A Relaxed Yet Formal, Spectacular Jewish Wedding

If you had happened upon Rachel on the morning of her wedding, you may well have thought she was simply getting ready to go for afternoon tea, or perhaps the theatre. The morning ran smoothly and I have found this is a precursor to how the day will run, it did not disappoint. Relaxed yet formal and intimate yet replete with friends, family and distant relations and more. Rachel & Saul's tireless diligence paid off and the day ran smoothly and without so much as a hair out of place. A pleasure to photograph and a pleasure to have attended.

Once the hustle and bustle died down, the format of a Jewish wedding, to those who have not been to one, is a spectacular event, with numerous ceremonies throughout the day, each with its own meaning, steeped in history and tradition. We learnt an awful lot on this day, getting to experience a wedding from a different culture to the ones I had been shooting and the ones I grew up with - from the signing of the Ketubah, a marriage contract, to the bridal canopy, a Chuppah, under which the couple are married to symbolise the new home built by the couple as they become husband and wife - it was a wonderful day.

Weddings can be hectic affairs. Bridesmaids and mothers busy themselves perfecting the details so to please the bride and can get caught up in the whirlwind of the day and forget to simply enjoy the affair. Rachel & Saul's wedding was a happy event with smiles everywhere and a genuine sense of happiness pervading the entire day. Everything ran so smoothly that it was a dream to photograph and didn't feel like work at all.

Huge thanks goes to the fantastic photographer Tom Davies for providing these wonderful photographs. For more of Tom's work see: www.tomdaviesphotography.co.uk