This shoot was inspired wholly by the vastness and beauty of the venue as well as the unitarians inspiring ethos: Ullet Road Unitarian Church. Organise Beth of Alternative Events Company visited a candlelit performance from Mobius Loop – old friends from another life, that spread the message of peace and love. Beth was so taken aback by the stained glass accented and velvet curtain draped building and inspired by the unitarian message of ‘all welcome – religions, non religious, race, sex, age, ability, unitarians are open to all, and don’t push the message of god whatsoever’.
Therefore when planning the shoot, it was difficult to choose a theme other than ‘alternative’ due to the building being so flexible. It has an ancient feel to it, therefore we knew we wanted dark accents, in the florals and cake. The other explanation that stuck out was ‘ullet’. An Ullet is an owl, and in this area of Liverpool there’s a theme for bird names streets: lark lane, ullet road etc. However the church is adorned with many carvings of Ullets, so we therefore knew to include owls in our artistry.
We chose a beautiful day for the shoot, meaning the light flooding into the building and outside of the building was beautiful. We had a selection of dresses to change into for different parts of the church, and we utilised the late in different rooms and at different windows, as well as the doors for the iconic confetti shots. The tablescape was done in the most gorgeous room, where the ceiling is completely painted and has an oval shape, giving another aspect to our photographs.
Our couple Natasha and Jason are a real couple and met whilst performing together: Natasha moved to Germany to live her dreams as a professional ice skater in shows in a well known European theme park. Fast forward a few months to Halloween season and a famous German band came to town to be part of the horror musical on ice. Natasha skated across the ice as Jason performed guitar and the rest became history. They’ve lived in three countries together, undergone two visa processes to be together and have family all over the world, some of which have never met. Only to find themselves living in good ole Lancashire where Natasha grew up. Happily married with their diva cat Alice. The spark between Tasha and Jason was electric, and really comes across in the stunning photos, also being performers really matched the inclusive and performative vibe of the unitarian space. (Our pastor Phil, shot in his rainbow garms, can play the game of thrones theme tune on the organ, and does all of the wedding ceremonies himself, no matter what religion or non religion the couple want the ceremony done).
