When Steff Clements and Ells Bewley started photographing and videoing weddings, the Bristol-based couple quickly noticed something: the wedding industry was seriously lacking on the diversity front.
“We started about three years ago and the first thing we really noticed was the lack of diversity,” says Clements (she/they), 34. “And not just within the LGBTQ space but all types of spaces, like body size, global majority, everything.”
Clements and Bewley, who’ve been together seven years, first fell in love with photography and videography while creating content for their own social media channels (@wearewanderingtravel), documenting their travels as an LGBTQ couple. “We just documented our love,” says Bewley (they/them), 31. “That’s how it started.”
Once they began venturing into weddings however, they quickly became determined to create more “truly inclusive” spaces in the industry.
In January, they launched The Rebel Love Directory, bringing vetted suppliers, venues and vendors together on one platform – and in November they’ll be hosting their first Rebel Love Wedding Fair.
This one’s taking place in Bristol, but they hope to expand in the future and have events in both the south and north of the UK, as they “appreciate not everyone can travel” that far.
Also in the works is Rebel Love Education, for wedding industry professionals and companies looking to increase their inclusivity awareness and efforts.
Explaining how it all came about, Bewley adds: “We realised there’s so many people and suppliers within the wedding industry that want to do better.
“And equally, the biggest drive was coming across all the couples and lovers that we were working with, that’d had really bad experiences with finding suppliers that were inclusive. [For example], going to wedding fairs and people presuming they were sisters or best friends.
“We saw a lot of that, and people being misgendered on their day. And we had a lot of the lovers we were photographing and filming, coming to us and asking – do you know any other queer suppliers that we can get on board for our wedding, because we’re really struggling to find them?”
Some wedding directories and fairs for same-sex couples do already exist. But for the Rebel Love team, the goal is to take things further and create something “truly inclusive”, which goes beyond just catering for gay weddings.
“The community is so much bigger than that,” says Bewley. “And if we’re not safeguarding trans and non-binary people, or people that have additional accessibility requirements on their day… We really need to craft out a space where people can find those true allies that get it, and will understand your pronouns, for example.”
Their goal is to spotlight venues and suppliers who have already “done the work” – so that people planning their special day won’t have to worry about needing to educate people along the way, what reactions they’ll encounter, or whether their needs are going to be accommodated.
They have a clear vetting process in place before suppliers and businesses can join the directory, which includes completing a form as well as background checks on their social media and website, etc. They’re looking for “active allies”, says Bewley.
Clements adds: “We check for things like pronouns being displayed in bios, representation on websites. But it’s not just about the photos you’re showing, it’s about the words and the actions you’re doing as well. For example, are you volunteering your time to help out at a Pride? Are you donating to LGBTQ+ charities? Are you speaking up on LGBTQ+ issues, are you educating yourself on these things?”
This is where Rebel Love Education fits into the picture as well, as feedback and learning can be vital steps for all businesses when it comes to being inclusive.
The Rebel Love network is already growing, with a number of “passionate” collaborators on board, including Stephanie Dreams Photography who also runs ‘Love For All’ LGBTQ+ wedding workshops – and Clements and Bewley are excited for what’s to come.
“This is a big deal to us,” says Bewley. “We’d like to be the first truly inclusive LGBTQ wedding fair. That’s my badge and I’m wearing it with pride!”
Tickets start from £3 and 50% of sales will be donated to LGBTQ+ charities. For more information, visit rebellovedirectory.com
