Why I REALLY Love Weddings (from a Photographer's POV)
As a photographer, people seem to always want to know “If you could photograph anything, what would it be?” To that, my answer is always the same - because it seems so simple to me, “Weddings. All day every day (well a lot of days)”
Wedding Reception at Alexandria’s in Findlay, OH
Photographers that are reading are probably thinking, “What the hell is wrong with you? Don’t you ever feel like it’s too much pressure, or that it’s overwhelming?” Well duh! As the wedding photographer, I’m not only capturing once in a lifetime moments, but also moving emotions in real time - but that’s the thrill of it. Have you ever been given a huge project at work and you knew that if you messed it up, you’d be fired but if you did a superb job then you’d open up a world of possibilities? That’s pretty much what it feels like whenever I get booked to photograph a wedding. Though that feeling is exciting and stimulating, that’s not the real reason I love photographing weddings though; the real reason is a bit more personal to me.
Stoker Wedding in Oregon, OH
I often joke with my best friend saying, “I’m a child of divorce!” whenever I need an excuse for a bad choice I made, or whenever I’m asking for grace from judgement, and even though I know that it’s not an excuse for everything; it actually is one of the reasons why I love photographing weddings (ironically). To me, weddings are a symbolic representation of not just what your marriage is going to look like, but also whom you want to be involved in it. I’ve photographed weddings that people have spend thousands on their venue, their caterer, the chairs, etc., but I have also photographed intimate backyard weddings. I love both equally!
The first wedding that I ever photographed, I was completely unprepared for it, but I accepted it because I needed the money. I charged the couple $450 to drive 2 hrs and photograph just the ceremony (something I DON’T recommend as a good business practice, charge for mileage), gave them a Dropbox of all the Hi-res images, and didn’t offer any ways to print their images with me. So needless to say, this was not a wedding that I profited from monetarily, but the lasting impact that it left on me was priceless.
The wedding was VERY intimate (I’m talking MAYBE 15 people). My lovely, girlfriend at the time agreed to second shoot it with me, which I only regret in retrospect because the space was SO small that we were constantly shooting over each other or in each others’ shots, but whatever. To this day, I’m not exactly sure what the religion was of this couple, but one thing that they did really stood out to me and that was a foot-bathing ritual. At the time, I was more disgusted that I had to look at these people’s dogs for an extended period of time. My girlfriend and I both retching because other people’s feet kind of disgusted us (her more than I). Now though, I completely get the purpose of the ritual. To remind the couple, and the audience that in a relationship each partner is to be of service to one another. Oftentimes we think of the balance of a relationship being 50/50, but it’s not usually like that because at times people will be in different positions, but just like during this foot-bathing ritual, whether you’re the one receiving or giving the bath at the time, you’re neither above nor below your partner because in the grand scheme of things - you’re equals; balanced.
A shot from the first wedding, following the footbathing ritual - yes, that means I had to handle the shoes with my bare hands
I’m no relationship guru; I’m a portrait & event photographer. One that loves his job because I get to learn something with every client that I interact with. I really love weddings because they remind me not just of what I wanted when I was little for my parents, but of some things that I put on the back burner for whatever reason within my personal relationships. Whether it’s: communicating with your partner when shit hits the fan 20 minutes before the ceremony and you need a light joke, forgiving some of the trauma enough to share a father-daughter dance, or just washing your partner’s feet in front of God & country all of these acts are so important to me - even as just a witness/ active participant of your wedding.
