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Ancient traditions meet modern fashions in an ostentatious culture clash in the world of 21st century gypsy and traveller weddings. Gaining rare access to this fascinating and often misunderstood community, this series documents gypsy weddings, revealing a culture where brides compete to have the biggest dress, but having children out of wedlock is still taboo and divorce is unheard of. Considered ‘on the shelf’ by 20, many girls in gypsy and traveller communities get married soon after their sixteenth birthday, with the full support of their family. The weddings are visual spectacles; girls parade into church in enormous dresses that sometimes weigh more than the bride herself. And, although the women appear sexually provocative, there is a tradition of premarital chastity that is increasingly unusual in Britain today. This is a community that lives alongside but detached from mainstream society. It is a community of contrasts, living by centuries-old religious and cultural traditions, but at the same time embracing the gaudier extremes of the celebrity and fashion-obsessed times in which we live.
