Within 5 minutes of meeting Sarah and Tom I felt like I'd made a new set of friends. We met at my flat in Crystal Palace for a Pre-Wedding shoot a few months before their wedding day, and my cats took a shining to them instantly. Always a good sign. The more we spoke about the venue, styling and vibe of the day the more excited I got. A DIY Wedding? With an N64? Mario Kart? Banana-skin plushies? In an warehouse 20 minutes away from my house? This is gonna be fun!
Tom and Sarah were 'legally' married the day before in an intimate service close by, so they asked a good friend to officiate at the Friendly Place ceremony. I love these kinds of ceremonies - laid back, personal and sincere to the core. They read their own vows as a room of their most loved ones stood and watched with beaming smiles. I had the freedom of being able to move around during the service (often Churches and Town Halls are strict with where the photographer has to stand) meaning I could capture everything from multiple angles, never missing a second.
Friendly Place is one my favourite venues to date. Spread over 3 floors and filled with wonders; from huge stage lights to mismatched chairs, giant industrial fans to scary clown paintings (the latter was stored away on Tom's request, I still think it should have been the ceremony backdrop) it's a clean space ready to be turned into whatever you desire. As long as what you desire is 'quirky'.
Tom and Sarah are talented people with equally talented friends and family - every detail, from the wall stickers to the paper bouquets - were designed and made from scratch by them. My favourite piece was their 8-bit heart cake, made by Tom's wonderful mum.
After the ceremony Ushers did a miraculously fast turnaround of the room and we held 'formal' shots in the same space in front of the beautifully crafted backdrop. It's important to find a minute for yourselves on the day, and after the formals I snuck Sarah and Tom up to the private rooftop for a quiet moment before the real fun began.
Guests then sat at trestle tables to listen to the brilliant speeches, and enjoyed a shot of something colourful (and not kid-friendly) as they raised a test-tube to the happy couple. I was very kindly invited to sit and eat with the guests and throughly enjoyed the catering from Easy Gourmet, one of Friendly Places' recommended.
A super quick turn-around from the Catering team and the basement was ready to become a dance floor for the ipod party. Not before an adorable first dance from Sarah and Tom...
I had such a blast shooting this Wedding. Sarah, Tom and all of their guests made me feel like family - but that's just how Sarah and Tom are. Two people so adorably and infectiously in love.
Venue: One Friendly Place, Lewisham
Wedding dress: The Dressing Rooms, Halesowen
Bride’s shoes:Irregular Choice, Brighton
Bride’s accessories: Hair crown was Rock N Rose, bracelet was a present from Tom from Etsy
Bridesmaid dresses: Everyone bought their own, within the colour scheme
Make-up artist: Sarah did her own
Groom suit: Next, shoes were the same, the shirt was H&M, and the tie was Amazon
Flowers: Sarah made them all
Cake: Tom's fabulous mum
Catering: Easy Gourmet
Band: iPod party. All equipment came from Flipside, London and T & S made their own Spotify playlists for each point of the day. Flipside also provided the projector for the video games and all the disco lights
Anyone else: Beer came from Greenwich Meantime brewery, our wine came from Tesco, Easy Gourmet provided the rest of the booze. All the decorations were made by the couple or family
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