a more heart felt, entertaining, and down right hilarious speech than this, I got plenty of photos but I also missed plenty because I couldn’t hold the camera steady from laughing so hard. There was no doubt that the dance floor would be on fire to round the night out, a perfect finale to a perfect wedding.
I’ll be posting some more photos from the wedding to my Facebook business page shortly so if you want to make sure you’re first to know once they’re up make sure you head on over and “like” my page.
CONTACT SIMON – VIEW MY WEBSITE – GET EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ON FACEBOOK
