Millennium Gallery Wedding
We feature this beautiful wedding of Si and Sar which was captured by Luis Calow at the Millennium Gallery.
About the Couple
Simon and Sara first asked me to cover their wedding back in 2015. Five minutes after declining my partners offer of an umberella, the heavens decided to open. I’d battled through the rainy streets up to the Porter cottage pub in Sheffield where we rendezvoused and got some drinks. They’ve been good friends of mine for a few years now, probably more than I realise, and I was made up they wanted me to do it. As a couple they’ve lived in many different places in the UK and overseas. Always staying close, making each other laugh uncontrollably and been one and other’s true moral compass. They’re in for a grand future together.
The day
I arrived a little earlier than I’d anticipated and wandered around eyeballing a stone-baked pizza cart having it’s fire stoked ready for the start of the day. Riding in the elevator I made my way to the bride’s room. Sara was drinking tea whilst having her makeup done by her sister, both sitting by the window-light of whatever high-floor we were on, so I began. It was incredibly relaxed and collected, which was perfect and that pretty much dictated how the rest of the day went: The picturesque ceremony in the Millennium Gallery; hunting down children and family members for the MANY group shots we got through; catching a lift from an uncle to Whirlow hall gardens for some shots just for the couple (and some quiet time); finishing up with a raucous reception accompanied by every emo/post-hardcore hit of our early years! It was an absolute blast and being that it was around so many close friends all at once made it that much better.
When the wedding you’re attending/capturing is for friends it’s hard to find fault and theirs was no different: people – good; venue – good; food – gooood. Though, my favourite part was heading to the gardens to get their shots by themselves. It was the complete opposite atmosphere to where we were only minutes ago and it was a great feeling to whisk them off and give them a bit of a break to enjoy just the two of them.
The Photographer
Born and raised in Sheffield, my partner Pip and I live in north London with our doge, Ripley. Yes, from Alien. I came straight out of college and continued pursuing my desire to photograph fashion/fine art/the beautiful sights I came across daily that I didn’t have time to draw. A few years on and I was kindly asked by friends to cover their wedding for them. I figured, well I’m used to photographing people and orchestrating, so why not! Three years on and I’ve been in weddings ever since. I still desire fashion and contemporary work as much as ever and with my recent move to London I can pursue this again.
I’m deeply, deeply influenced by moody, low key cinema, music and fine art, as it all stems from there for me. So I love odd compositions, the use/misuse of negative space, partial views and all taken in a candid, voyeuristic fashion. I prefer to be left to my own devices at weddings; Just let me go free to do my thing. I’ve got all the angles – the ‘must-haves’ covered, this way it fully frees me up creatively to wander and find shots that might’ve passed me by otherwise. (And one less thing for the B&G to worry about!)
Tips on planning your day
Wedding vendor sites (such as this one) and wedding blogs, not to mention platforms like Pinterest are amazing sources for inspiration for your day. I use Pinterest in particular and share a board with a couple once they’ve booked with me to get a better feel for their taste; the immediacy is fab. Other than that be realistic with your budget and set aside a decent chunk for your photographer. Also don’t be scared to ask more questions than you think you’ll need answers for, but that applies to everything really. Oh and you should’ve had your venue booked last year already!
Quotes from Si and Sar (pre-seeing their wedding photos)
Lu – can’t thank you enough for the amazing job you did, the blood, the sweat…the sweat! You made our day so much easier and comfortable and we were so glad you could be part of it. The pre-shoot photos are incredible, so lucky to have such talented mates!” – Simon & Sara.