As I prepared to shoot my friend Edith's wedding, I was a little nervous. Not knowing my location, and having never met the groom were new situations for me. Plus, the whole setting would be different from other weddings I'd done. Nevertheless, I was excited with the challenge & ready to tackle my small "insecurities". Since I was flying, I decided to change my usual method of shooting. Normally I bring studio lighting & other equipment. (My tri-pod is very essential to me & the types of shots I like to capture - but it wouldn't fit into my suitcase!) So, another cause for a little uneasiness was my lack of "comfortable shooting routines". It's so easy to get into patterns of shooting - especially at weddings. So often, I get in a groove & fail to try new things for various reasons. I knew this wedding would push me to find new avenues to express myself in new ways.
Edith had explained to me that they had not yet held hands & would not do so until after the ceremony. They also preffered to have no pictures with kissing. Finding ways to shoot some expression & closeness was a challenge and fun altogether. I was especially happy with a set of 3 pictures taken before the ceremony that show the
closeness & emotion of this bride & groom.
I flew in on Friday & made it to the church for the Rehearsal. Being able to see my venue, and make the acquaitance of many in the wedding party was a great help. Plus, I was so happy to see Edith again! I spent some time that evening taking test shots & asking questions about lighting in the church. I slept that night at the house of one of Simon & Edith's friends. Next morning, we were back at the church by 8:45
AM to begin shooting. I started with Edith. I wanted to get pictures of her dress, but she is a very punctual bride & was already there & dressed by the time I arrived. :)
Simon & Edith opted for a First Look so that they could spend more time with their guests later on. Afterwards, Simon said that words couldn't describe how beautiful Edith was (awww!).
Simon was recently widowed and has a beautiful little family of 5 girls and a baby boy. These kids are just adorable. I loved capturing the family closeness. The little ones seem to've really taken to Edith - she's going to make a great mother.
These girls are so photogenic - just love these!
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| Priscilla |
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| Melissa |
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| LOVE the eyes |
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| Emily |
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| Marie & Irene |
The ceremony got underway at 11:00
AM. Edith's sister & husband stood up with her, and Simon's brother & wife stood up with him. So Unique! The children also stood up with them.
After the vows, a sermon was next. I was later told that had this been an Amish wedding (Simon & Edith were both raised Amish, but have since left) it would have taken around 3 hours for the ceremony. Wow.
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| Love this one |
The receiving line offered lots of photographic moments. Tears, joy, love, fun. All these & more are expressed here. Love it.
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| Little Melissa really enjoyed all the hand-shaking:) |
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| Emily was so proud to be holding the bouquet |
I want to stop here for a moment & just express my delight with this group of people who showed up for the wedding. Between 200 - 250 attended this wedding. Being a stranger, I don't know how well these guests knew the couple, but there was such a feeling of encouragement & community there. I don't think one guest left after the ceremony. Every person went downstairs for the reception. Each one made a point to offer encouragement to the Bride & Groom. They all stayed the entire afternoon. Children played, adults visited - many helped in the clean-up afterwards. In our fast-paced, modern society we seem to've lost much of this sense of community. Some of the gifts were brought in baskets with a knitted blanket on top - so sweet! Gifts of pans & cookware were new, but with baked goods inside - so thoughtful!
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| Cameron - my seatmate on the drive to the church. LOVE that million-dollar smile! |
As I posted before, we went outdoors to shoot in the snow. It was a chilly 23 degrees, but we made do with Edith wearing her coat until all was ready, and then chucking it for the shot. Simon didn't seem to mind the cold. :)
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| Moving from one location to another |
While the happy couple opened gifts, I found that Priscilla (Simon's 2-year old) had poked her eye. :( She climbed up and I comforted her. Soon, she was fast asleep. It'd been a very busy day for a little girl. I was delighted. It's been a long time since I held a sleepy young one. How precious they are.
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| Look at all the kids getting in on the action of opening gifts! |
After signing the marriage license....
...the couple were off.
Many blessings to Edith & Simon as they begin their new life together. You guys were wonderful & I so enjoyed being able to capture your day!
