UK-based wedding photographer Chris Wallace of Carpe Diem Photography has come up with a wholesome way to keep shooting. Wallace married his old LEGOs and captured the entire event, sharing the pics online for everyone to see. Not only did he carefully organize the entire event, but he masterfully documented it as well, showcasing his 11 years of experience during which he has shot over 700 ceremonies.
You could say everything began from the coronavirus pandemic. "I went from being an incredibly busy wedding photographer with no time off to being off stuck at home, literally overnight," Wallace told Bored Panda.
With not much going on, Wallace remembered one of his old passions. "I love LEGO and know it [still] has a huge following, so I dusted off my 20-year-old set from the loft and bought a LEGO bride and groom from Amazon," the photographer explained. "It took 3 days to plan and take the photos and write the blog."
"It was so much fun, so easy to be creative and take my time, rather than have very limited time at a real wedding. I can't wait to continue the story of the bride and groom."
Wallace also wanted to use the opportunity of his story going viral to remind everyone to keep their hopes up. "It has been such a difficult time for self-employed people, income has stopped for us all, I would encourage anyone to go out and make something positive to share with the world!"
Image credits: Chris Wallace
Wow, what an incredible day! Florence & Fred were extremely lucky to have their wedding during lockdown, the suppliers pulled out all the stops to make this magical day happen.
I started Florence & Fred's wedding journey with a pre-shoot on the beach during sunset, in-front of my computer screen after I typed 'sunset' into google. As you can see from their first photo, we were blessed with that incredible sky.
Image credits: Chris Wallace
They first met in a warehouse, it was a meeting like no other: on the Amazon conveyor belt, their eyes made contact and they fell in love, it was from that moment they knew they would be together forever.
Image credits: Chris Wallace
On the wedding day, Fred arrived at the venue in his '90s Mercedes SL-500 that he found in the attic. Along with his groomsmen, he enjoyed a relaxing drink prior to the ceremony. Florence, unfortunately, had to get ready on her own as her bridesmaids were in isolation and due to inflated prices, were far too expensive to buy from Amazon.
Image credits: Chris Wallace
Image credits: Chris Wallace
The ceremony was held outdoors in the most gorgeous of settings, filled with the greenest of plastic leaves and most colorful plastic flowers. We were also very lucky to have some special guests at the wedding, including Chewbacca, Hans Solo and a 1980 LEGO spaceman amongst others.
Image credits: Chris Wallace
The sun was out throughout the ceremony, which wasn't ideal for the registrar as she was part squid, but great for everyone else.
Image credits: Chris Wallace
Florence walked down the aisle with her father, Harry Potter, which was a very emotional time for all. I'm not sure anyone even noticed she had her dress on backward.
Image credits: Chris Wallace
Image credits: Chris Wallace
After the ceremony, we started with some group photos with family and friends, then took the bride and groom off for some portraits in the back garden and on the shed roof where we were blessed with blue skies, clouds, sunshine and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
Image credits: Chris Wallace
Image credits: Chris Wallace
Image credits: Chris Wallace
Image credits: Chris Wallace
Image credits: Chris Wallace
Fred then surprised Florence with a drone flight which took in all the spectacular sights of Middlewich, Cheshire. Florence was delighted to get some fresh air, especially after self-isolating for the past 4 weeks.
Image credits: Chris Wallace
Image credits: Chris Wallace
The stunning venue was set in red and yellow plastic brick, because these are the colors I had most of, and set in the incredible location inside a summerhouse/shed in the heart of Cheshire. We headed there after the portraits to hear some very funny but silent speeches, before heading back out for photos of the sunset.
Image credits: Chris Wallace
This was one of the most amazing sunsets we have ever seen, created by a flash and an orange gel. Oddly enough, after the sunset, it poured with rain and this amazing couple stood getting wet for at least 20 minutes while I controlled the flash, camera and squirted water at them, but was worth it for the images we created.
Image credits: Chris Wallace
Image credits: Chris Wallace
Image credits: Chris Wallace
Image credits: Chris Wallace
Image credits: Chris Wallace
Image credits: Chris Wallace
Image credits: Chris Wallace
Image credits: Chris Wallace
We then headed back over to the venue for an amazing party, most guests had to sit out due to social distancing, but as you can see 4-5 people were up dancing, having a great time.
Image credits: Chris Wallace
As soon as the 5 people had stopped dancing, we were able to head back outside to enjoy some sparklers, but had to cut this short as a few guests caught fire and melted. Unfortunately, they couldn't be saved, but made a funny wedding story to tell.
Image credits: Chris Wallace
Thanks so much to Florence & Fred for having me along to capture your special day, you were amazing to work with and Florence, hope your hair grows back after the sparkler incident. You were both so easy to work with and took direction very well!
Both photographers, Chris Wallace and Kunal Kelkar, found creative ways to keep shooting amidst the limitations imposed by the pandemic. While Wallace brought to life a vibrant world of LEGO weddings, Kelkar utilized a treadmill and toy car for an inventive photoshoot.
Readers interested in how photographers adapt in such situations may want to learn about Kunal's inspiring project of transforming a toy car photoshoot into a realistic masterpiece by checking out creative indoor photography techniques.