Do You Want to Be A Wedding Photographer?

This past weekend I photographed a wedding. It was a storybook setting at a golf course country club, the ceremony was outside under a giant willow tree beside the lake. The bride was beautiful and the groom handsome. Who wouldn’t want to photograph a wedding like that!

Actually photographing weddings can be extremely stressful. You have to take portrait and photojournalistic images. You have a group of strangers (not only to you, but also to each other usually) in a very hectic situation for several hours. Often you have unchurched people in a church situation which can make them more uncomfortable. They are wearing strange new or rented clothes that they’ve spent a lot of money, that often don’t fit perfectly. They are wearing uncomfortable shoes. And they want to look fabulous in your photos, even if they don’t.  And the photographer(s) have to stand all day, be more than patient, be cognizant of everything going on, problem solve, hurry people without them noticing, create organization out of chaos, be technically proficient with all their equipment AND on top of all that, be creative.

All that being said, why do I photograph weddings? I absolutely love it!

I’m a born romantic. I’ve been married to the love of my life for 36 years. (Yeah I know that is longer than many of you have been alive!) I love the way being married makes me feel. All he has to do is look at me with his smile and that twinkle in his eye and I still melt inside. I love looking for that same feeling in others. I love the close relationships I have with my family members. I love seeing those kind of feelings in others and capturing it forever.

I love a good story, be it in a book or movie. A wedding is a chapter in someone’s life story. I love capturing the details and little incidents that fill out the story. A wedding story is so much more than taking pictures of a man and woman standing in front of a church looking at each other, putting a ring on each other’s hand and walking back down the aisle. It is about two moms and dad giving their grown child to someone else to love more than they do. It is about telling someone you can’t live another day without them being a part of you. It is about a group of people who love you so much they come from all over the world to see you on the most important day of your life.

Another reason I love weddings is because it is a picture of God’s love for me. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ...  to present her to himself as a radiant church … holy and blameless…For this reason a man will … be united to his wife … This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5). Wow, what love. Every time I see a bride and groom committing themselves to each other, I am reminded of the love Christ has for me and that He loves me like a groom loves his bride on their wedding day.

Here's a preview from last week's wedding, or the link: http://animoto.com/play/wSDPCGodN0zwLYZzGg2vhA#

Wedding photography is NOT for many, but for those of us that love it, it is exhilarating. If you think you might be interested in photographing weddings, tell me what you like about it.

Ephesians 5. Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. 2011. Biblica, Inc.®