Here are Julie and Jason seeing each other before their wedding ceremony. They laughed, they cried... they kissed!
This was my favorite "found" moment of the day, although I also loved the photo above!
48 degrees and sunny at the end of November? Are you kidding?! Loved this couple. From having Jason drop his pants within five minutes of meeting me to having Julie actually laughing when I came back upstairs singing, “I saw London, I saw France, I saw Jason’s underpants”, I knew I was in for a great ride on their wedding day. Here’s where I’d like to take the blog... instead of just gushing about my brides and grooms (which I just might not be able to avoid since I do seem to end up really, really loving them), I was hoping to make them a bit more instructional. Sort of a pros and cons of the day. Not to expose things that went wrong during the day (since all of us have had things go a bit cafluey on our wedding day... it’s the nature of the day!), but so that I can share things I’ve experienced so future clients might be able to take away things to make their own wedding planning easier, more informed or at the very least, avoid something that could easily be avoided. Today’s “wedding lesson” is one I only get the honor of seeing only a few times each year. Although most of my wedding clients are pretty independent thinkers and like to put their own unique stamp on their wedding day, most of them still do not want to see each other before they walk down the aisle. I’m talking something like 90% of them, maybe even higher. I don’t think it’s superstition, since most of these couples have chucked out all wedding things that smack of wrought tradition. No, I think they just want the element of surprise... the big reveal. What they don’t know is that it also tends to crank up their stress levels and emotions. And that it’s all avoidable. I’ve seen some of my most calm and blasee brides completely morph as the hour to walk down the aisle gets closer. Think about it ladies.... you’re up at the crack of dawn to get your hair and sometimes even your make up done. Then you have to sit around and kill 6-8 hours until the actual ceremony. The one person who knows you best and will set you back to an even keel is the one person you banished for the day. This is the one day most people stay away from the one person who knows exactly what you’re going through. The one person who can make it all better with a quick smile, a reassuring hug and simple words of encouragement; your best friend. The one you’re going to marry. Some of my favorite life moments have been watching a bride and groom meet in private (with me watching, catpturing it all and trying not to be too stalker like) for the first time once they’re dressed. There are just a myriad of things you can do in that private moment that you simply cannot do when you’re an aisle length apart, things you cannot say once you get to the front of the altar, releases that can’t be expressed in public. I’ve seen more touching, heartfelt and romantic things during these pre wedding meetings than I’ve ever seen at the “big reveal”. Groom who run their hands all over their bride’s beautifully beaded gown, girls who squeal like school girls when their prince charming rounds the corner, grown men who melt into tears of joy when they see their future coming to greet them. It is a moment. A rare and touching moment. They don’t always make the very best photos, but they will undoubtedly serve to bring the couple right back to how they were feeling when they saw each other for the first time. Their reactions are so authentic and over powering, it really is such an honor to be a fly on the wall to witness this truly blessed event.
If you’d like to see what I have to say about lighting candle light wedding services and more photos from this wedding, check out my other blog at
www.themichiganweddingphotographer.com.
