A grand reception!

It's still early days. I do not want to get too far ahead of myself, but I'm so excited by the response I've gotten over the last 24 hours from friends on Facebook. Normally when I have a grandiose plan, I'll have one sleepless night over it, discuss it the next day with my sister, Shelby, decide it's absolute rubbish, and file it away under "absolute rubbish ideas." I think the difference between this project and most of my other ones, is that this one could actually mean a lot to the people I work with on it.

Photography, admittedly, is very expensive. As photographers, we're not trying to rip you off or anything. We put a LOT of work into your photos, but I can see where it can be such a financial strain on a wedding couple. As it stands now, if I were getting married, I wouldn't be able to afford a photographer.

On top of helping out all the couples that I can, I'll be fundraising as well...which scares me. I'm so frightened that I'll hold this exhibition at the end of the project, and not make any money. I'll hand over an envelope to Marriage Equality with 20 quid in it (that came from my own wallet) and they'll say "Thanks for nothing, Looooooooser!" Because in my nightmares, people still talk like they did in school. But if I can raise a bit of money for my organisations of choice, I'll be very happy. And so far, despite lack of funds, couples, and everything else, the response has be good. Very good indeed.

Hey Gay People!

Are you engaged? Do you want free wedding photos, but not the kind that come from your creepy, elderly uncle Bob who just happens own a Nikon with a 300mm zoom lens? (Who needs that much zoom at a wedding anyway?!) Well now's your chance to tell uncle Bob to take a hike!

I want to photograph your gay wedding. For free. You'll get me for the whole day from the "getting ready" shots all the way up to the first few dances in the evening. I then spend the next few weeks in post production to digitally optimise colour, lighting, contrast, that cake smudge on your brother's lapel, etc. After you get back from your honeymoon, you'll receive a DVD of your photos in High Resolution for printing. You must be aware, however, that I may use one or several of my favourite shots from the day in the final exhibition.

What it's all about

The Big Gay Wedding Project is my way to do my bit for the gay rights movement. Unfortunately, I have no previous experience doing anything remotely non-profit, so not only is this going to be a project but a bit of an experiment as well.

The idea is that I spend the next year providing free photography services to gay and lesbian couples across Ireland on their wedding days. I use the word "wedding," of course, because despite the fact that gay marriage legislation still has yet to go through here in Ireland, that is, to me at least, what the ceremony is. A wedding. Also, the phrase "commitment ceremony" has too many syllables in it. At the end of 2011/ beginning of 2012, I'd like to hold an exhibition, with all proceeds going towards the Irish Marriage Equality Campaign and BeLonG To.

I intend to use this blog to document my progress and hopefully gain a few much needed contacts along the way. I'm currently in need of sponsers, funding, and LOTS of gay couples from across the country. Since I'm at the very beginning of all this, any input on how to make the Big Gay Wedding Project as big and gay as possible would be greatly appreciated. Or even if you just want to show your support, you can contact me at ShawnaScottPhotos@gmail.com.