Feminist wedding with a nod to Jamaican and Ghanaian heritage

Brixton wedding photography

Nydia + Kobna

What is a feminist wedding?

Well, for once it is not your usual traditional white wedding! It focuses on both partners as being equal. No one, aka usually the bride, is being ‘given away’ or ‘helped’ in cutting a cake. Many traditions are scrapped and the wedding is all about the couple and their approach to life and partnership.

This gorgeous Brixton wedding breaks away from pretty much all wedding norms: no white dress, the couple walked, or in fact danced in, down the aisle together, there was no cake cutting, no receiving line or traditional wedding breakfast. Instead, the couple opted for a big gathering of close family and friends to celebrate a union of two people. As a feminist myself, I am a big advocate for planning your wedding your own way. There is not a right or wrong way about it and if you like traditions then this is great too!

It was amazing that Nydia and Kobna hired us to be their Brixton wedding photographers. This colourful wedding suited perfectly to this vibrant place in South London that I called home for 9 years.

There is an abundance of places for Brixton wedding photography with many meaningful locations for the couple – iconic Ritzy Cinema (and if you have not already realised, Kobna is a talented West End and film actor), colourful Brixton Market (where their outfit designer works) and interesting exteriors of the Black Cultural Archives (where Nydia spent a lot of time there studying for her PhD in gender studies and black feminism).

I am very excited to show you highlights from this colourful Brixton wedding and perhaps inspire you to plan your own feminist wedding. Read below to find out more!

The love story

We met in London at a friend’s birthday dinner, coincidentally sitting opposite each another, and living in London and New York. But after a year and half long distance sucked so much that we moved in together in London. We got engaged on the most sublime, most beautiful getaway to Palma (de Mallorca) in August 2017.

Why did you choose Brixton and Lambeth town hall for your wedding?

We chose Brixton & Lambeth Town Hall because wanted our wedding to be about our normal lives and about bringing some of those ‘togethernesses’ together. The theme, we joked, was “Loving and Local.” We live in Brixton and love it and it’s history. We shop there together, socialise there together and sometimes go there to work.

Our colourful wedding outfits 

We went to a boutique we really dig called United 80. We asked Sam, the owner and designer, if she would consider lending us her talent and design our wedding outfits. She said an excited yes and off we went. We had some starter ideas and then Sam was free to do her magic. The results were perfect realisations of what we’d asked for.

Styling and inspiration

We wanted a fresh and contemporary look with an African look. We went shopping for wax print cloth over in East London and found a couple of amazing pieces – beautiful blue patterns with gold detailing did the gold signify joy, fire and the preciousness of our union? Maybe. They were matching but not identical, reflecting our individuality and togetherness. And the finished articles were made so that we could wear them again and again.

The ceremony

We had a registry ceremony at Lambeth Town Hall. We decided to walk down the aisle together and we danced out of the ceremony to an afrobeat track called ‘Me and You’ by an artist called Praiz.

Reception and party

We did not want any formal reception. After the ceremony we met our friends and family in Cotton Restaurant in Vauxhall – best Caribbean food and rum in London. For the party bit one of our guest, who is a DJ and had flown over from Brooklyn, looked after the music but we let people put on playlists and make suggestions and join in with the whole soundscape.

What was your favourite part of the day and why?

It’s hard to stick a pin in one moment. We were both quite nervous and overjoyed and overwhelmed both before and after the ceremony at Lambeth Town Hall. but also delighted when we walked into the restaurant later.

Words of wisdom 

There’s nothing we would do differently. Maybe the advice would be that a wedding is only perfect when it’s just as it is?

Our Brixton wedding photographer

What attracted us to Joasis was the almost documentary style. The pictures on the website seemed to capture both reality and romance, looking authentic but also sweetly personal. Our shots have the same tone and quality. It’s a unique and very beautiful way of recording a wedding.

Board of inspiration:

Outfits: Sam / United 80

Ceremony: Lambeth Town Hall

Reception: Cotton Restaurant

Photography: Joasis Photography – by Aggie

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Joasis Photography is a feminist wedding photographer working across Brixton and South London to create colourful and alternative wedding photography