In all my time shooting civil ceremonies, I’ve not previously been booked to photograph a Civil Partnership. It makes sense – if you haven’t shot any before, you can’t show them on your blog. Potential clients buy what they see, so if you don’t have the images to show, they won’t enquire. It’s a vicious circle. And it’s a shame, because Civil Partnerships are like any other ceremony I photograph at Chelsea Register Office – a declaration of love and life-time commitment between two people who love each other.
So I was absolutely delighted when Felix and James chose me to photograph their Civil Partnership at Chelsea Register Office in December, despite the fact that I had no other Civil Partnership images to show. They saw my weddings, liked my style, liked my personality on the phone and booked.
And so to the day on which James and Felix decided to make their commitment to each other in front of their very closest friends. The guys looked great in matching suits and scarves! After a lovely reading from their neighbour, the couple exchanged rings and signed the civil partnership register, before heading out onto the steps of Chelsea Old Town Hall for the big confetti throw.
That didn’t leave us much time for portraits, but we still managed to get a few lovely shots on Chelsea Manor Street. One thing I LOVE about London is that London buses not only add a great splash of colour to your photographs, but the advertising often makes for some fabulous shots. In fact, I think I’ll soon post a blog post featuring my favourite advertising/couples portraits combos. I love the fact that on one of the shots, the ad on the bus behind Felix’s head reads: “best thing ever”! What more can I add to that? So here are the shots:
