One of the main reasons that I chose to focus on wedding photography as my specialty is because of the way it makes me feel when I experience a couple joining their lives together. There are so many different emotions that go along with a wedding, and each emotion may be experienced by everyone there… inluding the bride and groom, parents, grandparents, guests, and children! You never know where people have been in their lives, and you never know what the situation is or what they have been through to get them to this wedding!
Every now and then I get to experience something that is so special, and so emotional that it brings me to tears! You would think that as many weddings as I shoot that I would be used to it all by now. But I’m just a big ol’ baby! Every couple and every wedding has a different background… a different future! And I am humbled when those extraordinary moments happen in my presence! I am honored to be able to be a part of something so special. And you know what? I always end up going home and giving my own husband and children an extra special hug because I am reminded of how much I love them, and how lucky I am myself!
I have a library of images just like this, but here are just a few of the latest emotional moments that I’ve experienced and captured! What kind of emotional moments did you have at your wedding or a wedding that you have attended? Is there a wedding that had ONE MOMENT that will remain with you forever? Leave me a comment!
“Wedding photography, for me, is about being able to feel what the bride and groom and their friends and family are feeling. It is about being in the moment and reacting immediately to what I see, and capturing those moments with my camera. It is more than watching a routine happen throughout the day. I do not rely on what I see with my eyes. It is about feeling with my heart. My images are full of emotion because that is who I am.” ~ Wendy C.
In this photo, we have a bride who broke down crying as her new husband recited his vows to her! Why is it that I had to adopt the policy that nobody cries alone in my presence?
Here we have a couple of things going on! First we have a groom that was so overcome with seeing his beautiful bride coming down the aisle that he broke down crying! I am so thrilled that I was able to capture this moment because this will mean so much to them later. Another thing we have going on in this photo is that the groom’s sisters are trying to console him as he cries. I even have a photo of this where one of the other sisters is offering him a tissue. Granted that most family members of the bride and groom would never get THIS involved as the couple is about to say “I DO”, I found it sweet!
And this one really brought out the tears of every single person at this wedding… especially me. If there was ever a moment when I was worried about shaking the camera and causing all of the photos to be blurry, it was this one! This groom dropped to his knees and pledged his devotion to his new six year old step-son! He presented the little boy with a necklace that he had engraved for him that said, “Today we become a family.” (I’m almost in tears again as I write this.) As if the groom’s thoughtfulness and surprise was not enough, the reaction of this little boy sent me over the edge! Most six year old’s would just be anxious to get this over with so they can hurry up and eat the cake! But this little boy cried! He understood COMPLETELY what was going on, and what this marriage meant for both his mother and for him! Ok… I’m officially crying again!
But what about those behind the scenes moments that most people never get to see, or even realize that they took place? Isn’t that one of the fabulous things about photos? The bride and groom get to look back and see things that they never knew about because they were so focused on each other! In this last photo, you see Meagan getting a hug and a huge thanks from the wedding coordinator because Meagan saved the day when she went running to the coordinator after noticing that the ring bearer was walking up the aisle without the rings! We happened to know that this couple planned on letting the ring bearer carry the actual rings on the ring pillow, and when he came up the aisle without the pillow Meagan sprung into action! We photographers wear many hats and you will never hear anyone from Wendy C. Photography say, “That’s not my job!” This is why I am so proud of Meagan! This is why she will always be my first choice for a second-shooter! And this is why I help her with her weddings as well! We make such a great team! THANK YOU MEAGAN for making me look good, and for saving the day for that couple!
by Wendy Cunningham