--- title: The Story Behind Viral The Handmaid's Tale Wedding Picture description: Two Canadian photographers are facing criticism for sharing a 'Handmaid's Tale'-themed wedding photo. Here's the story behind the picture. canonical: https://time.com/5692246/handmaids-tale-wedding-pictures/ author: Rachel E. Greenspan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-10-03T20:55:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:03.484Z og:title: The Story Behind That Viral 'The Handmaid's Tale' Wedding Picture og:description: With photoshopped handmaids, the wedding picture was heavily criticized online og:url: https://time.com/5692246/handmaids-tale-wedding-pictures/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23921d0170b0b9e1/698a03c5656a3fa69bbd902e/handmaids-tale-wedding-photos.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Van Daele & Russell Photography og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Story Behind That Viral 'The Handmaid's Tale' Wedding Picture twitter:description: With photoshopped handmaids, the wedding picture was heavily criticized online twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23921d0170b0b9e1/698a03c5656a3fa69bbd902e/handmaids-tale-wedding-photos.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's The Story Behind That Viral _The Handmaid's Tale_ Wedding Picture You're Seeing Everywhere > Sponsored content. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ## Video: The Handmaid's Tale_ Season 3 Trailer [Watch (HLS stream): The Handmaid's Tale_ Season 3 Trailer](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/wQZk6KWU.m3u8) (1:58)  _Published 2019-06-26. The Handmaid's Tale_ Season 3 Trailer_ by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Oct 3, 2019 8:55 PM UTC  Van Daele and Russell Photography by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Oct 3, 2019 8:55 PM UTC Two Canadian photographers are facing criticism for sharing a [_Handmaid’s Tale_](https://time.com/5668052/the-testaments-audiobook-aunt-lydia-ann-dowd/)\-themed wedding photo, staged where scenes of the show have been filmed in Cambridge, Canada. The picture shows a man and woman kissing — flanked on either side by a row of the show’s [handmaids](https://time.com/5667821/margaret-atwood-the-testaments/) — in front of a wall that the show’s [fictional Gilead](https://time.com/5661400/best-books-fall-2019/) leaders use to hang dead bodies of dissenters. While the wall is the one used on the show, Van Daele says he photoshopped in the handmaids, clad in their iconic red dresses and white bonnets. Thousands of social media users quickly commented on and shared the image with question marks, jokes and concern. > [](https://twitter.com/HelloCVH/status/1179754637961895936) > [](https://twitter.com/The%5FSummerMan/status/1179785985967702016) But the photographers are defending the shot. “Everyone loves a good witch hunt,” Shawn Van Daele, one half of Van Daele and Russell photography, told TIME in an email. “Apparently today we are their witch.” The photographers removed the photograph from their social media at the request of the couple after it went viral on Facebook. “They’re being harassed,” Van Daele says, “which is an absolute shame.” In both the book of the same name by [Margaret Atwood](https://time.com/5673535/the-testaments-plot-questions-margaret-atwood/), and [the Hulu series](https://time.com/5668056/the-testaments-hulu-margaret-atwood/), the titular handmaid characters are forced to bear the children of men whose wives are infertile, and being gay is illegal. While many critics felt the photo made light of _The Handmaid’s Tale_‘s dark themes, Van Daele says that he and his husband, Clint Russell, had only good intentions. “The image and entire show touches on the oppression faced by the gay community, women, and many other minority groups,” he said. “It’s deeply personal, and a shame people are attacking without first learning.” The wedding itself was not at all _Handmaid_\-inspired. Because both the photographs and the bride and groom are huge fans of the show, and they were shooting on-site at Cambridge Mill, it seemed fitting. _The Handmaid’s Tale_ has had an impact on the real world, from [protesters wearing the costume as a symbol of women’s oppression](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/03/how-the-handmaids-tale-dressed-protests-across-the-world), to outrage over a [sexy handmaid Halloween costume](https://time.com/5402823/sexy-handmaids-tale-costume-apology/). Van Daele said that while he’s upset by the criticism, he’s happy that people are just as inspired and invigorated by _The Handmaid’s Tale_ as he is. “We’re thrilled that this is starting a conversation,” he said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5692246/handmaids-tale-wedding-pictures/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5692246/handmaids-tale-wedding-pictures/"},"headline":"Here's The Story Behind That Viral The Handmaid's Tale Wedding Picture You're Seeing Everywhere","datePublished":"2019-10-03T20:55:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:47:03.484Z","description":"With photoshopped handmaids, these photographers' work has been criticized online","url":"https://time.com/5692246/handmaids-tale-wedding-pictures/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23921d0170b0b9e1/698a03c5656a3fa69bbd902e/handmaids-tale-wedding-photos.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rachel E. 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