Dancing With Them

Jess first heard Paddy's voice on the phone in 2019. She'd been organizing a Trans Awareness Week panel and needed a nonbinary speaker from the industry. Someone mentioned Paddy Paddison. They emailed, talked logistics, and Paddy sent through a headshot for the event poster. Jess looked at it and thought, well, this just got complicated.

They never met at that event - Jess couldn't make it. But months later, early 2020, Paddy's face showed up on Tinder. Jess sent a message. A few days later they were meeting for their first date in Victoria Park.

Five years later, they got married at Hackney Town Hall. Both of them had wanted to marry there before they'd even met each other - the palm trees, the big steps out front, the fact that it was home. They'd lived together in Hackney since the beginning.

The week before the wedding, they found out a section of the legal ceremony required gendered language to be read aloud to everyone. There's no gender-neutral option for that part in the UK - it's what makes the ceremony legally binding. They discussed cancelling. Then their registrar Lynn stepped in and found a way to make it work without using gendered language for Paddy.

Jess was nervous about dress shopping. She'd had a difficult relationship with her body and worried the whole experience might feel hard. Sara at Morgan Davies made it safe. The first dress Jess tried on was the one. She tried others just to be sure, but kept coming back to the first.

Paddy ordered suits from ASOS to try on at home - less pressure, more control. Found one they loved, made alterations to the jacket so it fit right.

The day itself was sunny after weeks of rain. Red mustang. Photos in Victoria Park at the exact spot where they'd had their first kiss years earlier. Tacos at the reception. "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer when they walked into the venue, then their first dance to Sister Sledge before the whole room joined in for George Michael.

www.dancingwiththem.com/jess-paddy-wedding

Featured in
Photography by

Steve found Rodo online while working a remodel job in Puerto Vallarta. Their first phone call lasted 14 hours. Not in pieces throughout the day - one continuous conversation that stretched from afternoon into the next morning. There was a realization halfway through that something had shifted and neither wanted to let go of the other.

Their first date was a sunset cruise. Steve, being Steve, had joked about bringing 90 Day Fiancé camera crews to the airport. Rodo showed up half-convinced it might actually happen.

A year later, New Year's Eve. Steve made sure Rodo's entire family was in Puerto Vallarta. Karaoke night, spotlight ready. Just before midnight, Steve started singing "At Last" by Etta James, then dropped to one knee as fireworks went off over the water. Rodo thought he was messing around until he looked over and saw his family in tears.

They got married in Puerto Vallarta - the city where they met, where they'd spent enough time that it became a second home. Contemporary design because they own an interior design company and they wanted something that looked like them.

They forgot their dogs at the start of the ceremony and had to run back for them, which everyone's still talking about. Dancing fairies led guests to the dancefloor. Fireworks lasted three minutes, perfectly timed to the music. What.a.night.

Fourteen hours on the phone turned into this 😍

www.dancingwiththem.com/steve-rodo-wedding

Featured in
Photography by