God's Own Junkyard Wedding

‘Ahhhh this is just beautiful. Thank you so much. You captured the day so perfectly - it’s so nice to relive it again. Honestly we’re so overwhelmed, thank you.’

A Wedding at God’s Own Junkyard, London

Where to start with Zoe & Nathan’s God’s Own Junkyard Wedding? I guess it might be good to explain to those not-in-the-know about God’s Own Junkyard - to be honest until Zoe got in touch about her Wedding I hadn’t heard of this hidden gem either! Hidden away on an industrial estate (of all places!) in north east London, it’s billed simply as ‘a neon-art store’ on the website. However, this doesn’t quite do the place justice - it’s a store yes, but its also a museum, a paradise of psychedelic neon, an immersive art experience; and of course, an amazingly unique setting for a wedding. As can be seen in the film hundreds, if not thousands of signs and quirky art installations, all in brilliant neon, fill the place from floor to ceiling, providing a one of a kind backdrop for Zoe & Nathan’s big day.

The Film

With such a unique venue, I knew I wanted to begin this God’s Own Junkyard Wedding Video with plenty of shots of the neon, particularly the signs that were in some way related to marriage and/or love - ‘I really fucking love you’ fitted the bill perfectly! I also knew that I wanted to use a snippet of Nathan’s speech as an opener. As a trained actor I had high hopes for Nathan’s speech, and his delivery did not disappoint. But it was also the words he spoke that made for the perfect narration to the start of the film - him relating the first time that he told Zoe that he loved her was not only a truly heartfelt moment, but it also offers a useful tool from a filmmaking perspective. Speeches that talk about past, present and future always fit well within the film and add an extra layer of continuity to the narrative, mirroring the movement of the film through the morning, ceremony and then to the reception.

I don’t often include shots of the couple together until later in the film, but with such a strong, well-delivered speech from Nathan it made sense to include some couple portraits from the very beginning. The mixed light at God’s Own Junkyard is obviously a big part of the appeal, but as a videographer having lots of different colour lights in the same frame can sometimes be tricky - luckily I was able to play around with my cameras white balance so that the footage turned out great.

Preparations

For this God’s Own Junkyard wedding, I had a second videographer with me, allowing me to capture both Zoe and Nathan’s morning preparations. This always makes for a better film, as the pre-ceremony section is always more balanced with both sets of prep captured. During his speech, Zoe’s dad had some lovely words for Nathan, welcoming him to his family, and this narration works perfectly over the shots of the groomsmen getting ready in the morning.

Zoe got ready at her family home, a beautiful townhouse not far from the venue. In order to honour her heritage, a few Greek elements were included to the preparations, including some Greek dancing (ably assisted on the violin by Stringz) before heading off to the ceremony.

The ceremony

At such a unique venue, it was fitting that Zoe & Nathan chose to have personalised vows that they had written themselves. As can be seen in the film, they both got emotional (as well as getting a few laughs!) during the vows, something that really helps to add to the emotional impact of the film. We had a couple of separate portrait sessions on the day which gave me plenty of footage of Zoe & Nathan together, perfect for overlaying on top of them reading their vows. Once again, this really heightened the emotions in the film.

With such an amazing venue as a backdrop the reception footage basically filmed itself - wherever I pointed the camera it looked great! The same can be said for the first dance and the party footage - the endless neon really added to the party atmosphere and gave me the perfect ending for this God’s Own Junkyard Wedding Video.