To the main event.
Can we call the wedding ceremony the main event? With such a hectic start to the day the ceremony is as nerve wracking for me as it is for the the bride and groom. There are so many one off instances where you get one chance to make that capture. Its not like I can stop the ceremony and restage a shot! So lets start at the beginning.
I’ve left the bride to catch her breath and compose herself ready for the her entrance. I’m now with a anxious looking groom and the guests, all chilling and having a drink.
Not all grooms are nervous….
The brides arrival, especially in a church setting, can be very dramatic to capture. I love the natural light flooding in through the door to some kind of explosion and the bride is been thrust into the church.
A church can offer a fabulous backdrop to any bride.
I like to grab as many photographs of the groom, best man and groomsmen as I can, While keeping a keen eye on what the guests are up to with the intention to react quickly if anything needs capturing. Stood at the front of the ceremony room or church, I can hardly hide, it doesn’t help me capturing those natural images.
When the bridal party arrives I tend to have a couple of issues. Firstly, the bridesmaids walk a little slowly and I end up with several bridesmaids all walking down the isle at once, meaning that when the bride turns up I can’t always see her through the bridesmaids. Sometimes, especially in a church the vicar walks the whole party down the isle making even more difficult to see the bride. Both these can make the photographs messy in my opinion. More recently, I had a bride walk down first with her father… that was great but then a mass rush of bridesmaids all of which arrived and sat down before I’d managed to capture them. Secondly, when the brides nerves get the better of her and she walks down the isle like Usain Bolt. Walking too quickly doesn’t give me much chance to make sure I get that all important photograph.
Sometimes the bride just jumps out at me…
That glance and smile.
I’m always looking for emotion, a connection between bride and groom. Sometimes the nerves hit and both stand staring to the front, like rabbits in a headlight. But when i do manage to capture those last loving, supportive glances that’s what make the ceremony image so much more than just a picture.
The mental list in my head is to capture the father of the bride walking proudly down the isle with his daughter in arm, the vows, the readings, the bestman handing the rings over and of course bride and groom handing each other their rings too.
I have this weird sensitivity, hate it at times, especially when i’m not working. I can be looking at someone and listening to two conversations in to different places while still talking and looking out of my peripheral vision. Great when you are at a wedding as you are tuned into everything that’s going on, not so great on Macdonald’s with the kids!. During the ceremony it helps me to keep a look out to capture the guest reactions too.
It’s all about emotion.
Has you can expect the main photograph from the ceremony, the first kiss, a peck? a proper kiss and hug. Either way I usually only have a split second to press the shutter capturing that moment as a memory.
Sometimes a nice wide shot capturing the guests reactions too.
Now to the formalities of the register signing, this has changed slightly since the pandemic. Its now just a laminated A4 sheet rather than a traditional register. Usually just the bride and groom, the bride and groom with their witnesses, but sometimes we end up with the whole bridal party and parents too.
A true family picture.
Once I’ve stepped back and grabbed the shots I need, the registrars invite the guest up to take their images of the newly weds. This is were i sneak up and use the guests as the foreground….
