‘Just do what he does’ was the request from Michael and Victoria when asked if they wanted to speak to me about images they wanted for their Halloween Pagan Handfasting. They booked me through my wife Ellie (Alternative Ceremonies UK) who was their celebrant.
Their ceremony took place at High Force Hotel Barnard Castle. They got married in a short legal ceremony without anyone but two witnesses present. This was a formality as for Victoria and Michael, a Pagan handfasting was their wedding. After the registrars had left, an altar was set, and two tall candelabras marked the ceremony spot.
They wanted their ceremony to be held on Halloween, the time for ancestral energies to be with them. Both follow Pagan paths of Wicca and Norse beliefs, and they included a handfasting a sword and arm ring exchange and a mead ceremony.
Victoria looked stunning in her black wedding dress and Michael wore Goth clothing and carried a sword. Infront of their family and friends (including Scruffy the Best Dog), they exchanged vows, gifted each other special items, were handfasted and drank mead sealing their union as one; as husband and wife.
After the ceremony they had some group shots taken then we headed off to High Force Waterfall. I’m still in awe of this stunning location which was incredible. Doing what I do as they requested, we (cautiously) stepped on to some flat rocks with the waterfall as a backdrop. The autumn leaves on the walk to the waterfall made for a naturally colourful outdoor studio.
Victoria wore a cloak for some of the outside shots as it was a sunny, but chilly Halloween day, marking the end of the Pagan year, and the beginning of their new lives together as husband and wife. These two haven’t had an argument ever and they are truly soulmates.
