A few weeks ago I emailed every couple whose wedding I’ve ever photographed and I asked…
“What’s your favourite photo I took at your wedding, and why?”
All my weddings between now and July have been postponed, and I’ve had a lot of extra time on my hands as a result. I’ve had this project in the back of my mind for some time, and thought that now would be the perfect time to do it.
All the wedding photos I’ve ever shared on my website and on my Instagram have been chosen by me. Sometimes they’re moments that I remember as being very special, and other times they’re images that simply look nice. This time around, I asked couples whose weddings I’ve photographed what their favourite photo is, and the meaning behind it. From images with relatives that are no longer here, to others that capture “the feeling” of the day, I’ve been overwhelmed with so many responses that have made me even more certain that this is what I’m meant to be doing. What struck me the most is how the majority of the photos couples picked are unposed, and capture people for who they truly are. More than anything, it’s been really nice to rediscover shots from weddings as far back as 2014 and to read the stories behind other photos which I’d already shared.
Some of the weddings in these pictures had to be postponed because of natural disasters (Hurricane María, in the case of Gabi & Raúl’s wedding) and others took place amongst a national power outage (in the case of Adriana & Julián’s wedding) and even throughout those adverse circumstances they were days filled with overwhelming love and joy. If you’re one of the couples who’s had to postpone their wedding because of COVID-19, I wanted to remind you that even though things feel uncertain now (trust me, I feel it too!)…
your day will come, and it will be magnificent.
Charlotte & David - June 2019
“One of my favourite and most cherished photos from our wedding day is a little bittersweet, it’s of me and my grandad, sharing half of the father/daughter dance. My grandad has always been a father-figure in my life and was a massive part of my upbringing. I know the wedding day was one of the best days of his life. Little did you know capturing this moment was so important as a few weeks after our wedding day unfortunately he never walked again. He had stage 5 cancer and peacefully passed away only 6 months after our wedding. He would never have missed this day for the world and made sure he would be able to dance with me on my special day. I feel so lucky and blessed that we got to share this moment together, that you captured so beautifully. I have found it really hard to look at these photos over the past few months but now I look at them and smile. Thank you for capturing such a special moment, along with all the other amazing moments on the day. We are still completely blown away from our wedding photos. Thank you!”
Carly & Adam - September 2019
“This one of the two of us is a personal favourite. It’s so natural and we used it for our thank you cards.”
Lydia & Jamie - November 2019
“I think it was taken just as everyone was going into the dining room for the wedding breakfast, probably the first chance Jamie and I had together since the church. I have no idea what he said to me but whatever it was he’s really made me laugh which sums up our relationship perfectly!”
Isadora & Karol - May 2019
“This is one of my favourite photos. It's hilarious to see people's reaction to 'gorzko' - which means 'bitter' but it's the Polish way of asking for a 'real kiss'.”
Catalina & Jordan - October 2018
“ There were soooo many we adored but this one really encapsulates the feeling we both felt as we walked out into the sunshine after our marriage ceremony. It was perfection - a brief moment where we couldn’t believe we were finally married and the joy of starting our married lives together. The church bells were ringing and our loved ones were about to step out and join us in the sunshine... but for the briefest of moments it felt like time stood still and it was just us.”
Alice & Keith - October 2019
“We always wanted our wedding to be a little different. What's better than having a large neon sign on the dancefloor... ‘Till Death Do Us Party’. I love the drama of this shot. So different to the typical wedding shots. Yes its a silhouette, but you can still see little details like our smiles.”
Jo & Dan - June 2019
“We really struggled trying to find our favourite photo as there are SO many! This one just never fails to make us chuckle! The photo just perfectly captures the moment Yaz successfully did his job in embarrassing the groom.”
Gabi & Raúl - May 2018 (Gabi’s Favourite)
“Raúl and I were really proud of our decision to have a quesito* tower as a wedding cake. Part of the "cake" set-up originally included a hand-carved artisinal "cake topper". Due to some miscommunications, we never got it—we were bummed but never gave it a second thought. Cut to us walking around the reception area on our wedding day and seeing this super cheesy, generic cake topper sitting on top of our quesitos. My gut reaction was "WHAT THE HECK!?" Mami swooped in: "Well, I was so sad that you were sad about not having your little figurines, so I stopped by Party City this morning and just bought this. It was $5!" In that instant, I could not have loved my mom or this topper any more.
Raúl and I live for the fun tension between highbrow/lowbrow (ex. our main course was pizza and we walked out to Huey Lewis' "The Power of Love" because of Back to the Future), so this little element could not have been a more appropriate tribute. Michael captured just how beautiful it turned out and caught a PERFECT moment, in which the wind blew just so, making it seem like the tiny groom is dipping his teeny bride.”
* traditional Puerto Rican treat, sticky-sweet puff pastry filled with sweetened cream cheese
Gabi & Raúl - May 2018 (Raúl’s Favourite)
“You know you've found your best friend and partner when you're able to fully be yourself. In our case, that usually means being very goofy and making each other laugh like no one else can. Here we are laughing at what I can only assume is a silly joke one of us made. I love this one because it perfectly encapsulates us and the intense happiness, joy, and laughter we felt that day. “
Sophie & Al - August 2019 (Taken by colleague shooter, Adam)
“For us it’s the image of our little pageboy and flower girl peeking under my dress outside the chapel. It’s so natural and made us laugh when we first saw it - it captures Rupert’s (the pageboy) personality perfectly! Cheeky and inquisitive!”
Tiffany & Amir - July 2019
“I think it’s this photo of my mum during the chair throwing!”
Sara & Gary - May 2019
“We both love this photo. You caught us having a couple of private moments together after Gary’s speech. He was so nervous for months before and felt sick on the day about speaking in front of everyone. This was him saying to me ‘thank god it’s over’ and me telling him it went brilliantly!”
Adriana & Julián - September 2016
“We love this one because it’s a natural shot in a very staged spot. We were taken to the classic panorama view used by many at our venue for the expected couple shots. As you know, our wedding weekend was a bit of a mess. Puerto Rico lost power for about 5 days and our entire celebration was held together by power generators and very generous friends who combed the island for ice and gave up their homes to host friends when our other venues had to cancel. This shot is right after the ceremony, after we finally had our first drink and could enjoy the fact that even though we were in a blackout, and it looked like it might rain, we were married, everyone showed up and we were ready to have the best time.”
Emily & Tom - September 2018
“This spontaneous one of Em and I show how happy we are and tucked away from everyone for a few mins just after the ceremony!”
Jade & Oli - August 2019
“It was taken as soon as we got into our James Bond car straight after the ceremony. We were both so happy to be officially husband and wife- and relieved after the nerves of the ceremony were over. I think this picture captures those feelings perfectly. The black and white colouring also creates a bit of old school glam.”
Elisha & Jonus - August 2017
“I’m not sure we could pick one favourite as we have so many favourite pictures, but probably the most iconic from our wedding is our amazing fireworks picture! It just sums up a perfect day with all our loved ones around us singing and celebrating with us and us in our perfect little bubble finally husband and wife!”
Gulsun & Kemal - February 2019
“We have a lot of favourites, but this photo absolutely has to be the one we pick. Anyone who knows us will know that we never stop laughing when we are together. We have the same sense of humour and are always joking with each other. No matter how hard of a day we've had, we can always put a smile on each other’s faces. We always joke that there isn't a couple out there who acts as silly as we do but that's what brought us together and we'll still be smiling for years to come.”
Paulette & Morgan - November 2019
“We’re ecstatic to see that this special kiss was captured in the photos. This wasn't the first kiss as a married couple, but it was the most special one of the night because it was the first unplanned and unexpected thing we did deviating from the night's formalities, set protocol and posed pictures. It’s just us, taking it all in, giving each other that boost of confidence and energy to start the party.”
Amy & Jason - November 2019
“Our favourite photo would most definitely have to be the photo you took of our dads shaking hands at the ceremony. Honestly, it is such an amazing and stunning photo. We both had no idea it happened and when we saw the photo, we both loved it immediately! They both looked so proud and chuffed to see their children get married and be happy. It was like the handshake was a welcome to the family from both of them and the smiles on their faces just sort of represented how incredible and happy the day was.”
Michael & Helen - August 2019
“We love ALL the photos so it was quite difficult for us to choose! However, we both agree that the one attached had the greater edge than the rest. Simply because you captured a moment where we all were sharing a stressful yet happy moment (especially considering how hot the day was!).”
Gabi & Ipe - December 2014
“This was the first photo we saw of our wedding. I remember the sun was coming through and my husband was really struggling to keep his eyes open. I tried to help him and Michael managed to capture the simple natural instinct of our love. I asked him which pic I should send and he immediately remembered this one. Thank you forever Michael!”
Miranda & Jonas - September 2019
“Amongst an array of wonderfully captured images of the day, this is certainly one of our favourites. This captures a moment of stillness which was a rare opportunity for us to share a quiet moment alone on the day We loved it so much, that this was the image used to grace our thank you cards. Thank you Michael, thanks to you we will forever have memories to look back on!”
Aneesah & Craig - July 2018
“I got ready for the wedding in a hotel just around the corner from our wedding venue so I decided to take the short stroll over rather than get a car for the wedding. This picture really captures the giddy excitement that was building up during that short walk. As I was walking through Central London we had pedestrians and drivers stopping and shouting their congratulations at me (some of them with the very colourful language) and it had us laughing the whole way over. It was the first time I started to feel like a Bride instead of someone who was just planning a wedding.”
Jodie & Joe - November 2019
“The best man and chief bridesmaid doing the speech together was really special, and their speech was amazing. They know us so well and this photo captures both the embarrasment of Joe and how much fun we have as a foursome!”
Wesley & Mege - June 2019
“We're both laughing because we had the idea of confetti being thrown up in the air and raining down on us like it does in the movies, but the wind blew that idea away (pardon the pun). This picture really captures how we felt at that moment. We were so overwhelmed with all our family and friends greeting us and the smiles shared all-round. We couldn't have asked for a better day.”