Your wedding is one of the most important days of your life. This is why you spend so much time planning it out to make sure it’s perfect, and why your wedding photography is so important.
Finding the perfect venue, making sure the cake is perfect, finessing your bouquet until it is absolutely stunning, etc. These are all important, but it’s so easy to become overwhelmed by the details and ultimately forget about the most important part of your wedding photography.
You, your spouse, your marriage, and all of the people who witness.
My favorite wedding photography images are the most imperfect. The ones that come with no direction. The ones that are full of love and emotion.
Imagine that you and your love are flipping through your wedding album 10 years after your wedding. Each new page of your album puts a massive smile on your face as the stories of your day come flooding back to you.
These are the kinds of images that truly remind you of who you love, and why you love them.
Below I’ve placed some of my most favorite wedding photography moments from my 2018 wedding season, with context.
1.) Demi & Brad’s First Look
This moment has been one of my favorites ever since I photographed their wedding. First looks are always filled with emotion and are by far one of my favorite parts of a wedding day! If you’re on the fence on whether or not to have a first look, click here for reasons why you should have one!
A bit of backstory: On the morning of their wedding Demi had told me that Brad’s father had passed away the year before. As a surprise, she made a custom jacket pin with his father’s initials as well as a locket with his dad’s photo that she gave to him during their first look.
Their first look was already so emotional but this made it so much more special. This was my first wedding of the year and I was already bawling with my couple. This is a perfect example of why I love wedding photography. Being able to give this exact moment back to Demi & Brad is a huge reason why I do what I do.
2.) Chloe & Noah’s Reception
Man I love these two so much. Chloe & Noah have been incredibly good friends of mine for years. Back in 2016 Noah asked me to photograph his proposal to Chloe, and now to have come full circle to celebrate their day with them was an absolute honor.
Receptions are so fun because this is the part of the day where you get to unwind and just enjoy yourselves with your spouse and all of your guests. The ceremony is over, the family photos have been taken, and now you get to dance the night away.
Noah and Chloe are special because they perform in an amazing band called The Wildwoods, so they integrated that into their reception by performing for each other after the toasts.
But the best part of this was by far the sparkler exit. After an incredible night of toasting and dancing ending it with a gorgeous exit surround by your family and your best friends is such a special moment. As a photographer I absolutely love the look of these moments because they’re just so live and pure!
You can see more of their wedding photography by clicking here!
3.) Megan & Tanner’s Letters
This moment only needs one image.
There was so much anticipation leading up to Megan & Tanner’s ceremony, but they didn’t want to see each other before they came before God to become one.
Instead, they wrote lovely letters to each other and had an absolutely beautiful exchange around the main door of the Newman Center. Writing letters is so powerful because you get to express your true love for your partner with so much intention. Thinking about every single word you write down, it’s no surprise to shed tears of joy in this moment.
Right after this moment both Megan & Tanner went back into hiding and this moment was quickly over. But getting to freeze it and give it back to them as an eternal gift is an honor & joy to me.
4.) Emmy & Joseph’s Post Ceremony
This is the moment that no one thinks about, and it’s the one that comes with surprise.
The few seconds immediately after Emmy & Joseph walking down the aisle as husband and wife are when emotions are at an absolute high point. They did a great job of staying contained through most of the morning, but once this moment hit it all came out.
The absolute excitement of finally marrying the one you love is so overwhelming and you can’t help but share a beautiful moment together. And the best part is that after you share that moment with each other, your family and friends in your wedding party come out to join with you in the celebration.
But once this moment is over, the rush and hustle of a wedding soon takes over. There are tons of photos that need to be shot and everyone has to make their way to the reception in a timely manner and therefore, this moment is quickly lost.
I’ve said this over and over so far, but getting to give these frozen moments of pure excitement and joy back to Emmy & Joseph through their wedding photography is one of my greatest pleasures as a photographer.
5.) Jenny & Cody’s Toasts
When Jenny’s dad Bryan started to tell the story of Jenny’s childhood and as the realization of giving away his only daughter came through, it was just too much, and everyone could feel the immense bond between father & daughter.
And following that was Cody giving a toast to his mother Terri. Cody’s father had tragically passed away and Cody’s toast was a tribute to the strength of his mother in raising him into the man that he is. This is when the emotions spread to me as well.
I had traveled all the way to California to document Jenny and Cody’s wedding so I did not have the opportunity to meet them beforehand, and learning about this part of their story resonated with me in the best way. Even as I’m writing this blog post I’m feeling the tears come back as I think about the love that my parent’s have put into me, and it makes me appreciate them that much more.
6.) Nichole & Zach’s First Dances
First dances usually contain some of my favorite wedding photography images. Not only between the newly-weds but also between father & daughter and mother & son.
Specifically, I love the emotion you see in Nichole’s mother as she watches her daughter dance with her father. I can only imagine how proud she feels that Nichole found such a wonderful husband Zach. And similarly as Zach watches the same dance, I can only imagine just how lucky he feels to have married such an incredible woman.
Even if I’m not photographing the wedding, getting to witness the first dances is such a joy.
Thank you so much for reliving some of my favorite wedding photography moments. Hopefully these photographs resonate with you as much as they do with me, and I hope that they encourage you to think about what moments are most important to you on your wedding day.
