When I received Lizzy & Les's inquiry to capture their wedding day, I was instantly obsessed with the references mentioned - they felt like "my" couple right away, which was only confirmed at our pre-booking call. We connected through our love towards cinematography, botanical elements, whimsical details, nature & outdoors. They took such care and attention filling out their questionnaire (that I send to every couple I work with to get to know them on a deeper level), it ignited me so much that I spent a few evenings in a row watching all the movies they stated as their wedding inspiration - mainly, southern gothic classics and artsy horrors such as "The Velvet Vampire", "Eve's Bayou", "The Skeleton Key" & "Daughters of the Dust".
When I ask for movie references, it's not for us to recreate the scenes or dress up as characters - it's for me to understand who you are based on what you love, try to recreate the feeling we get when watching those movies, and get influenced by the composition and colour choices. Movies are a powerful tool, not just a visual one, but an emotional, too.
In the above films, these were the common themes for me: the southern gothic vibes, connection of supernatural & nature, the abundance of greenery (no Spanish moss in London gardens though argh), the magnetic creepiness of hoodoo, the darker muted colour tones with accents on yellows and greens.
On Liz & Les's wedding day the ceremony took place in the Winter Garden Room, York House, Twickenham. We took some portraits in the surrounding the venue land, and later moved to Hampton Court, where the couple & their friends and family had their dinner, prior to which we took some more more couple portraits while exploring the area.
I focused a lot on the details, the peculiar, the couple's connection with each other, and the things they love.
Keywords: york house wedding; the winter garden room; twickenham wedding photography; hampton court wedding photoshoot; southern gothic wedding; cinematic wedding portraits; documentary style wedding photography; hampton court wedding portraits
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