the groom and ushers

Jewish Wedding Photography

Jewish wedding photography has many differences to other weddings I’ve photographed and when I was asked to photograph the wedding of Mark and Abbie the experience was an interesting and enjoyable one …

The wedding was to take place in the Lake District. The wedding ceremony and wedding breakfast was to take place at the wedding venue Storrs Hall overlooking Lake Windamere.

Having been asked to do the wedding photography of a traditional Jewish wedding I thought I’d brush up on just what was involved, and there were a few additions to what I was used to, but all added to the celebration of Mark and Abbie’s day. Which in turn just makes for more great wedding photography.

With the wedding day exclusively at Storrs Hall both the bride and groom to be were getting ready for the ceremony there. So running back and too between rooms was called for and I got some great relaxed photographs of each them preparing for the ceremony, even though I was a little out of breath.

Now here was my first difference. Normally when the bride and groom are at the same place I’m careful they don’t see each other before the ceremony begins , but as is tradition with Jewish Weddings the bride is unveiled to the groom before the ceremony to confirm the bride is indeed the girl he intends to marry. A tradition that comes from the biblical character Jacob when he married the wrong woman when she was hidden by her veil … Whoops! ..

The bride to be in this case was indeed Marks intended and the wedding ceremony was all set. Jewish wedding ceremonies take place under a special canopy called a Huppah and Mark and Abbie’s was also draped with petals as you can see from the images of the ceremony. With the wedding vows done and the wine glass stepped on, another Jewish tradition which symbolises the fragility of human happiness not a problem I’m sure for Mark and Abbie.

With the wedding ceremony taking place in a special marquee at the foot of the lake the weather decided to misbehave just at the point the bride and groom walked out as man and wife, but with umbrellas at the ready this didn’t stop the wedding photography. The sunshine returned just in time for the photographs of the bridal party on the grounds of the beautiful Wedding venue Storrs Hall, along with some relaxed and informal wedding photography of the bride and groom.

The wedding breakfast was next and was to be held in a stunning marquee that had been specially built for the wedding . Now I said wedding breakfast but as I found out with a Jewish wedding this should be rephrased as celebration time because as soon as the bride and groom entered they were lofted above head height on chairs for a dance they call the Hora,. This was followed by a special dance of celebration for the bride and grooms parents called the Mizinke.

It was then time for the speeches from both respective fathers along with that of the best mans . With all the speeches and special dances photographed it was for me to go and leave them I’m sure to a night of further celebration.

Really enjoyed being the chosen wedding photographer for Mark and Abbie and found photographing a Jewish wedding with all the traditions very interesting and pleasurable to photograph, looking forward to more in the future.

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