Let go and be yourself.

It’s been 12 years since I was married and the wedding scene has changed drastically since I was a bride.  There was no Pinterest, online wedding blogs or any of the other great wedding resources to help style my wedding.  One of the things I’ve noticed though, is that weddings have become a production in a sense.  Sure, don’t get me wrong, I love to photograph over the top weddings with lots of glamourous eye candy.  However, I think in some ways, there’s been something lost along the way and after my most recent wedding, I feel compelled to write about it.

I photographed a wedding this past weekend which was very different than anything I’d shot or been a part of before.  The groom had already prepared me that they didn’t fit into the mold of my “typical” couple.  Instead of having a formal wedding, they wanted something much more intimate, with only their closest family and friends and something that truly represented who they are as a couple instead of doing what the wedding blogs say they should do.  They chose to have it at their home with a beautiful backdrop of large mossy oaks on the Santa Fe River.  I was immediately welcomed and made to feel like I was a part of this wonderful group of people.  Photography was very high on their list of priorities, which I love to hear, because after all, that and the memories are what we have left to remember the day.  Ian was right, he and Barrett weren’t my typical couple but I loved that about them.  Witnessing the raw emotion of these two people, who I’d never met before, reciting their vows was beyond touching and I can’t even begin to explain how honored I am that they chose me to document this  moment in their lives.  They showed me who they were and the love they share for each other.  I really can’t explain it any other way than that but I will say that it made photographing them incredibly easy.

Being a wedding photographer is so much more than taking pretty pictures, it’s giving my couples a snapshot  in time of how much in love they were with each other on the day they committed their lives to one another.  With 12 years of marriage and 2 kids under my belt, I can honestly say that no marriage is exempt from hard times and stress.  I want my clients to look at my photos during those hard times and maybe those images will reignite a spark that was once there and despite all of the time that’s passed, they’ll remember what it was all about on the first day of this incredible journey we call marriage.     Wedding days are usually chaotic but if I can help my clients relax and mentally get to a place that allows them to focus on each other and how much love is there, that’s when the magic happens.  I say all of this to share the best advice my clients.  Let go and be yourself.  

I’ll have Ian & Barrett’s full wedding post up soon but in the meantime, here’s a glimpse of the two people who inspired me to write this.

XOXO

Dana