“I’m comin’ up so you better get this party started. I’m comin’ up so you better get this party started.”
Jewish weddings are not ones I shoot often so I’m fondly looking back at the stylish day that was Leya and James’ wedding.
I started the day at James’ parents house where Leya and her bridesmaids were all getting ready. I love this part of the day, bit of tension, lots going on, all the anticipation of the day. From there I quickly went up to where the boys were getting ready which was just up the road before going back to Leya for her finishing touches.
The wedding ceremony was taking place at Birmingham synagogue. It was the first time I had ever covered a Jewish wedding and it was really interesting to see how different it was to the weddings I normally shoot. For one thing the bride and groom walk down the aisle together, the finger the wedding ring goes on is also different. There’s also a Breaking of the Glass ritual where a glass object is smashed by stamping on it. It’s an ancient tradition thought to symbolise the destroying of the temple in Jerusalem. Also, similar to the previous lives of the couple before the wedding, once the glass has been broken it’s not possible to put back together again so is seen as a sort of permanent change representing the irrevocable act of marriage.
After the ceremony we all headed off to the wedding reception at The Botanical Gardens for the Party of all Parties!
I hope you enjoy looking at this little snapshot into Leya and James’ day.
