Your wedding day is the most special moment of your life. You know so because everyone keeps telling you over and over. Your mom tells you; your dad tells you; your friends tell you; the bridal magazines in the supermarket checkout line practically scream it. Everyone keeps assuring you that if anything goes wrong it will be the end of the world and you’ll never be forgiven. Everyone, that is, except your 90-year-old grandmother. Her advice? “Don’t worry about it, honey. Life after the wedding is where it really gets tough.”
And she’s right, of course. You will remember your wedding for the rest of your life, no matter what. Even if something goofy happens. Even if something tragic happens. In fact, the stories of these goofy, touching and even tragically unscripted moments are the ones you’ll tell over and over.
When it’s your turn to be the grandmother remembering her day, you’re going to laugh about how the best man forgot his tux and drove 100 miles to get it, holding up the service half an hour. You’re going to chuckle describing your drunken friends careening on the dance floor when the DJ played The Village People, despite your explicit orders not to. You’re going to describe how Uncle Ted looked after falling in the pool.
These funny little moments are the stuff of lasting memories. They’re also very elusive. If your photographer isn’t on his/her feet, they’re going to miss them.
My strength, coming from a photojournalism background, is that I’ve spent the last decade chasing after fleeting moments to capture reality as it happens, not as it was planned. In short: If it happens, I’ll catch it.
Then someday, when you’re giving advice to your granddaughter, in addition to all the beautiful portraits of you and your husband there will be a great shot of Uncle Ted looking like a wet dog. She’ll laugh – and feel a lot more relaxed.