For a lot of people, weddings mean a time when all of the people you love most can come together to celebrate your love for another person. The emphasis being on “all” and “together” in that sentence. That’s something we haven’t been allowed to do for almost a year now, and for many it has meant postponing wedding plans until such a time as we can. For others, it has meant re-imagining what a wedding means to them, and making the most of the restrictions around social gatherings.
This is exactly what happened to one of my couples who decided to tie the knot in August 2020. Restrictions at the time meant that only 30 guests could attend the ceremony, masks had to be worn inside, the two metre rule had to be observed and the reception had to be outside. With so many rules in place it’s hard to imagine that this could be a joyous occasion, but it absolutely was! The overarching feeling of the day was that these two people loved each other, and not even a pandemic was going to stop them from getting married!
Making their way up St Johns Street to Great St Mary’s Church in Cambridge, the sight of the bride and her dad was definitely one for sore eyes for the many onlookers, who were just as thrilled to see a wedding taking place as I was to be there photographing it!
Social distancing and group shots
Social distancing guidelines were in place during the ceremony and also outside afterwards, with households having to keep two metres apart from other households. This actually added a natural composition to the photographs, with family groups posing together, and also acted as a record of this bizarre time. Being a documentary style photographer I look for the moments between the formal group shots anyway, as I often find that these make the better photographs, and there’s no need at all to be standing close to someone for that to happen.
A relaxed outdoor reception
With restrictions meaning that the reception had to take place outside, the wedding party took a stroll across Cambridge to Jesus Green, where they pulled up some deckchairs, tucked into a picnic and toasted the newlyweds with plenty of bubbles in the sunshine! Although limiting your guest list to just 30 people might seem impossible, there is always the prospect of having a big party at a later date to ensure that everyone can celebrate with you. And, that means that you get to have two parties, which could never be a bad thing right?!
Get in touch
If you are thinking of getting married whilst Covid restrictions are in place then I’d love to hear from you. As of 12th April 2021 weddings of up to 15 people can commence, and from the 17th May 2021 weddings of up to 30 people will be allowed (correct at time of publishing). Get in touch here so we can talk about your plans. You can also take a look at my portfolio to get more of an idea about my style.