Colourful Gay Wedding Shoot at the Giraffe Shed
Is there an alternative? – Ditch those stuffy traditions
Every winter, each and every wedding photographer wishes that they could get out their duvets, put on comfy clothes, and curl up into a ball – hibernating until March, when the new wedding season trickles to a start.
But that’s not the reality.
To avoid getting rusty, dusty and slow, we mess around updating websites, reviewing pricing, answering enquiries and occasionally we get out with our cameras, go to venues we love and have fun making wedding inspiration for you.
This colourful, alternative, gay wedding styled shoot at the Giraffe Shed in Wales was exactly that. A middle-finger-up message to a few wedding traditions, starting with the idea that weddings don’t involve two grooms!
A Beautiful Blank Canvas Barn – The Giraffe Shed
The Giraffe Shed is one of those super-cool, unique wedding venues that cries out for your styling. It’s a barn venue in Wales with a difference. All the relaxed, festival vibes of a barn amidst fields and rolling hills, but with an industrial feel that makes everything gorgeous (chef’s kiss). Exposed brickwork, concrete floors, black wooden beams and a huge ceiling, not to mention the huge windows, providing tonnes of natural light. It’s easy to see that the owner, Hannah, is a skilled wedding photographer and knows exactly how to make a venue that looks amazing in photos.
With a bit of inspiration the Giraffe Shed takes your personality and makes it into a wedding venue. It’s a dream wedding venue, a barn with a difference.
Gay Pride 80s-inspired Styling
Being gay, I have to laugh at some of the questions I come across online about gay weddings.
“When there’s two grooms, who wears the dress?”
“Won’t it be boring with just two guys in suits?”
“Well, the hair and makeup artists won’t be getting hired will they?”
You get the automatic go-ahead at an LGBTQ wedding to ditch the traditions. Some of them, all of them, or just the ones you’re not keen on. It’s a free pass to do your own thing and make the day (or whole weekend) yours. You can each have cool tuxedos, you could go bold with bright colours, you could each wear a dress, or just do everything super-casually.
When styling Karl and Matt, Hannah was inspired by the rainbow flag and pink, and ran with it. We split the shoot into the more formal ‘ceremony-wear’ with opposing colours – teal and blush pink for the two grooms’ suits; and then chose a different look for the party outfit – including a fantastic floral headpiece by florist Pheasant Botanica.
Irrespective of the quote above, we had hair and makeup for a male same sex wedding, because who wouldn’t want to be pampered on their big day! Expert artists, Nala and Knot helped Karl and Matt look amazing for their photos.
Following the theme, Wonderland Invites provided stationery, including place cards and menus styled perfectly and we couldn’t have rainbow disco wedding with streamers from Streamadelica.
The whole thing was 80s disco gay gorgeousness!
Why I love being an alternative wedding photographer
Whilst you might not want an over-the-top floral headpiece, this sort of alternative wedding inspiration is exactly why I love being an alternative wedding photographer. I get to meet couples who want to do things their own way. Colourful, fun and completely them!
I get to photograph these amazing unique wedding days and have an amazing time doing it. If you love my work and you think I might be fun to have following you around taking photographs for a day, then get in touch and let’s have a chat!
