Joe & Lou - Love in the Time of COVID19 - An Intimate Sale Town Hall Wedding
Let’s just get this out there: the world is a dumpster fire. The memes have out-memed themselves, Veep no longer feels like satire but more a hyper-realistic portrayal of modern politics, life feels both fragile and vividly, powerfully strong - we’re angry, we’re motivated but we’ve got nowhere to go. It would be so so easy to descend into an anxious puddle of despair and futility.
AND YET.
And yet miraculously the Earth is still spinning on it’s axis, same as it ever was. Babies are being born, trees are stretching toward the sun, the moon rises and watches over our antics, we’re constantly finding new and innovative ways to adapt and connect and adjust to this new normal. Connection, more than anything, is what I feel like we’re missing the most. It feels so odd to not hug and kiss our friends and family when we greet them, impossible not to scoop up my daughter’s pals when we meet in the parks when I’ve known them literally since infancy.
AND YET.
Adaptation, evolution, those gears are turning. Today I had the privilege to shoot my first post-lockdown wedding celebration. Socially distant (which has never made sense in my job) but with a handful of well-wishers, a deeply personal location and joy radiating off of two people who have been so spectacularly lucky to have found each other and made it this far despite ALL of the odds stacked against them.
Lou and Joe actually got in touch with me over a year ago about photographing their local Sale Town Hall wedding and pub reception. At the time of their enquiry, I was already booked so sadly, it never went further. But then lockdown hit and the world turned upside down and whilst I’d been frantically re-arranging and postponing and calmly reassuring my 2020 couples, Lou emailed me (just to weeks ago) to share this: ‘I got pneumonia in January and was in two separate comas and have been left disabled. I'm in a wheelchair too but we intend on wearing our wedding gear and having a small celebration with some close friends we are all Sale residents too and I think the pictures would be perfect for your lockdown collection.’
And I sat back. And I was a little scared to say yes even though my job is irrevocably entwined with who I am and I feel lost without it because I didn’t know how this would work: I get so involved with my couples on the day, I’m usually so hands-on and tactile. I was nervous about safety, I was worried what my industry peers would think of me jumping back in when the world and our livelihoods are still so uncertain.
But everything comes back to the joy. Everything comes back to connection and love and storytelling and sharing images that capture the essence of a time and a place and who they are together. Lou has been to hell and back this year and, just when I was getting worried that my job (and me) were becoming obsolete, she’s reminded me that what I do IS still key work.
When she rocked up the Waterside today, her wheelchair being pushed by the love of her life in a KILLER vintage-style dress and the most glorious, beautiful smile on her face carrying a bouquet of silk summer blooms by her cousin Helen of Taylor Made Blooms, any concerns or worries I had faded. Lou & Joe GLOW in each other’s presence and they are SO SO beloved in this community (as evidenced by the very impressive surprise turnout of well-wishers). As we approached the steps of Sale Town Hall where her parents AND her grandparents said their vows, I did what I always do in a new wedding situation: I adapted - I gave them a bit more space, I shot wider and with longer lenses but ultimately I did my job for Lou.
Here’s a sneak peek of our mini-adventure…
