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Wedding Photography : Moment By Moment – The Veil

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There is a lot of ritual on a wedding day – the veil being one. Whatever culture you are from or whatever the day you are planning I think that some element of ritual is hard to avoid.

At My neighbours house…

 

I photograph weddings a lot for couples who want to have their own day in their way but I always see elements of ritual creeping into any day – and I think it’s a great thing. It connects us.

The resonance of this photograph is that I took it at my neighbours house. I was photographing the wedding of their daughter Jemima and it was very strange going into a house that is an exact mirror image of my own to photograph the rituals of a wedding day.

The Veil as the most important object

 

What I love about this photograph is how the frozen moment looks like a very posed and constructed classical painting with the light picking out the veil as the most important object in the room. How it is being handled gives it reverence – delicately fanning the material and handling it with fingertips and care gives it a significance within the frame. We know it’s important whether we recognise the tradition or not.

I think it’s also great that this is taking place in an ordinary house, the house Jemima grew up in. I love it when brides choose to get ready at home or their parents – it can add a strong emotional layer to my photography.