Wedding venues always look great. I don’t think I’ve ever shot a wedding at a venue that was anything other than spectacular. Well there was that one time at ….. Well that’s a story for another time perhaps. So yes, all wedding venues are spectacular, but some are super duper spectacular. Out of this world spectacular, or in the case of the wedding I’m about to tell you about ‘out of this country’ spectacular.
I’ve been taking photos at weddings for many years, and have started to get quite familiar with most of the venues in East Anglia, and some of the great places London has to get married. I love converted barns, I’m amazed by the medieval churches that East Anglia is chock-full of. I enjoy shooting weddings at all of the traditional and non-traditional places the couples I work with choose to get wed.
When I find myself meeting up with a couple to have a look around a venue I haven’t been to before I love to explore. It’s not just about figuring out the best place to position myself for the best shots. Sure I make sure I find out where the important facilities, like the toilets, are before the big day. But more than anything else I just love being nosey. The bigger the venue the better. Beaking around Wedding venues that gives me a proper chance to explore are one of the many things I really love about my job. Recently I got the chance to explore one of the biggest wedding venues I’ve ever been to; an entire island!
A while back I was doing my thing at a wedding fayre when I met an adventurous couple called Karl and Claire who were keen to tell me all about their wedding plans. They planned to get married in Malta! You may not know, but I grew up in Toronto and have travelled quite a lot in my time. I have lived in the UK for nearly twenty years, and I’m always on the lookout for another adventure on foreign shores. It’s my natural urge to explore I guess. But I have never been to Malta, so I was keen to get involved in my new friend’s plans.
So in May of this year I packed my camera gear, some factor 50 sunblock and headed off to meet up with Karl and Claire on the island of Malta.
Malta is a fascinating place for anyone with an interest in history, and is a dream location for someone like me who is always on the lookout for an interesting photo. It’s true that almost any location can be made to look interesting with the right angle and composition, but I soon found out that in Malta the opportunities were so many they were almost overwhelming.
There are an incredible number of ancient buildings in Malta, but it was somewhere that was quite new that really captured the imagination of the happy couple. Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you Popeye’s village! Built in a picturesque cove called Anchor Bay Popeye’s Village was originally built as a film set in 1980. The film was made by Disney and starred Robin Williams. The films title? Well you probably have guessed by now, that film was ‘Popeye’.
Popeye’s village is really quite a surreal place. I knew that in the bigger scheme of things the buildings here were practically brand new, but they looked like they had been here for hundreds of years. Adding to the surreal nature of the place was the fact that a lot of the ramshackle looking houses are painted bright, gaudy colours. When I met INSERT_NAMES at Popeye’s Village for a photo shoot I knew the results were going to be something very special indeed.
The character of what is now a tourist attraction is quirky, fun and a bit outlandish. So much like me, and very much in keeping with the happy couple. Wedding photography has taken to me to many amazing places over the years, but the experiences I had in Malta, and at Popeye’s village will stay with me for the rest of my life. I can totally see why Karl and Claire choose to get married in Malta, and I hope the photos I took on that trip will help the happy couple remember the experience vividly for the rest of their lives.
Thank you Karl and Claire, and may your married life be as adventurous and fun as your adventure in Malta.