Rachel and Nick had planned their wedding for a very long time; they both work at Emmerdale and wanted their colleagues and friends to come with and celebrate, which means you have to plan ahead if they all want a week off.
The concept was so clever. Bring everyone you love to a warm country, book a hotel for yourselves, spend the days by the pool and the nights singing ABBA songs in the karaoke bar. And then round it off by... getting married. What a climax to the week.
There are so many precious moments I remember from this wedding. But the one I remember the most, is a story that really proves the thesis: Whatever goes wrong might just be what makes your story that much more interesting.
After all the preparations in the morning, we hopped into our taxis to go to the ceremony—out on a cliff by the Mediterranean sea. They couldn't have chosen a more stunning place to start the rest of their lives.
When we got there, we had a problem. Anchored out on the water, just about a hundred yards away, was a massive party boat. A loud one. Standing on the cliff, the only thing we could here was "shot! shot! shot!".
Rachel knew what she wanted (and did not want). "Nope. Not getting married with them out there. Not happening."
We shouted, calls were made to the boat, endless pleads... Just to—please—go out a bit further so we couldn't hear them as loudly, or to keep their voices down for twenty minutes. Their response? They weren't moving. Rachel didn't change her mind either. We were at a dead end.
All of a sudden, we see something moving in the water. Nick's little cousin, Jamie, had taken off all of his clothes, got on a paddling board and was on his way out to the boat. When he arrived he received some mocking chants from the people on board, but asked to get a word with the captain. The captain arrived and Jamie merely asked him "How would you feel if it were YOU getting married?".
That was it. Jamie paddled back and the boat took off with all the wedding guests cheering them on; and especially cheering Jamie on.
...and that is the story of how I met your mother.
And how Rachel and Nick finally got married.
I photographed this wedding with the talented photographer Caro Hutchings. These are my photos, but on her website you can find a mix of all our photos.
