Joshua Preston

Elopements

Weddings and elopements shot as documentary, not as a set piece.

I photograph weddings the way I photograph everything else: as something that is happening, not something that is being staged for me. No shot list. No lining the families up on the steps. No asking you to walk towards the camera again, slower this time, looking at each other. If a moment is good I was there for it, and if I was not there for it, it is not in the album, because a moment that has been re-created is not the moment.

That comes from twenty years of reportage. A photojournalist cannot ask a riot to hold still, and learns instead to read a room, to be in the right place a few seconds early and to stay out of the way once there. Weddings reward exactly that. The look between a father and daughter before the doors open. The friend who has held it together all day and loses it in the speeches. The kids under the table. The two of you, somewhere between the ceremony and the dinner, when nobody is looking and it finally lands. I work with small cameras and fixed lenses, in whatever light there is, and most people forget I am there by the second drink, which is the point.

Elopements are where this works best. Two people, a celebrant, maybe a handful of others, somewhere that means something to you: a registry office and a pub lunch, a beach at seven in the morning, a back garden. There is nothing to perform and nobody to perform for, so what is left is the thing itself, and that is what I am there to keep. Some of the frames on this page are from days like that, and some are from big weddings with two hundred guests and a band, and the approach was the same on both.

What you get is the day as it was. Not fewer pictures than a conventional wedding photographer, more, because I am shooting the whole time rather than waiting for the set-ups, but edited hard, so the album reads like a story rather than a catalogue. The awkward and the funny and the plain stay in, because in ten years those are the ones you will want. I do not use flash. I do not bring an assistant. I will not hand your guests a prop box.

I have shot weddings in London and across England, in Berlin, and now in Melbourne and regional Victoria, and I travel. Albums can be private on this site, behind a code you share with family, and prints are made in Melbourne for the people who still like something on a wall.

If that sounds like your day, write through the contact page with the date and the place, and whether it is an elopement, a small wedding or a large one, and I will come back with availability and a straight price.

Bride in a lace-sleeved gown and groom in a dark suit dance close together in a dim room, wedding, Melbourne Couple hold hands walking past a wrought-iron fence in strong sun, bride in white carrying flowers, Melbourne elopement Bride laughs and raises her bouquet as pigeons scatter over stone steps, groom at left, elopement, Melbourne Bride in a white dress walks past a flowering hedge in dappled shade, holding a bouquet and small bag, Melbourne elopement Bride in sunglasses leans over a stone fountain edge to dip a white bouquet toward green water, elopement, Melbourne Couple in wedding clothes walk a park path under a large cedar as a passer-by with a paper bag checks her phone, Melbourne Man in a brown suit and sunglasses poses on columned steps while a guest photographs him on a phone, wedding, Melbourne Bride in a lace-sleeved top and long skirt holds her bouquet and lifts her hem in a ruined stone window, garden wedding Couple getting ready in a bright flat, bride bending to fasten her shoes while the groom ties his on a green sofa Groom dips bride against a stone balustrade with a palm tree and park behind, bouquet at their feet, Melbourne elopement Bride in a cream skirt suit and groom in a navy suit hold hands crossing a zebra crossing outside a pub, London elopement Laughing bride in sunglasses holding white flowers stands with her groom beside a blue convertible, Melbourne Man in a white shirt and green tie mid-speech, arms outstretched with a phone in one hand, outside a stone farmhouse, wedding Bridesmaid in a pale blue dress holds a bouquet and takes a selfie in a grassy churchyard under a weeping tree, wedding Groom in a navy suit carrying a tote bag walks past a tyre shop garage on a London street on his wedding day Man with long hair in a navy suit ties a paisley tie in hard window light, getting ready for a wedding Bride laughs and holds a bouquet as she swings hands with her groom across a London street, guests in foreground, elopement Couple in wedding clothes walk in strong sun past the Royal Exhibition Building under a blue sky, Melbourne elopement Young guitarist sings into a microphone on a lawn beside a marquee, green hills behind, outdoor wedding ceremony Man in a bucket hat sets a long wedding table by a pool, seen through a gap in a screen, outdoor wedding Bride in a cream skirt suit swings hands with her groom crossing a London street as a black taxi waits, elopement Wedding guest in a white shirt and green tie speaks with arms wide and a sheet of paper in hand outside a stone farmhouse Bride with a bouquet and small bag walks down a white-brick stairwell in sunlight, groom beside her, Melbourne elopement Burgundy and white bouquet beside a groom's tan loafers and the bride's glittering shoes on a mosaic tile floor Woman in a blue fascinator holding a white bouquet in a pew, seen between guests in a stone church, wedding Couple kiss against a wall of graffiti in a Melbourne laneway, bride holding a deep pink bouquet, elopement Bride in a netted headpiece and groom in a navy jacket kiss beside a gilt-framed painting in a panelled room, wedding Couple in wedding clothes stroll across a lawn past orange flowers and the Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne elopement Bride with a bouquet waits beside a green heritage public toilet while the groom stands in its doorway, Melbourne elopement Groom in sunglasses and a cream double-breasted jacket with a dark tie stands in the sun outside a stone farmhouse, wedding Groom and groomsmen in rust-orange jackets pose with the bride on a lawn among trees, a guest blurred in foreground, wedding Two pairs of polished black shoes beside a yellow kerb line on asphalt, groom and guest in dark suit trousers, wedding Bride in a lace gown looks past a bouquet of cream and peach roses, groom blurred behind her, wedding Bride in a cream skirt suit and groom in navy walk down a marble staircase lined with white flowers, elopement Bride in white with sunglasses stands arms back before a bed of orange canna lilies, bouquet in hand, Melbourne elopement Burgundy and pink bouquet beside a bride's glittering shoe and satin hem at a tram track in strong sun, elopement Bride in white walks arm in arm with an older man in a grey shirt through a dusk garden, reflected in glass, wedding Couple stand small between huge stone columns on a mosaic-tiled portico, bride holding flowers, Melbourne elopement Groom offers his hand to the bride in a cream skirt suit and veil as she steps out of a black London taxi, elopement Bride in a lace gown with veil stands on a sunlit street beside a man sawing timber, two girls watching, wedding day Couple hold hands among yellow and orange flowers in front of an ornate white Victorian building, elopement in Victoria. Two women in summer dresses lean against a brick wall as a black taxi drives past in the foreground, wedding day. Bride in a white dress is helped by a woman in a yellow floral dress on a grassy hillside lawn, wedding guests around. Groom and bride cheer with arms raised as guests celebrate behind them in late sun, documentary wedding photography. Couple walk hand in hand past a green-and-white striped deli awning, the bride carrying a small bouquet, elopement. Bride in a lace dress applies lipstick using a phone as a mirror while the groom smiles beside her at the reception. Groom twirls the bride beneath his raised arm on a mosaic-tiled floor at a grand columned stone entrance, elopement. Celebrant in black reads from a navy City of Westminster folder in a panelled room with a parquet floor, wedding ceremony. Couple in sunglasses walk laughing hand in hand along a street, the bride in a birdcage veil carrying a bouquet. Older woman in a lace dress and fascinator holds a champagne flute in the back seat of a wedding car, looking out the window. Guests throw confetti petals over a bride and groom as they walk out of a stone village church, wedding day. Bride in a white dress and groom cross a tram-lined city street at night, the bride smiling back at the camera. Couple embrace on the steps of a columned stone building as guests watch from above and a blurred cart passes in front. Woman in a blush satin gown holds a loose bouquet and looks down on a path in front of a stand of bamboo. Bride in a lace gown carrying a bouquet and groom in a navy three-piece suit walk hand in hand along a cobbled lane. Couple hold hands as they walk through orange canna lilies in sunlit gardens before a grand stone building, elopement. Woman in a teal dress and a man in a shirt and tie sit on a timber bench under an ivy-covered shelter at a wedding. Bride in a pink dress and jacket skips along a city footpath beside a giant advertisement of a man in a blue suit. Bride in an off-the-shoulder gown and veil and groom in a morning suit hold a bouquet in a paddock at dusk, wedding. Bride in a long veil and lace-sleeved gown walks past a shopfront window lettered Maths English, carrying a pink bouquet. Couple in white and black stand arm in arm on a footpath before a tiled brick building, a man seated on the step. Bride and groom stand at a city crossing before wide stone steps and ornate lamp posts as a white bus passes, elopement. Groom dips the bride for a kiss in a shower of confetti on the steps of a register office, guests and orange flowers around. Toddler in a white puff-sleeved dress stands in a patch of sun beside a weatherboard hall marked Cleaner, flower girl. Bride and groom laugh as guests toss confetti over them outdoors, a bouquet in the bride's hand, wedding ceremony exit. View from a shaded open-sided shed across a lawn to a white marquee set with tables and chairs for a wedding reception. Two caterers in black aprons carry timber platters of food across a lawn towards guests under umbrellas, outdoor wedding. Bride holds a microphone beside the groom at a marquee reception while seated guests look on in the evening. Wedding guests at long tables in a marquee applaud and smile at a speech, warm evening light and string lights above. Groom in a black suit and skinny tie grins as he serves a slice of strawberry chocolate cake at a night wedding reception. Bride in a white satin slip dress laughs and dances beneath a marquee while seated guests sit in the dark behind her. Woman holding a glass of wine laughs with a man in black under a marquee strung with small lights at a night reception. Bride in a satin slip dress holds out her skirt and smiles on a dance floor lit with red light and a mirror ball. Pioneer DJ controller and laptop on a timber table beside a mirror ball, a lit marquee glowing beyond, wedding reception. Bride in a short veil and a woman in a pink top dance with raised drinks beside a DJ in headphones at a wedding. Woman with tattooed arms and sunglasses raises a champagne flute and phone among silver streamers at a wedding party.