Do you want to get married and already have your wedding photos in mind? You two on the beach, under the blooming apple tree or on the flower meadow, your eyes intertwined, he and you, forever in love … Congratulations!
Still, be sure to check out Ian Weldon's wonderful photos. The British photographer shows how lively weddings really are: for example, with the last hasty preparations at home, with the worried looks and glowing cheeks, the hectic over-ironing, the ladder or the rescue reaching for the bag of chips. Then later the waiting, the (joy) tears, the exhaustion.
With his wedding photos Weldon strives for a "photographic democracy", as he says, no picture is more important than the other: For him, the drunk dancing guests are just as central as the over-staged couple with the strained glow in their faces.
The Briton does not work through lists of desired settings for his pictures, he does not put bridal couples on pedestals or under trees. He much prefers to capture scenes that make the wedding unique instead of re-staging the same clichés that end up facing the much more exciting reality:
Things happen at a wedding that make your wedding your wedding, that make it unique, and if I'm busy directing people for a photo I'll miss those things. Your feet will hurt from standing and your faces will hurt from smiling and you will have missed those things too. It will be like these things never happened and all you can look back on are groups of people, annoyed people with forced smiles.
Weldon advocates capturing a wedding as it is, not as it should be. Those who rely on classic wedding photography overlook the uniqueness of the celebration. And that would be a shame.
Tip: The wonderful photographer Martin Parr found out about Ian Weldon and organized an exhibition for him at the Martin Parr Foundation in Bristol. The exhibition I am not a Wedding Photographer can be seen from June 26 to August 10, 2019. You can order the photo book with the unconventional wedding photos here: www.rrbphotobooks.com.
VIDEO TIP: This wedding photo changes everything