Not quite sure I’ll ever get over yesterday. Whether it’s from the angry screams and meltdowns from Helena about the rain or the sheer amount of swearing ( in Finnish and English) , crazy mother trucking dancing, epic food and great people. I think it’ll be hard to top. People ask what makes me choose weddings to blog. The easiest way to answer this is simply a wedding that’s different or brings something totally bat shit to the table. The very fact that Pete only agreed to hire me was apparently due to my (in his words) liberal use of the word c**t. To my knowledge I’ve never used that word at a wedding but during lockdown zooms I spent 97% of my time drunk so who the heck knows. Anyway, It worked.

Right, so, in the words of The Fresh Prince, here we go. Strap yourself in folks. This one is a ride.

So here’s a story all about how, my life got twisted upside down, when I walked into a British/Finnish wedding and saw a bride wailing with a frown. (Shit I know, but I tried.) I’m sharing this wedding on the blog and I’m sure Helena and Pete won’t mind my honesty but this is a classic example of having the perfect ideal in your head and everything going to shit. But ultimately having one of the best days ever and the energetic smiles have been captured to prove it. Ultimately having a strong supplier team who can adapt quickly in emotional situations is the moral of the story.

Contary to popular belief, I’m not a complete arsehole, so I read the room and felt that taking a photo of Helena mid breakdown would be inappropriate, it may also provide evidence for lawyers had any minor injury occurred to a wedding guest when an object may have been thrown by Helena at the rain, through a window, past several humans. So instead I took a photo of Helena’s bridesmaid stroking her hair, and Pete pacing with his vape outside like puff the magic dragon and telling most people he met to f**k off.

Helena told us that she had tracked the weather on this day FOR TEN YEARS, and it had never rained on this day in Lorton in all that time. Well surprise surprise, todays the day for rain. What are the odds? Actually quite high in the Lakes in June. Probably explains why my busiest months these days are September and October given that planning a wedding in those months is more likely to include rain and therefore allow couples to plan accordingly. Anything other than torrential rain is a happy accident.

The team chosen for this wedding was the absolutely the best to cope with this situation. Janet from Wilde and Romantic, Ashley from The Floralistas, Ben and Fran from Low Hall The Lakes, Back Chat Brass and Samuel James Catering. Myself, Janet and Ashley are used to elopements and often battling severe weather, so making our plans/itinery/ designs/styling/flowers to withstand last minute changes are probably easier for us than most suppliers who are used to predominantly working indoors. Helena wanted an outdoor forest ceremony. Due to the rain Janet was unable to put the Persian rugs out and Ashely unable to use flowers outside, so as a team we made an executive decision to use only foliage, no rugs and with the help of Ben and Fran we made an arch and within an hour the most beautiful woodland ceremony space was created.

As a team we made another executive decision to not tell Helena anything and just do it. From my perspective it was the most beautiful ceremony I’ve ever done in the woods at Low Hall because of the lack of sun casting dappled light on everybody's faces. Instead I got gorgeous filament bulbs and beautiful natural light landing in all the right places. Every rain cloud and all that. We know what the vision Helena had in her head was. But time was of the essence and we needed to crack on.

After a few more meltdowns over a few other little things the emotion in the room was a little bit heated so Fran and I cautiously entered the bridal suite and suggested we move the ceremony half and hour later so Helena and her girls got a little bit of chill time. Luckily they were having a celebrant led ceremony and so it was flexible to some degree and it was up to me, the caterers and the band to pull everything back into the correct time frame. By this time I’d stopped my usual bullshit line of “rain on your wedding day is good luck” That shit was absolutely not helping the situation and I decided to keep my mouth firmly shut.

It was finally ceremony time, 45 minutes later than planned but clearly somebody somewhere always had that planned because for a convenient little window of time we had zero rain. Just long enough to have a beautiful ceremony, some group shots and some time outside. Even time to send the drone up.

Helena entered the woods on her own and met her mum and step dad halfway where they walked her to Pete. It was absolutely beautiful. Suddenly all the tears, worries and bother about the rain were a long distant memory and the day began properly with smiles and happy tears.

The ceremony was led by their good friend and rings carried by one of their massive horses, sorry, dogs. I can’t remember which one now and I didn’t get a photo but I got some EPIC slow mo film of him bounding perfectly through the forest with the rings around his neck like Black Beauty. I Can’t wait to edit this highlight film (FYI I make constant executive artistic decisions all day long about which parts of the day look better as film or photo) This was most certainly one of them. The guests all stood in the woods and it really was such a special ceremony that I’ve never done before. Completely unique and bespoke and it bloody well worked. Sometimes shit just happens which means you can’t have hay bales and people have to stand. It frickin works.

Ceremony done and rock star confetti exit pending….

We needed to make up some time from the later ceremony so I was running around like a blue arsed fly squished between an order of the day, a catering plan and a rainy cloud coming at me like a freight train.

GET. THE. GROUP. SHOTS. NAILED. JO

Even had time for the quickest ever couple portrait session in the history of portrait sessions, I even shocked myself. 7 minutes in total from start to finish.

Bespoke beers, doughnut stand, aperol spritz and vintage cocktails, laughing and chilling continued until we were called into the lovable old barn for speeches and yummy food from Samuel James Catering.

I ask a very important question in my booking form questionnaire and it goes like this. If you could only have 5 photos from your wedding day, what would they be and why. I ask this question before I accept a booking to ensure that any couple booking me is the right fit. I’m not everybodies cup of tea and it’s absolutely pivotal to ensure that a photographer and couple match. If the form comes back and a couple have written 5 posed images then I’ll most likely not take the booking any further. If they are 5 images that describe capturing the fun and attitude of the couple then I’m the tog for the job. I can flit between the two, gentle posing and armpit action shots. That’s why, I feel, from knowing Pete and Helena for less than 24 hours this photo will be one that’s printed on their wall for years to come.

Helena looking like a stunning happy boho finnish fairy and Pete flicking the bird and telling everybody he passes to f**k off whilst quests whip them with napkins. To me, this photo sums this couple up. I could be wrong, but that’s the vibe I get from shooting them twice.

All styled to complete perfection by Low Hall and Wilde and Romantic. A Krispy creme doughnut tower and the most gorgeous florals from The Floralistas.

Helena and Pete chose to have speeches in between the meals and ending with a Finnish tradition where typically the bride gets kidnapped by the groomsmen. Given that this wedding was in England, they flipped that tradition and kidnapped Pete instead. I think it was a secret ploy so all the blokes could spend 30 minutes at the bar whilst Helena completed her task in order to win her husband back. Her task was to write a rap, then sing it to the guests.

Her rap was brilliantly funny and revealed a bit more than I think I was prepared for but my god, it was good. She won her husband back. Helena finished the meal with a short speech and then the guests went downstairs for their dessert. The most incredible ice cream station. A pick and mix station filled to brim with so many gorgeous treats.

Helena had asked for some rainy steamy shots of them both before the dancing kicked off, and so that’s exactly what she got. Another world record for me, this time, a couple portrait session lasting all of 3 minutes. Yet weirdly some of the best photos I’ve taken of a couple being so natural and candid with each other. If you hadn’t twigged yet, Pete and Helena were not the posing type. I like these photos a lot. Obviously not enough to put on my own wall because that would just be fucking weird.

Back into the lovable old barn for their first dance sung by a family friend on guitar and then shortly followed by my all time fave band…. you guessed it….

Back Chat Brass of course, I see these guys more than I see my husband because I recommend them to all my couples. They just get the party started and they make the BEST PHOTOS EVER. the energy they bring to the dance floor and the flexibility that it gives me as a creative is perfect. They can perform outside, inside, on the move… It really is a dream to photograph weddings when they are on the supplier list alongside me. I just love them so much.

After their first set Helena came up to me and said, “ Jo, let’s do tug of war” This coming from a bride who 10 hours earlier was inconsolable about the rain, who was so so so upset that it wasn’t sunny and that her dress was going to get mucky and the vision she had wouldn’t come to light wanted to now play tug of war in the rain on wet slippery grass. I mean hell yes, I’m up for this but I just couldn’t believe what I was hearing. So, that’s what we went to do…..

The evening also included my two lovely sidekicks, Annie the Photobooth and my husband who kindly ran her for me. Complete with a few new naughty props, the Finland guests were a little but obsessed with Annie.

Yes she fell over, yes she got a dirty arse, no she wasn’t bothered and yes she had the biggest most infectious smile and energy I’ve ever seen. This was NOT how I saw the day ending in any way shape or form. At one point in the morning I honestly thought the day wasn’t going to happen.

I chose to blog this wedding whilst sat in a soft play centre because whilst I try my best to brief couples on the possibility of a rainy wedding, despite my best efforts Helena didn’t believe a word of what I said and she had her heart set on a British summer sunny warm wedding. This wasn’t the case, it was the furthest thing from what she wanted and sadly as she was putting her makeup in the morning she said to the room “Is it wrong that I just want this day to be over?”

Hopefully these photos will restore some faith in those couples who worry about rainy weather. But of course, the outcome of your day and ultimately your happiness will only ever be determined by your willingness to shift your mindset and accept the weather. If you tip toe around in a dress not wanting to get it mucky or you stay inside desperate to not get your hair wet then you’ll have one really boring AF day. Embrace it or waste your day whinging. The choice is yours. Helena and Pete, you two are legends of the highest order and I’m so grateful we crossed paths. I cannot wait to get stuck into your highlight film in the coming month.