I was recently listening to a podcast in which a wedding photographer was interviewed on everything from her favorite gear to what she finds most challenging about weddings, how she got her start, etc. Her interview was so compelling to me, but the thing that stood out the most was she said that her favorite weddings are the ones where everyone is THERE at the wedding. Not on their cell phones taking photos, not obsessing over where the photographer is and how they will look in the photos, not stressing if the cake is going to get there on time but just, there, in the moment, in the love. I immediately thought of Chelsea & Sarah’s wedding.
They got married at the Saratoga Mansion Inn, so their families stayed in the Mansion with them for the whole weekend. They had family come in from all over, even Ireland. When I walked in, the house was bustling but the energy was so calm. The brides were still in “civilian garb” (haha) and spending time with each other before parting ways to get ready and prepare for their big reveal. The moms were guarding the dresses, the nieces and nephews were sitting on the floor glueing together last minute details. Everyone was THERE. My second shooter, Kristen, was set to arrive a couple hours after me and I could hardly contain my excitement for the day. I think I texted her more than once saying “omg, I can’t wait for your to get here, today is going to be AMAZING!”. And. It. Was.
I’ve been in the wedding industry since I was 14. And I’ve blogged before about how I STILL get wrapped up in the wedding days, how I still get choked up, but I spent half this wedding day wiping away tears and as I edit, I continue to get choked up. I look at the pictures and I remember how I could hear the guests crying as they walked down the aisle. I straighten out the shots from their first look and I can hear them say “oh my God” out loud. I remember how my second shooter and I both pulled our teary eyes away from our camera bodies and she said to me “Wow…THANK YOU for having me be here today”. I think about how I was laughing right along with everyone as Chelsea and her cousin Irish jigged all around the dance floor.
And since this was my first same sex couple, you may wonder how I feel about same sex marriage, let me be perfectly clear. I feel that telling someone that they cannot marry whoever they please is the same as telling women they can’t vote or that you have to sit in the back of the bus because of your skin color. I am thrilled that we as a nation now recognize that LOVE is LOVE and that we were able to do away with such a silly discrimination. And I’d like to think that if you don’t feel that way, if you had been here on this wedding day and seen and felt the love, you just might feel a little differently. <3
I can’t wait to share these photos. I feel this is one of my most honest captures to date.
And a BIG thank you to Kristen Renee Photography for second shooting with me. Not only is she a delight to work with, but her images were perfection and made my job of picking favorite images nearly IMPOSSIBLE!
ENJOY! xoxo
