Law III : To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction.
I’ve no idea whatsoever why, when I reflect back on Reena & Danny’s wedding day, Newton’s third Law of Motion surfaces in my mind and makes a claim for attention. It must mean something. To me anyway. This in tandem with the more modern law of conservation of energy – energy can neither be created nor be destroyed: it can be transformed from one form to another or transferred from one place to another – keeps popping up.
For much of my life I’ve felt these physical laws can serve an equally useful philosophical purpose. But, anyway…
I don’t consider myself to be one for gushing but week in, week out I find myself welcomed amidst one of the most important days of the lives of a series of people that leave me feeling reassured that humankind has a great deal of worth about it. Sometimes those people have fantastic music collections, on which note you may wish to play this track in the background; it’s what I’m listening to as I write this; it’s what we all listened to for most of the morning as Danny prepared to set off to meet with and marry Reena. Sometimes their homes have fantastic interior decor; it’s always deeply pleasing to find one’s photographs framed and mounted on the living room walls of one’s clients. Invariably they come packaged with good families and embedded amongst good friends and that tendency was borne out to the full in Reena & Danny’s case.
My thanks to Jo at Sheffield wedding photography outfit Shoot Lifestyle for referring this commission to me. Shoot Lifestyle had photographed the wedding of some friends of Reena & Danny who in turn had first approached them about photographing their wedding. Already being booked for their date, Jo referred Reena & Danny to me and I couldn’t be happier with what that led to.
Amidst creation and destruction there’s always room for a nice cup of tea…
George, one of Danny’s three best men, had flown over from Australia where he owns a successful and busy hair salon. Late into the evening I had a good conversation with George about the nature of his business, the nature of my business, the commonalities therein (not least the hours of being on one’s feet that they involve) and the importance of devoting good time to an all over grade two haircut, devotion to quality in even the simplest things…
One of Danny’s two brothers and another of his three best men, Oli probably wasn’t expected to be welcomed by a camera lens but start as you mean to go on. I liked his t-shirt, jolly yet ironic considering he worked his socks off all day to aid in the smooth running of things and was unfalteringly helpful and accommodating. He performed fantastically as master of ceremonies too…
Twenty years professional experience of cutting hair? Useful friend to have at hand for those last minute tidy-ups…
Having worked alongside and with fine artists for two decades and counting I always find myself bemused by the growing use of the term Fine Art Wedding Photography in the field that I do, ultimately, practice within in this context. More-so it’s the type of imagery that the term is applied to. Were I to describe myself as a fine art wedding photographer this is the kind of image I’d be creating :~)…
To Ealing Town Hall, had you not extracted that information for yourself from the images.
For a moment there Danny turned in to a New York Mafia Don, making sure his henchmen had all the booze (plus name cards and table centrepieces) coming across the border from Canada in time for the party. Don’t mind me; it’s just the corners of my mind vying for the centre-ground…
Meanwhile, up-stairs…
Reena was in the talented hands of… Reena. Reena Parmar, founder of Beautiful Bride London…
Reena’s sister Manisha and cousin Mira were on hand to help complete her dressing…
Granted she’s deep in concentration at this juncture but Manisha’s almost constant ready smile throughout the day was something to be appreciated. She also undertook a remarkable amount of work behind the scenes coordinating a small army of siblings, brothers-in-law, cousins and their children to help ensure all the decorations were in place for the ceremony and the wedding breakfast. Across the whole day the help of family and friends was in evidence everywhere; it added an additionally strong sense of inclusivity and a community of friendship to the whole day…
Reena’s father, Raj…
…and her uncles who would join her father in walking her up the aisle…
Ever get that feeling when you’re about to get married and the endorphins are flowing so strongly you feel they might lift the top of your head clean off?..
Danny’s other brother and best man Ben completes the line up. Did someone just say boy band?..
Danny’s and Reena’s mothers, Janet and Rama. It was a joy to see how over-flowing with happiness they both were the entire day…
I’m quite used to seeing best men, ushers, family, friends fixing a groom’s tie or buttonhole on wedding days. I’ve often noted such fixing taking place when everything was in perfectly good order to start with. Considering Danny wasn’t wearing a tie, this scene brought home to me that it’s all really about making contact, re-affirming bonds, reassurance. Preening basically…
Up-stairs…
And here we go… but first time for some further recommended listening. I’d been struck by how subtly yet potently the day’s proceedings were underscored, throughout, by music. Danny had put a great deal of time, thought and effort into building a musical selection from his record collection to span the entire day from arrival of the guests through the processional then recessional (going up the aisle and back down again; I’ve only learnt the specific terminology through repeated practice, of photographing it, not going up and down the aisle myself as such) on to the cocktail reception, the wedding breakfast and for band breaks in the evening. Their sound engineer James Ridley of Ridley Sound did a fantastic job in orchestrating playback.
First off, Danny was walked up the aisle by his mother (followed by Reena’s brother Vinay escorting their mother, then the rest of the bride’s and groom’s entourage including Heena, Reena’s other sister) to the tune of Pot Belly by Lou Donaldson…
…all followed by Reena, conducted up the aisle by her father and her uncles to the tune of The Time of Times by Badly Drawn Boy…
Reena & Danny’s marriage ceremony has left a deep and lasting impression on me. I’ve heard tell of Humanist wedding ceremonies, in passing, from colleagues in the field of wedding photography. In each case it’s been via Twitter come to think of it, which explains why my knowledge of the specifics was scant but my awareness of their ability to profoundly move was already in mind. It’s not something that can be explained in 140 characters. It’s not something I’m sure I can explain here, with no limit to word count. I can say that it was a ceremony far more about the couple at its centre than any other ceremony I’ve witnessed. I’ve witnessed a great many ceremonies where there was already a profound sense of it being about the couple though in those cases I suspect it was the sheer personalities of those individuals breaking through a ritualistic structure prone to seeming to be more about itself than about the people at its centre. In essence this ceremony wasn’t about itself, about Humanism I suppose, but it was about humanity and two people and their commitment to each other shared by those around them. I can’t explain it really. Not fully. It was an intensely personal experience. I also loved how it embraced aspects of Hindu, Jewish and other cultures with an exchange of garlands, an exchange of rings, of personal vows, of sweets, the smashing of glass underfoot to cries of mazel tov, the lighting of shared candles and the circling around those candles to a Hindu recital. None of these were set aspects of a Humanist wedding ceremony; they were aspects of Reena & Danny. I can highly recommend taking this approach to sealing a marriage! Reena & Danny’s celebrant was Hilary Leighter and she conducted an enriching experience for all concerned.
Okay so the sharing of sticky sweets was liable to make for some odd chewy expressions but it’s an important part of the visual record ;~)…
More music maestro! Cue Let the Sun shine in by the Sons and Daughters of Lite to 3’15″ if you want to hear as well as see Reena & Danny walking back down the aisle together…
Sticky sweets for all…
A brief bit of private time around Ealing Town Hall’s interior for some portraits…
I did say brief…
Congratulations Reena & Danny! It was, quite frankly, a mind-blowingly moving experience. But wait… there’s plenty more by way of celebration to come in Part Two and who’s that I hear coming down the corridor? Uh huh! >>
Contact London Wedding Photographer Phillip Allen : phill@misterphill.com : 07870 696248
by Phillip Allen
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