Why you shouldn't take wedding photo inspiration from The Handmaid's Tale

The wedding photographer claimed the images, inspired by the hit television series, were intended to "wake people up". The internet disagrees. Photo / Supplied

A Canadian couple's wedding has gone viral for all the wrong reasons, after photos of them posing in front of "The Wall" flanked by "Handmaids" made its way to Twitter.

According to the New York Post, the couple were married in Cambridge where much of The Handmaid's Tale series is filmed. And the photographers, Van Daele & Russell, shared the images on Facebook with the caption: "So as fans of the show, it only seemed fitting for there to be some Handmaids in K&T's wedding photos along the 'hanging wall' in Mill Race Park."

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— Frazier Tharpe II (@The_SummerMan) October 3, 2019

But social media users didn't see the sentiment, instead branding the photos "incredibly dense" and "tone deaf".

One aired their dismay over the take on Margaret Atwood's work: "This is in such bad taste, is so f***ing incredibly tone-deaf, and ain't (sic) how you honour this literary work."

Another wrote: "I've never in my life seen someone so incredibly dense to have missed such a huge point," one user wrote on the post. "And to make the premier photo at 'the wall' no less. Just absolutely stunned right now."

The photographer has defended the images, telling New York Post: ""I knew when creating the image that it would possibly upset people, but that's sort of the point … to WAKE PEOPLE UP."

They also shared that the groom had requested photos be taken on the "hanging wall", which in the series is where the bodies of executed ('salvaged') people are hung. However it was the photographer's idea to add handmaids to the scene and defended the move saying, "I'm certain any 'creative' or photographer would have the exact same thoughts."

The photographers also said they identify as "gender traitors", a term in Margaret Atwood's novels that refers to gay people and that they are "no strangers to many of the subplots of oppression, violence, and inequality that run through Margaret's brilliant work".

Despite the negative reactions, the photographers told New York Post they were thrilled the photos have started a dialogue about inequality and oppression.

"Mission: accomplished! Everyone is talking about this issue now, rather than binging on a television series and then not doing ANYTHING about what they're SO worked up over until the next season comes out in the spring," they said.