Tessa & Matthew - A Unique London Wedding

Disclaimer: No animals were harmed in the making of this wedding!

Sugar and spice and all things nice is what Tessa Farmers’ wedding was made of….kind of …and all of the above. But when an internationally renowned artist whose works consist of insect carcasses, plant roots and other found materials which make up warring fairy-like skeletal humanoids, the wedding was never going to be anything saccharine sweet, accept for perhaps the wedding cake, but then even that had sugared caterpillars and insects crawling over it!

When Tessa asked Mark and I to photograph Matthew and her wedding I was so excited; partly because we’re always flattered when we are asked to photograph someone’s special day, and partly because it’s an act of trust that we will deliver what we promise to, but mostly because I had recently first seen Tessa’s artwork and knew that her wedding would be anything but ordinary. It was in fact extraordinary!

Love and the manifestation of it in marriage is always an extraordinary act and promise. One to this day always leaves me profoundly moved, with every wedding we witness and record. Tessa and Matthew‘s wedding was no exception. We can’t mention this couple’s wedding without briefly giving a mini bio about Tessa, the reason being is that her artwork, like her wedding, was stunning – delicate, painstakingly produced and visually mesmerizing. This bride is a London based artist whose creations are displayed in the Saatchi Gallery and Ashmolean Museum and feature in galleries and Museums worldwide. For those who would like to see Tessa’s other works of art, she has a show coming up.

Tessa and Matthew were married in Islington Town Hall and held their Reception at The London Canal Museum. There were the usual family and friends and circle of artists who carried on the spirit of Tessa’s works through out the day. One Artist friend, glued to his ‘palette’ (aka shaved head) found dead beetles and ants! The four young Bridesmaids carried  alongside their beautiful bouquets taxidermied baby ducks (died of natural causes) and the father of bride wore one as his buttonhole. The bride and groom gave one another rings, reminiscent of Victorian ‘memento mori’, each wearing a cast of a small birds skull adorned with emeralds and rubies for eyes. Tessa made her own hairpiece consisting of emerald coloured scarab beetles and elytra beetle wings. Guests gave found insects, beetles and the like found from nature as wedding gifts and Chameleons and other small reptiles amused the wedding Guests at the Reception. The musical entertainment was provided by the London Klezmer Quartet who were amazing and kept everyone dancing well into the night.

In the case of this wedding is it “Life imitating Art or “Art imitating Life”? All  I can say is, “What Tessa finds in nature is not what is really there, but that which as an artist, she teaches people to find, through her works of art”. There is so much more we would love to share about this wedding, but we will let the photos tell their own story.