Wedding days are fast-paced, high-pressure and full of curveballs. Yet we never feel more at peace than when we stand before a couple, camera in hand, working the angles to try to turn memories into art. The world falls silent and time stands still: all that matters is this moment, here, in front of us.
To take great pictures it’s not enough just to see, you have to feel one way or another about what is in front of you. You have to read the room, read the people, on purely visual clues, and understand, without words, what matters most about the scene presented to you. Your interpretation may be untraditional; it may focus at times away from where someone else might see significance, but a photograph is a silent movie: you can’t be told where to position the camera or when to click the shutter, you have to drown out the noise and simply feel it.
That’s rarely more true than when significant portions of events take place in a language you do not speak, and in cultural events less familiar to our eyes. Harpreet & Simarnam’s wedding couldn’t have been more warm, friendly, open or beautiful, but (whilst not our first Sikh wedding), with multiple ceremonies taking place in an unfamiliar language and rhythm, immersing yourself in the atmosphere and feeling the moment becomes more important than ever.
With two action-packed days of celebration to capture (the second of which began well before dawn), and the couple trusting us to interpret what was a fairly traditional day in our trademark style, teamwork was undoubtedly key. With concurrent ceremonies, a plethora of more formal photographs to capture and a mandate to show our lovely couple all the events around them that they were not always able to participate in, having two primary photographers meant we never had to miss a beat.
The movie may be silent, but the incredible stories emerging around us roared as loud as ever. Thank you to Harpreet & Simarnam for trusting us with your memories.
