Tamsin and Edi were supposed to get married at the beginning of lockdown – it was one of almost 30 weddings we had in the 2020 diary that had to be postponed. The couple decided to push their date back to December, figuring a cosy winter wedding would be just as lovely. Then, by August, when it was clear this virus was going to change the way we do weddings for a long time, they thought – “let’s just do it!” They emailed us and asked if we were available in two weeks’ time to shoot their 30-person wedding. Of course we were!
They had the ceremony in their original church (not just any church, this one was epic, with turquoise windows and light flooding in from all angles), with 30 guests and the rest watching via a YouTube live stream, and a mini reception in the church car park. There was no confetti (paper from someone’s sweaty paws thrown into the couple’s faces… not Covid friendly!) – instead they had bubble machines. Cake cutting, speeches, and first dance were all done Covid-19 style (short, distanced and one after the other instead of strung over several hours). The cake was already cut (apart from the special one kept for cutting!) and wrapped up individually, and the first dance took place on a roundabout in the drizzle. It was one of the best weddings we’ve shot – it had all the most fun things one after the other!
The second half of the reception took place in the local rec ground, where everyone played bubble basketball (that’s basketball in family bubbles to pre-2020 cavepeople), followed by dinner in a local restaurant. Meanwhile, Todd and I had a lovely picnic in the rec ground, lovingly made for us by Tamsin’s sister.
We were there for just 3 hours, but they crammed so much in (and it didn’t feel rushed!) and the whole thing was done properly. The wedding wasn’t any less full of love even though there weren’t any hugs, and there was just as much laughter, even if smiles were covered by masks.
Two people got married, everyone ate cake. And that, my friends, is a wedding.
