Big Fat Gypsy Weddings

The first episode in the series looks at the milestones in a traveller girl’s life en route to the biggest day of her life - her wedding day. From her first holy communion – described as a “dress rehearsal for her wedding day” to the strict rules of courtship, a hen night, and of course a visually spectacular wedding, this episode examines the traditions and rules followed by gypsy and traveller girls in Britain today.

Episode 2 follows the lead up to the wedding between 17-year-old non-gypsy Sam to her gypsy boyfriend Patrick. Pat knows there are some in the traveller community who won’t like the fact he is marrying a non-traveller; his own family have strong opinions on ‘Gorgers’ (non-travelling people). Sam is expected to adopt gypsy traditions once she is married.

As 18 year old Irish traveller Lizzie prepares to get married and leave the family trailer her 13 year old sister Margaret is lined up to take over her role, leaving school to help at home and care for her younger siblings. 16 year old Noreen bucks the trend; she does not want to live the life of a traditional traveller wife and has a job.

Whilst gypsy and traveller women all want to be a princess on their wedding day the reality in the gypsy community is that on every other day it is man who is King. The fourth in this five part series looks at the testosterone filled world of the traveller man, where disputes are settled with fists and status conveyed by the car that you drive. Ex-bare-knuckle boxer Paddy - the patriarch of a Salford traveller site - explains the role of a traveller man and crucially how he earns enough to keep wife Roseanne happy.

In this final episode dressmaker Thelma has to make a dress for a bride who won’t even tell her when the wedding is for fear of the venue finding out she is a traveller and cancelling the booking. She is right to be concerned as another bride, 19 year old Irish Traveller Bridget, has already had her wedding venues cancelled three times.

Entering the world of 21st Century gypsy and traveller weddings, where ancient traditions meet modern fashions in an ostentatious culture clash, this film follows four gypsy and traveller families on their wedding day. Considered "on the shelf" at 20, in gypsy and traveller communities many girls get married soon after their 16th birthday with the support of their family. The weddings are visual spectacles: brides and their families compete to have the most flamboyant dresses; girls parade into church in enormous dresses that sometimes weigh more than the bride herself. Although the women look sexually provocative there is a tradition of premarital chastity that is increasingly unusual in Britain today. Gaining rare access to this fascinating and often misunderstood community, the film uses the prism of the weddings to reveal a culture where marriages between first cousins are acceptable but having children out of wedlock is still taboo and divorce is unheard of. Used to facing prejudice, this is a community that lives alongside but detached from mainstream society. It is a world 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.