Another wedding sneak peek coming at ya!!! This was a special day for me because this wedding was the last of my summer dates. First summer in the books!! I cannot believe in just my first year of business I’ve had the privilege of shooting 7 amazing couples on the biggest day of their lives.
Tim and Rachel had a beautiful day from start to finish. I could easily walk through the entire day in all it’s beautiful details with you, but I want to save that for another time. This week, I want to share just my FAVORITE parts about the wedding day as their second photographer!
I shot this wedding as a second for Ben Palmer, a personal friend of mine. Ben and I served together at Passion City Church on the production team until he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his dreams for cinematography and digital visual arts. Normally a videographer, Ben came back to the DMV area just to photograph this wedding, and asked me to come along to help him out. It was fun learning alongside him as we both shared what we knew about wedding day tips/tricks and creatively tried different things to serve the couple well. I know it was a big day for us both!
I have two highlights from this day:
First, the moment I saw the bridesmaids in their dresses I nearly melted. There is an image taken by Katelyn James (y’all know by now Katelyn is mah gurl!!) of a line of bridesmaids in mismatched, blush dresses holding their bouquets. One bridesmaid in the shot is in a beautiful beaded dress, and there are different textures and materials that make the dresses fit so beautifully yet uniquely together. I dreamed of taking images like that of my clients’ bridesmaid ensembles!
Well when Rachel’s girls stepped out to meet us for the First Look, I got my wish. There they were, four beautiful women dressed in different blush/pink tones, and the maid of honor was in a rose gold SEQUIN dress!! You better believe I lived that opportunity up, and here it is!! My favorite of all the editorial style shots I took that day…
Thank you, Rachel for having such BEAUTIFUL bridesmaids and great dress taste 😉 Your gals were absolutely stunning.
Editorial junkie version of me aside… on to my other favorite part of the day (and these are in no means in any particular order).
The moment Rachel walked down the aisle.
Tim and Rachel had a First Look, and I’ll be honest guys… I have been a traditionalist my entire life when it comes to weddings. First Looks were never my preference. I shot this part of the day, doing my photographer duty but still on the fence about whether I would push my couples to have a First Look or not on their own wedding days. I know the benefits it presents the photographers as far as timeline goes, but did it really serve the couples?
If you know me, the MOST important thing about my business is that my clients have the DREAM day they’ve always wanted. I want my clients to feel and experience all the things they’ve been waiting for, in a stress-free, “sit back and watch it unfold like a movie” kind of way. So if First Looks don’t serve them in this way, I didn’t want to recommend them that strongly if my couple didn’t request one already.
But two things have been changing my perspective: 1. Katelyn James (no surprise there, right) and 2. Tim & Rachel’s wedding. Let me explain…
I think most girls picture that walk down the aisle like the happy ending of a Disney movie. Most girls want their future husband to react when they see them in that white gown, floating toward them like an angel. It’s an experience you plan to only get once.
Rachel got what most girls dream of. And they had a First Look. I’m going to have to challenge what I know about First Looks and dig a little deeper into how to make this a special moment for my couples in the future. So if you’re on the fence about a First Look, or you had one and loved it, would you comment or message me about it?? I’d love to hear what your reservations are, or were. I’d also love to know, for couples that chose to have one, did you ever regret it? What did you love about it? Why did you choose to have one??
I would be honored to connect with you about your wedding. To ensure I am working from a place of creativity and intention, I only accept a limited number of weddings per year. Inquire today to reserve your date!
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