True Wedding Stories
Between the ceremony and the reception, the bride, groom, and their attendants wanted to shoot some arty pix in the park. We hopped in their rented classic cars and off we went! In the middle of things, an ice cream truck came along and everyone bought frozen confections. It made for some terrific, fun pictures to “top off” the sometimes very serious business of a wedding day!
The bride’s grandfather used to call square dances. To honor his memory and bring a bit of granddad to the wedding, the bride’s father called a square dance at the reception. Very unique, very memorable, and very touching.
An outdoor wedding and reception at a lovely county park wound down with the guests forming an aisle to the getaway car. Each guest had a sparkler. The groom carried the bride through the sparkly aisle and into an adorable antique VW Beetle and drove away to cheers. Then the guests discarded their sparklers in a nearby trashcan which was soon engulfed in flames! (A park employee quickly put it out.)
One of the guests at a wedding was a very accommodating Marine in full dress uniform. The bridesmaids took turns trying on the Marine’s cap. As the night progressed, the coat and the belt were making the rounds, too. I think they might have left the poor fellow his pants!
What was supposed to be an outdoor wedding on the grounds of a lovely castle quickly took a different turn when the sky turned black and tornado warning sirens started to fill the air with their plaintive wails. Everyone ran! Bridesmaids carrying the bride's train, me and my assistant lumbering along with all of our (not exactly waterproof) gear! Things were quickly reset for inside and the rest of the day went off with suitable emotion, but no further panicky drama!
The young couple had the wonderful idea of having a photobooth at the reception. A little extra fun for all the guests and just another way to preserve the memories. However, it quickly became apparent that photobooth rentals were extremely expensive. So, the industrious groom made his own! Full booth, bench, camera, computer, and printer equipment all pre-assembled to add to the merriment! Kudos, Scott!
Sometimes folks mix their themes to great effect. We shot one wedding next to a lovely, small lake. The groom and his fellows wore zoot suits. Then the bride and groom exchanged Hawaiian leis and the reception was a luau complete with a full pig roast.
One wedding ceremony featured a traditonal Japanese sake ceremony. It involved a lot more sips of sake than I expected. More importantly, more sips than I think the bride expected! But, to be fair, with all the emotion, the bride and groom were probably a smidge lightheaded to begin with! Then they shared with the parents. A lovely, unique touch to a beautiful day.
Another wedding united a lovely man and woman who clearly danced to the beat of a different drummer. Near the end of the night, the DJ played a frenetic speedmetal song and some of the guests turned the dancefloor into a slamdance mosh pit! I had to shoot from the relative safety of the DJ booth in order to finish the night intact! What a surprise and what excitement!
Started one wedding day with the bride, getting ready at her parents’ house in a predominantly Polish part of town. A Polish oompah band played on the porch to entertain the family, but also to share the happiness with the neighborhood. Just a terrific tradition. The band later showed up at the reception and played a wider variety of music. Just fantastic!
In ’08 I had the honor of shooting my first traditional Indian wedding. It was simply the most colorful, jubilant wedding full of many, many wonderful elements and traditions. From the clothes to the ceremony to the music and the food. Truly a beautiful way to unite two souls.
I had the privilege of shooting a lovely wedding at the African American museum in Detroit. The bride and groom were both a vision in white and you should have heard the cheers when they literally jumped the broom together.
I cherish family and cultural traditions and capturing them to enjoy over and over again is my number one mission! I’ve shot June weddings, May/December weddings, and I’ve shot December/December weddings. Each and every one was an honor to be a part of and I will always cherish all the love, joy, and laughs that I witnessed and was often included in.