Weddings are a lot of fun. Sometimes they're also a lot of fun when you're the photographer at them (and scared to death you're going to mess up big time). Today was one of those days where somehow I managed to have fun while shooting a wedding!
Sorry, you're not going to see any shots w/ people in them - it's only fair that the bride and groom be the first to see those. Instead, I will share the shots that help set the mood for the wedding.
I was asked to take the photos by the bride, who is an aide at Mom's assisted living facility. Having shot a few weddings before, and not liking being completely stressed out by it, I initially said I wouldn't do it. However, I am blessed to know several photographers who have gone through the community college photography program, and asked one of them (who is The Other Joy) if she wanted to work with me on this. She did, so we came up with pricing, got a contract off the Internet, and were in business. Yikes! WHAT was I thinking?? Was I thinking?
I go about taking pictures for an event as if I were doing photojournalism, and the event is my assignment. The pictures, when used together, set the tone and tell the story. For a wedding, there are many pictures you can't re-shoot; it's a one time chance to get the shot. No pressure there!!
Shooting a wedding then, I don't want shots that are OK. I want all of them to be fabulous. Unreal expectation I know . . . people don't all look happy at the same time in a lot of group photos . . . sometimes you have an amazing shot lined up and somebody walks in front of the camera to block it and the moment is gone.
How many brides will admit they don't remember a whole lot about who was at the wedding or reception? They are so stressed out about the day that they just want to get through it! I've heard several friends say that it wasn't until they were looking through their photos that they realized Aunt Fanny and Uncle Ferd showed up. There is so much going on for the bride and groom that they don't always get to see their guests are really having fun.
I like to get to the church or wedding location at least 30 minutes before the bride wants me there. That gives me an opportunity to look around and scope out the decorations and read through the order of service, and get photos to help the wedding story unfold.
Sometimes the very unusual or little things strike a chord; other times the well known and expected grabs the heart. I don't know why it's different at different weddings, but it happens that way for me.
Today's wedding was pretty small; I think we counted about 80 place settings in addition to the bridal table (which was about 12). I liked the way they decorated, especially the centerpieces - they were similar, but not identical. Tokens of thanks for the guests were decorated to coordinate with each other, but had slight differences. It all tied together very nicely.
This shot is probably not one the bride or groom will be interested in, but I absolutely LOVE it. Any idea what it is? It's a chandelier, and I'm standing directly under it.
I loved the little crystal-like kisses used for decoration. They sparkled and tossed the light around, and were just cute. They added interest to some of the plainer areas, and the bride and groom are definitely "bling" lovers!
The boutonniere for the groomsmen. I love this shade of blue.
Detailing on the flower girl's dress. LOVED it. She was adorable.
Just a small glimpse of the wedding cake . . . one small part of the decoration. It was very pretty. The bakery will provide the bride and groom a small fresh cake on their first anniversary! No need to freeze the top section. I like that!
I liked that the bride and groom decided to use their nicknames for everything but the official part of the ceremony. I had to giggle though - the pastor couldn't remember the bride's official name and said it wrong twice. Now see, don't those cute little crystal-like kisses sparkle nicely??
The photos are uploaded to my computer, and have also been saved to a memory card so The Other Joy and I can go through both hers and mine tomorrow and start making the hard decisions. I guess that means I should go to bed and get some rest. It was a long day. But it was fun, too.
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