I spied Jess & Brian’s wedding, shot almost entirely on Holga, on one of my regular scouts around Flickr. I was not only blown away but the stunning photography by Laura Burlton (who doesn’t love a bit of Holga magic?) but the actual wedding itself, and all the love and attention to detail that the couple put into it made it super duper Rock n Roll worthy. “I didn’t want the standard cheesy wedding photographs,” Jess explained when I asked about her decision to have her wedding shot on a toy camera. “I am a photographer myself and I have a love affair with my Holga. I went searching for a photographer who shared the same love, but also did weddings. No easy task! I found Laura Burlton though and she’s won quite a few awards with her Holga work. And joy, she also does weddings! My parents and I are both happy now and I love the way the Holga shots perfectly portray the feeling of the day.”
The wedding was held in Jess’ parents back garden and the reception was in their garage and driveway! Jess wore her Mother’s wedding dress which she had altered to suit her better for the ceremony and changed into a Betsey Johnson number for the after-party. “I had always said I wanted to wear my Mom’s wedding dress as a girl,” Jess continued. “Once I hit my early twenty’s I looked at it again and was like oh God no! Then when it actually came time for me to get hitched, my Mom pulled it out and I knew I had to wear it. Plus she gave me free reign to do anything I wanted to it so I knew I could make it my own. We altered the neckline from a turtleneck and removed the full length satin sleeves.”
“I hadn’t thought about having a second dress, but my Aunt suggested it about 2 weeks before the wedding. I decided if I found THE dress I’d do it. One week before I found the Betsey Johnson dress and knew this was the way a bride was supposed to feel in her dress, it was the perfect dress for me. I love both of my dresses and really think they fit my personality and the look I was going for.”
As the wedding was a small one, the couple decided not to have bridesmaids or groomsmen and opted for two flowergirls instead. “Madison is 7 and Rian is 5. I found Rian’s dress on eBay; it was handmade in 1949 and the seamstress’s niece inherited it and was selling it. I thought I’d be able to find another girl’s vintage dress that obviously wouldn’t match, but wouldn’t clash either. No such luck. My Aunt again came to the rescue and offered to make Maddie’s. She found the exact same color tulle and satin under slip all these years later. Literally the only difference in the dresses was Rian’s was slightly more faded. I loved the way they turned out, and the cool story behind them.”
The wedding had a Rock n Roll edge with a nod towards music and photography – something the couple both love. “Brian is a drummer in Venomous Maximus and he pinstripes and rebuilds old cars and motorcycles. I’m a photographer and lover of all things vintage so we knew we wanted the wedding to represent us and the things we’re into. All the details were born from this foundation and then kind of evolved into the look it became.”
“We have a pretty big record collection and people are always giving us their old boxes of records that have been sitting in the garage for the last 30 years. We had lots of junky ones and thought it’d be cool to do something with them and so the record amoeba was born. We just started hanging them up on a wall at home and it turned out pretty awesome. We were at one of our local record stores and they had boxes of records for sale for $8. I had been trying to decide what to do with the fences in the backyard and thought it’d look cool to recreate the records amoeba there, especially since our Save the Dates were little 7” records. ”
Big love and thanks to Jess & Brian for sharing their wedding story with us today and to photographer Laura for sending over her beautiful images.
Big love and thanks to Jess & Brian for sharing their wedding story with us today and to photographer Laura for sending over her beautiful images.
