Photos by Love & Adventures
Colourful, Hackney Wedding Inspiration…
Here is something to brighten up your Tuesday afternoon… A colour filled bridal shoot with confetti, neon accessories, colour block stationery and an incredible gingerbread, Unicorn Piñata Wedding Cake!
The fab team behind the shoot came together to celebrate diversity, creative passion and the love they share for their Hackney neighbourhood. Over to Amy from Love & Adventures to tell us more…
Inspiration…
The weddings and the couples that I love to shoot are riotous, rambunctious, explosions of spirited creativity. More people are growing confident enough to move away from traditions that mean little to them, re-working ceremonies and celebrations towards something that’s more reflective of them as a couple and their connection to community… and let’s be honest, are way more fun & memorable too.
When Cherelle from Perfectly Planned 4 You and I got together to discuss this shoot we immediately bonded over our shared love of Hackney, our neighbourhood. We adore it’s diversity and independent spirit, it’s mix of people from all over just rubbing along, doing things their own way. So over drinks at our favourite pub The Star, we gleefully plotted our dream Hackney Wedding. It would be all about the joy. The bright colour, ALL THE COLOUR. Diversity. Smashing stereotypes. A bit like a Pride after-party.
Our amazing baker friend Emily from Maid of Gingerbread took ‘smashing stereotypes’ and ran with it, suggesting that instead of a traditional looking tiered cake shoe would create a beautiful, sweet stuffed Gingerbread Piñata with a sense of humour which our bride could smash up with a hammer. And it would be a Unicorn! Because.. UNICORNS!
Drew Barrymore smashing up a wedding cake in her underwear as photographed by David Lachapelle in the mid 90’s has always been a favourite image of mine and was a definite starting point and inspiration for the lighting and vibe of the shoot.
All the suppliers that got involved really believe in being creative with your wedding celebration, in diversity, and share a love of Hackney. We also believe that the wedding industry is packed full of gorgeous, inspirational imagery that is very dominated by pretty young white women, which although absolutely stunning, isn’t representing all the beauty out there. Representation matters.
Colour Palette…
A rich neon-hued rainbow, inspired by the rave you would go to after Pride.
What details do you love the most & why?
The beautiful, delicious Gingerbread Unicorn Piñata. It was a joy to behold, a spectacle to smash and a sugar-high to share. The hot pink veil by Mcfayden Millinery was too cute, Keye’s suits were uber cool and so London, and if I ever get married I am totally wearing The Caroline dress supplied by Cecilia of Heart A Flutter.
Any styling tips…
So many wedding ‘traditions’ (in this case the modern Anglo-American ones) that seem immutable and concrete are totally made up and fairly recent anyway. Aside from supporting the Honniton lace makers who were losing their livelihoods to industrialisation, Queen Victoria wore that huge lacy white dress as it was a symbol of her wealth and status. In a grubby, coal heated and powered era only the richest people could afford to maintain acres of white lace and people flocked to copy her, hoping some of that wealthy & powerful glamour would rub off on them.
Early bridal & fashion magazines gushed over the dresses, wrote loads of guff that a big white meringue symbolised purity and Lo, the tradition of the white wedding dress was born. What I’m saying is, a lot of traditions are simply ‘copying our betters’ dressed up as ‘really important things that one must do’. So if you love it, embrace it and do it. If something doesn’t sit right with you and it just leaves you feeling a bit ‘meh’, discard it. Make your own traditions. As long as everyone is well fed and hydrated, go wild.
These are INSANE. and amazing, so so goddam good!!