If It Were Up To Me

Every time I go to a wedding, I find that everyone is pretty much doing the same thing.  Most venues have the same sort of offerings and most other vendors act the same way.  Before I jumped into the crazy world of the wedding profession, I never really noticed what all went into a wedding.  Sure, I planned my own wedding, but I never went behind the scenes to see how the machine really worked.  So many things are done just because everyone does it that way.  Very southern baptistish.  No one really questions or even considers doing some things differently, but I suggest maybe we should.  If It were up to the photographer I wonder how things would change.  Well, let's ponder just for a moment.

Thing I would change #1:  Every bride & groom would see each other before the ceremony.  Look at the below photos and ask yourself "Self, would any of these reactions ever happen in front of everyone during the ceremony?"  No.  If you want to get a real reaction and moment between you and your future spouse, you will not get it during a stuffy ceremony.  Normally, the husband's first glance at his new bride is difficult because he's trying to see around everyone who just stood up.  He has no chance to tell her how amazing she looks once she reaches him because the pastor has already started up his rehearsed message.  The script continues, and there is no real moment.  Seeing each other beforehand gives you a chance for your own special moment.  Say anything, do anything, the moment is yours.  Not to mention, this is a huge calm to the nerves.

Thing I would change #2: Face your crowd as you get married.  Some of my best moments captured during a ceremony, the crown never sees.  I'm not sure why, but everyone keeps their back to the crowd.  We are all forced to stare at the officiant. We don't know this man, and we may not even be able to hear the guy, but we must stare at him and your back the whole ceremony.  If I had things my way, we would look at the back of the officiant and the bride and groom would face him, allowing us to see all the beautiful things the photographer is capturing. 

Thing I would change #3:  I would only cut out most of the family photos after the ceremony.  I would shoot 2 to 4, at the most, with family.  You are only dressed in that dress with your man in that tux once.  You will only be that young and skinny once.  Send everyone to cocktail hour and use every second of that time getting the shots that you will cherish a lifetime.  I promise, that photo of you and aunt Mildred will never get printed.  You probably won't even remember you have it.  Wait until the reception and take as many photos your pretty little heart desires. 

Thing I would change #4: The DJ spinney colored ball and crappy lighting during the first dance.  If I had a dollar every time the lighting would drop down to nothing immediately before the first dance, I'd be a rich lady.  Not too rich, because I enjoy spending money, but comfortably rich for sure.  Most of the time the happy couple never notices the DJ has thrown a red light on them, but as I develop the "hot tamale" couple I remember the DJ's choice of spotlight.  Camera's need light to photograph.  Without it, you will get a bad photograph every time.  A bride should talk to the DJ and venue to make sure no one turns out the lights for the first dance.  Not to mention, your guest are still trying to eat.  I have loads of bad photos on my old hard drive, but instead, I'll show you how nice things look when the lighting is good.

OK, so I realized I could really go on and on on this topic, so I will stop here and do another post.  I may do a whole post on "open bar" weddings.