Wedding Walkthrough Workshop | Finding my why

I’ve attempted to answer this question over and over. But it wasn’t until Mary Marantz put us on the spot that Wednesday morning that I really put it into words and said it aloud, why are we wedding photographers? As you have noted, this is really the core of what we do and saying it out loud for the first time in a room full of newly-acquainted colleagues was a bit daunting. I had the grand revelation and muttered the words amidst the silent tension and found myself saying things that pierced my eyes with tears. Not the best first impression I thought. But now, I’m grateful. I’m grateful for being a bit brave and so vulnerable. In that brainstorm of thoughts and words, I found myself in this moment:

I take several deep breaths and I feel a cold shiver in my chest my heart beats deeper and it thuds closely to my eardrums. I take a step with a fist clenched to the door in front of me–the door that will start the day. As I lift my fist towards the door, I hear the laughter, the chatter and the excitement. She opens the door and gives me the welcome as if I’m the star of the show. You see, we have almost a year of conversations, dreaming and planning. She’s sent me pictures of how he proposed, their first date, the dress and the flower arrangements. She’s had coffee and guilty pastries with me and we probably spent more time talking than in front/behind the camera. But now, today is the day. The day in which she starts and ends a season. She has a twinkle in her eye and radiates with glamour and love. She knows and sees all the details and trusts with every ounce of her heart. She takes a moment and steps into the dress that will marry her off to her best friend. She looks over at her mom, as there is a mix of laughter and tears. She glances over to me and hopes that as she looks at my camera and me, ubiquitously, in years from now, she stares back at her granddaughter as she plans for her day while gathering inspiration from one of the family heirlooms she holds close with her newly engaged hands.

It’s about these moments, fleeting yet everlasting. It’s about the abundance of organic moments woven into a love story and the wholehearted people that make it a legacy. In the end, it’s about love because for us it starts with love.

Images from our first day shooting in the enchanted Bill Miller’s Castle, New Haven. See below for vendors tags.
mike & Meredith styled shoot bill myer's castle ©tanya rodriguez-1