Wedding painters: How a special moment gets captured on canvas

December 7, 2022

Mandy Boyd saw newlyweds on TikTok get their first kisses put to canvas. Now she's in high demand as she paints special moments in real time. (Source: Seven Sharp)

Original ideas are hard to think of when planning a wedding. It can seem like everything's already been done before.

However, Mandy Boyd has a new idea, a sort of hybrid between photography and performance art: live wedding painting.

She's been booked by couples up and down the country to capture their special moments in real time, whether it's the sharing of vows, the first kiss or the first dance.

Boyd's always been an artist, but worked as an early childhood teacher until she saw a wedding painter on TikTok.

Now, she's the one posting as she paints.

"I forced myself to do it because I knew that it was something that I would be interested in, and it's amazing," she said. "It's a really cool lifestyle."

Boyd remembers the first wedding she painted and the nerves she felt during it.

"The first wedding I did I was really nervous. I walked in full of confidence from the outside, [but] laughter on the inside, I was so nervous. I guess it's like any performance [such as] singing in a band or performing in sport, on the inside you're really nervous but you try and act the part at the start."

She usually arrives at a venue three hours early to set up and paint the background ahead of the ceremony.

Next she'll snap a photo of the couple's chosen moment, take the painting home for finishing touches, then ship it their way before heading off to the next wedding.

Boyd thinks people love her live paintings because they're like performances and makes for great entertainment.

"It's something unique that not many people know about, so it does give wow factor to your wedding and you get to come away with a cool piece of art," she said.

To see Boyd's live painting of the Seven Sharp hosts, click on the video above.

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