Superhero Destination wedding with Lego figures and minifigs
With weddings currently limited in England (from 15th August 2020) to a maximum of 30 people attending (for a short 2m social distanced wedding ceremony) and large wedding receptions discouraged (unless it is 30 people sitting down socially distanced in a Covid-19 secure/compliant venue – not your garden!) and no provision for other type of events yet, or easing of 6 people from different households meeting socially until at least Christmas, it is understandable that a lot of couples have decided that 2021 or even 2022 may be a better option.
So, what has a wedding photographer been doing during lockdown… well practice it is and with a husband and a kid that are suffering permanently from photographer’s child/husband syndrome… the son’s toys it is.
With several Lego/minifig toys and not a lot of building material could I recreate a Lego wedding? And not just any wedding – a superhero wedding with what stuff I had round the house since that is all I have? Well the Lego would be less moany than my family having to pose for me for sure.
My inspiration (a few panels from the Marvel New Avengers Annual June 2006 and I was away. In the New Avengers annual Jessica Jones and Luke Cage get married. Jessica Jones is not a woman who tolerates fluff, is street wise, self-effacing, and cynical. She makes a reference to submitting to the pomp of a wedding dress as she is really inspired by Luke Cage (in a non-creepy way). Jessica also almost stops the wedding (officiated by the late Stan Lee) to the shock of their guests, but it is only that she can tell Luke her vows in her own words. The actual marriage venue was in Stark Tower in what looks like a gazebo with red flowers in the background (so I guess that’s the colour scheme despite all the pink on the cover of the magazine!) The sun looks to be setting in one panel so is a late afternoon, early evening wedding. Then there is a group shot with some superhero guests Wolverine and Captain Marvel (in uniform) being most memorable. Maybe Captain America and Spiderman also? I can’t work out the others. It would be unusual for Luke Cage’s best friend Danny Rand aka Iron Fist (after whom his daughter is named after) not to be there. Jessica also makes a reference to ‘no goons’ attacking the wedding after all her new husband is the leader of the New Avengers, so her wedding went off without a hitch (totally unusual for a superhero hero wedding)! With Stark Tower being in the middle of New York I wondered if it would attract supervillains attacking it/trying to sneak in at regular intervals.
Behind the Scenes
So here is my version of the relaxed informal wedding I know Jessica probably would have had. The Lego/minifigs were a lot harder to work with than I thought. One drop on the floor and covered in dust that you don’t notice till after the shoot is over aaargh! And their heads not being on properly aargh! Continuous light is your friend and a torch or mobile phone flashlight also comes in useful too. It is easier to see how the light is affecting the minifig because their faces are so shiny. Who knew that a Kit Kat wrapper or a metal biscuit tin lid would come in handy for directing the light?
I know that everyone was in suits but the thought of buying everyone a Lego suit for one photo – no budget for that! Extra heads and hands were purchased from Ebay or you can get them custom made for your own MOC (my own creation) mods from Fire Star Toys. Shot with 12mm extension macro extension tube mostly with a bit of 20 or 32mm extension tube thrown in for the close ups. 50mm f1.8 lens. At f22 everything is in focus. At f 5.6 there is a lot of bokeh because you are so close to your subject. At f2.8 the depth of field is very shallow and only one face will be in focus if not on the same focal plane. At f2.0 it was buttery with lovely bokeh (blur).
So here is what is going on in the pictures.
The wedding photographer (Lego me) recently flew Imagination Airways to New York to capture the evening wedding of Jessica and Luke. After clearing security and meeting some of the guests in the lift, the wedding photographer went upstairs to where Jessica was getting ready. Jessica had Carol (Captain Marvel) her best friend to help her into her wedding dress. They then went to the boys’ room where Luke and his best friend Danny were chilling out playing Playstation before getting ready. A chance encounter with the veil and the baby Danielle grabbing it, made Luke and Jessica to forgo a veil and a top hat.
Jessica and Luke walked down the aisle together to meet the officiant. After a short ceremony with Jessica telling Luke her own vows, the couple after greeting friends exited onto the roof terrace for a relaxed cocktail hour with canapes and giant chess. The wedding photographer flitted between guests chatting and overheard a conversation of a superhero (Ant Man) who could shrink in size talking about how he had been investigating the migratory patterns of murder hornets and he had fallen off and knocked himself down smaller than a virus particle. Interesting….
Danny gave a short speech on how he and Luke had first met Jessica during their nocturnal crime fighting days. Jessica had surrendered her secret identity (as Knightress) so she could look after a couple of children overnight so they would not have to spend the night at the police station. Their Dad (the criminal the Owl) had taken them to the criminal meeting and subsequently been arrested. (Proving even supervillains have child care problems!) Jessica spoke at length on Danny and Luke’s bright green and yellow costumes being not stealthy by any means. Since Jessica had been so armored by their costumes, Luke and Danny decided to have a dance off in said costumes with Jessica joining them in her original Jewel costume. Whilst evening guests arrived and the dance floor was opened to all, Jessica and Luke changed back into their original bridal outfits and cut their cake and had a first (second) dance. Smoke fills the room. Was it dry ice? Was it the Ghost Rider? Or was it something else which unfortunately set off the sprinklers? Nevertheless, the fire department allowed Jessica and Luke to to use the fire hose when the fire engine arrived as it was their big day.
End Credit Scene (s)
The fire alarms going off. What is the workman up to? What has awoken and what is that blue shiny space rock?
Flashback to London (to a time before) – A bride and groom have broken down on the way to their wedding reception. But luckily a helpful superhero couple passing by pop up to help them with changing the tyres. The end? (Maybe not.)
Time for Rock, paper, scissors but I have been distracted. Was it just a dream?
The toys
Minifigs/Lego people from Grandma, Ebay and Firestar Toys
Bee Toy: Tumble Bee
Spiky bouncing ball: Chatham Dockyard gift shop
Bus from London Transport Museum
Cake: Lola’s Cupcakes
Union Jack Mini Cooper: a London souvenir gift shop
