¡Que vivan los novios!
Or "cheers to the newlyweds!" in English. Nao & Will's wedding at Battle Abbey was a creative, fashionable joy. Mixing the elegance of a Sussex country wedding with the vibrance and excitement of Nao's Mexican heritage. A real party wedding, that celebrated this couples love in the most unique of ways.
When I arrived at Nao's AirBnB in Battle highstreet, I found a hub of excitement and activity. Bridal party every which way you looked, all busy doing something. I had been told by Nao in our previous conversations that she worked within the fashion industry, so I wasn't shocked to see the selection of beautiful bridesmaid's dresses on display. Eclipsed only by Naos incredible dress, custom-made by one of her friends. I absolutely loved the headdress that Nao wore as well. A beautiful mix of high-fashion and tradition, almost a perfect representation of the wedding itself.
My Wife Jade met up with Will and the Groomsmen at Battle Abbey. The guys were already dressed so the photos were just more candid, capturing what the guys were up to, preparing the venue and doing some last-minute surgery to the Piñata's, more on those later.
These unique, hand painted, terracotta tiles as wedding favours was a beautiful idea, I thought. Something I hadn't seen before.
Post ceremony we had the absolute chaos of a confetti shot, with mariachi band in full swing, piñata's swinging and tequila being slammed. Nao and Will had also requested a group shot taken from the top of The Abbey gate. I was happy to oblige but I can tell you thats a long way up when you are in a hurry!
Once the group shot was completed I gingerly headed back down the winding medieval staircase. The wedding party now made its way to the upper terrace at Battle Abbey, that looks over the historic battlefield. This is where the drinks reception took place, so a perfect opportunity for us to capture plenty of natural moments and the odd impromptu group photo.
I like to think of myself as a photographer who can adapt to all situations. I am as comfortable capturing a gothic wedding as I am a traditional church ceremony. These things always come up in initial consultation and I make a point of asking the couple what their vision is for the day, what they like in terms of photography and what inspires them. Nao's main buzzword was "editorial". Yes to the natural shots, yes to some group shots, but the key photos were to look like they has sprung from a high fashion magazine. With that in mind, we ventured to the Battle Abbey ruins.
I cannot tell you how much I love the photo below. Not something I had ever attempted before but knew if I could get it right it would look visually stunning. It's an odd concept to ask the bridesmaids to completely ignore you, and the bride to stare at you, whilst you circle them.
The sun flare? A happy, beautifully timed coincidence.
The absolute drama you can get photographing in The Abbey ruins. Theres no such thing as bad lighting, it's how you make it work for you. In some scenarios you need bright, even lighting but here we needed exactly this.
