Pockets.
Filed under: Wedding Stories, weddings
Throughout the course of working with our brides and grooms, we are often fortunate enough to get to know what wonderful people they are. It’s also often a time spent ooh-ing and ah-ing over the planning and wonderful details, special things surrounding the wedding. A bride recently had me out for a bridal shoot before her wedding. I never tire of seeing my brides dressed up in their wedding gowns, decked out to the nines…. They often take my breath away. Whether it’s from Saks or Davids, there’s just something incredibly special about the wedding dress, and the person who wears it, on the most important day of her life to date. I’ll often spend some time photographing the dress itself — the detailing, the silhouette… the dress frequently gets it’s own portrait. My bride was particularly excited about her find. It was gorgeous, in her price range, and — it had pockets. “It was the first requirement I had during my search — I had to have the pockets!” Pockets are a hot trend lately, and such a fashionable, unique detail in a gown. It was easy to understand why she was excited — I was too! We had a great time with the shoot — she was amazing, so patient, willing to do/try anything, and the end results were fabulous.
Pretty soon, the wedding day had arrived. It was clear just how in love my couple was. The card she asked her bridesmaid to deliver to him, just before they walked down the aisle…. the look on his face as he began to read it; the special video he made for her, showing some of his favorite moments and photos of them together; the silly his-and-her sippy cups and comfortable laughter they shared… The moments were endless. The bride and groom’s families were also particularly lovely and welcoming, even packing a snack for me for the road on our 10 hour day. It was at this time that I learned the bride was diabetic, as she too was getting a snack for the road. At weddings, I learn bits and pieces of information like this and tuck them away in my mental “client folder”. Not always, but sometimes these “little” things within the context of this major event cue me as to special moments that may occur, that I want to be ready for. But otherwise, I didn’t think twice about it. My bride was happy, in love — and getting married!!
The ceremony was beautiful, and even brought a few tears to my eyes. Pretty soon the reception rolled around… Introductions, toasts, and speeches commenced. The father of the bride’s toast was a touching tribute to the resiliency and positive attitude his daughter possessed, even from the age of 6 when she was told she’d have to give herself shots multiple times a day. He knew these traits would carry her through life and her marriage to a man he couldn’t be prouder to call “Son”. Then dinner was served, and I relaxed a little. Strolling around while guests chatted over their meals, I noticed the groom was getting ready to give the bride a big ol’ insulin shot… right at their their sweetheart table. When shooting weddings, it’s important to have a self-editor. I don’t want to shoot the things clients don’t want to remember about their wedding day for years to come. I questioned whether or not I should photograph the moment, when the bride and groom looked up and saw me there. “Shot of the shot?” I asked, to which they replied, “Sure! Why not.” I took the photo, and captured the moment, which from an outsider’s perspective I thought was pretty special — the groom caring for his wife. But then she capped her insulin shot, put it back in her pocket, and it hit me like a ton of bricks…
Pockets.
