Gypsy Wedding

[WLR]

Been shooting weddings since the mid 70's but this will be a first, a Gypsy Wedding !!.
Can anyone brief me on what important moments and traditions should be covered?
I've also heard that it's the grooms family that takes center stage in this type of event.

I'm all ears........

[SuzyView]

I moved this to Talk as you have no image to share.

I have no help for you about traditions, but maybe talking to the B&G and their parents would be the best bet. That way you know exactly what to expect and then report to us. I don't think I've ever heard of a Gypsie wedding before. Good luck.

[mariusz]

ask what is important for them other than that I would recommend photojournalism - you will capture everything i a way

[WLR]

I moved this to Talk as you have no image to share.

Understood, didn't realize I needed to post an image to ask a question at this location considering it's a little difficult to provide an image before the actual event......

For this arranged wedding, as for speaking with the bride and groom and parents parents, was told bride and her family don't rate.
At this point the grooms family apparently will be the focal point for all requests.
Oh and another tid-bit, we were told to QUADRUPLE the price for albums and pictures for the brides family.
Someone pinch me. This IS the 21st century.......right ?

[Mhappy]

ask what is important for them other than that I would recommend photojournalism - you will capture everything i a way
I completely agree! Is there going to be a rehearsal? I'd go to that for sure - just so you're prepared for the big day!

[tim]

ask what is important for them other than that I would recommend photojournalism - you will capture everything i a way

I find it interesting that "photojournalism" is just turning up with a camera and shooting whatever catches your attention. That's just giving a name to common sense.

[mariusz]

its a common sense your are right! not sure what is wrong with naming things - its a common sense to me!
cheers,

[Lightworks Imaging]

There are still "Gypsies"? In America? Really? Maybe try the 'Net to find the traditional parts of such a wedding, I've done that before, but this is new to me. Good luck.

[WLR]

[quote=Mhappy;8550785] Is there going to be a rehearsal? quote]

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++

Probably not.
Since this is an arranged wedding the prospective bride & groom have not seen each other and probably wont until the actual ceremony.

[WLR]

[quote=Lightworks Imaging;8556210]There are still "Gypsies"? In America? Really? quote]
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++
Ahhhhh, You're out in Wisconsin. Spent last sumer there for s company school.
Back here in Jersey we have EVERYBODY you could imagine.
I have neighbors on my street from Albania, Italy, Puerto Rico, Latvia.
The photographer I do work with is from Hungary and my videographer is a purebred Italian. They don't call this place the melting pot for nothin', although I kinda wish someone would turn up the heat for a better blend.....

[WLR]

ask what is important for them other than that I would recommend photojournalism
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++

That will be part of the plan.
I understand the irritation the word "photojournalistic" can create.
Used properly and tastfully it can work well, but the mentality that just go nuts and shoot 2000 images really escapes me. How many images do you need of the bride feeding the groom cake? Besides, who has time to edit 1000 images?

[Christopher Steven b]

That's interesting--I don't think of photojournalism as denoting snapshootery and gratuitous numbers of photos--it more puts me in mind of candid, artful and deliberative shooting.

Please share the photos--I'd love to see a gypsy wedding!

[WLR]

Hi Chris,
I share really the same view you do, and you verbalized it very well.
I came from the "old school" where you were handed 10 rolls of 120 that gave you 12 shots per roll and this is what you produced everything from. You were taught to be a sniper to catch the exact moment. Now we have to deal with publications like The Knott that dictate to brides stuff like "The 88 Must Have Shots", along with the multi thousand image mentality, and my latest favorite (NOT) a picture of the inside of the wedding cake after it's been cut. Geee what's next? A minicam attached to the B&G's rear mollars so we can get a live shot from the inside of the cake as they eat it?

Oh-Oh. Just wait. I may have started something with that one..........

[LVPhotos]

Ok, here's some advice as we just shot one on Thursday...

1. You won't get ANY info from ANYONE. They won't tell you what will happen, or why it's happening. That's "the way of the Gypsy" as we were told.

Here's what happened at ours:

- At first there was an open buffet in an amazingly decorated, huge reception hall. We were told it was very important to get photos of all the decorations, so go nuts on that.

- The groom and his family are there at this time. But the bride and her family don't come in until way later.

- The bride came in, dressed in what I would consider a nice evening/prom dress. By the way, they claimed she was 18, but she was 14 if she was a day old.

- The bride and groom almost ignored each other, just stealing glances.

- The bride cried and was scared to death the entire time. We got maybe 5 pictures of her actually smiling. She was a wreck.

- Bride left, changed into a big frilly puffy light blue dress. Almost like a quincenera dress. More dancing, more crying.

- After about another hour, she left and put the wedding dress on. When she came back in was the more "formal" entrance, the big to-do.

- There was some sort of ceremony involving bread, but it was impossible to get photos since the families were crowded around so close and pushing/arguing the entire time. We stood on chairs using our 17mm with the camera way above our heads.

- A bit later was a ceremony around the cake.

- Dancing, then there was a huge brawl, and I mean a real fight, then the reception facility kicked everyone out.

Hints:

GET PAID BEFORE THE EVENT. You will get paid cash, if they don't pay cash then you WILL lose that money. Their check WILL bounce, they WILL reverse charges on credit cards. If you have overtime, get paid AT THAT MOMENT, IN CASH. Get a contract but expect that it will not be followed, and you won't have any recourse in court.

THEY WILL NEGOTIATE - This is part of their tradition - they don't necessarily WANT a discount, they just need to attempt. So quote a high price, and negotiate down to your normal price.

Just give a disc of images when done - there's no point in claiming copyrights, as there's no way you'll find them again or be able to sue them, etc. Charge whatever you need to charge to give up rights for printing.

On the money topic, be prepared to know that the cash you are receiving is FOR SURE money that has been stolen and/or scammed from people. In any case it's not obtained legitimately through means that you and me would consider legitimate.

Sorry to say, but everything a Gypsy says to you, consider it a lie. That's not "racial" or "stereotypical".... it's the truth. Research the culture - realize how they make their money. Accept it and live with it.

Expect everyone to be VERY rude, demanding and to claim that "They" are the "boss" and "in charge". We had no less than 10 people tell us, "listen to me, I paid for everything here and I am in charge".

The culture is very "mob-like" (and by that, I mean The Godfather). Everyone acts like thugs/mobsters, and they dress like them. One guy that talked to me was actually using Godfather movie lines and claimed to be "the Godfather" of the family. Ask anyone else, though, and he was a crazy old man.

There will be A LOT of cash around. WHen they go around to collect money for the bride, they will announce the family, where they are from, and HOW MUCH THEY ARE GIVING. We saw anywhere from $300 to $2000 in wads of bills being given. And there were 100 or more families giving money. At least $150k in cash in that room, AT LEAST.

It will be hard to take photos - they do not like their photo taken, but they still want lots of photos. Understand many people there are likely "wanted" for things like theft and scamming. You may have to "snipe" photos.

Finally, you MUST be OK with child marriage - or at least willing to separate yourself from what really is happening. These are arranged marriages where the bride is purchased. The bride may have never even met the groom, and is a young teenager. You may be told that she is "feigning" sadness as part of tradition. Believe that if you must, but if you can read people, you'll see different. My wife cried a few times while shooting, she said she felt like she wanted to grab the bride and run with her.

Unfortunately we wont' be posting any photos, in honesty we are a bit scared of the entire situation.

In closing, I'd seriously think about doing this event - is this what you want to be a part of?

[dinko]

Sorry to say, but everything a Gypsy says to you, consider it a lie. That's not "racial" or "stereotypical".... it's the truth. Research the culture - realize how they make their money. Accept it and live with it.

bw!
I was born in Bosnia where we have gypsies. A lot of them live on the street, steal, etc. Pretty much everything you said is very true at least of the gypsies where I come from.

[10bmw10]

@LVPhotos WOW

[Christopher Steven b]

@LVPhotos: just curious about how many self-proclaimed gypsies you have dealt with? Were these simply your experiences with one family for one wedding?