Weddings.

A wedding is a very long, stressful, exhausting, frustrating and ultimately overly satisfying event for a photographer. It's our responsibility to capture the memories and moments relative to the love being expressed through the precious sacrament of marriage. This is HUGE, people, seriously. If we miss a shot, that moment is "lost" except through the minds of those who saw it happen and those fade in time. So picking a wedding photographer is extremely important. Not saying I'm great, most certainly I'm still learning and growing. But I listen to my clients, as they are usually good friends and family. I have also been through the drill enough to know what people want, even if they forget to ask. I help as much as I can to direct the events in the day in the most logical and "typical" fashion. I usually end-up pinning the men with their flowers and zipping dresses. Sometimes, I coax the unruly ring bearer or flower girl to smile during photos. I make sure the cake table isn't going to get knocked over by dancing fools and that you don't leave your bouquet in the bathroom. These are the types of things that get unnoticed, not by the bride and groom, but by those rude guests who think the photos are taking "too long" after the ceremony and before the reception. In essence, I'm always just trying to make my client happy, overjoyed, satisfied with my performance as their photographer or the saver of the memories. I want to get to the reception just as badly as everyone else, I promise. But I have to think 20 years ahead of what the couple will want to share with their children and grandchildren and not necessarily about filling my belly with cake. So please, please, please friends remember when you attend a wedding that although it may look easy to carry around a camera and boss people around, it really is a LOT of responsibility and heartache. Be kind to the wedding photographer's in your life. We really are just doing the best we can.