There's a Lizard

Every wedding is different. They each have their own random, special moments. It might be grandma busting a crazy dance move at the reception. It might be a moment that happens during the toasts, or some accident that happens during the ceremony. I LIVE for those moments. They are what set each wedding apart and make them uniquely beautiful. 

For us it was the lizard. Half way through saying our vows I spotted a little green lizard snaking around Kyle's feet. I completely interrupted him and just said out of nowhere, "Hey, there's a lizard." We stopped everything, looked at the lizard, and busted out laughing. It took a minute for everyone to recover and for Mark (Kyle's dad) to continue with the ceremony. I don't know why I even said anything. I could have ignored the lizard - no one else had noticed. I just couldn't help myself though. I thought he was cute and thought about catching him to have as a pet - but I had a wedding ceremony to get back to.

To See or Not to See

Let's talk about First Looks.

I've been shooting weddings for years now, and it's easy for me to forget that my clients have never done this before. To me a First Look is a standard wedding element. I know the pros and cons, the situations that require it, and the situations that leave more flexibility. Of course I do. It's my job. My clients don't know. Of course they don't! They've never planned a wedding before. I had a face palm moment at one of my weddings last year when I strongly encouraged the couple to do a First Look. Later, it came to my attention that they didn't know what I was talking about!

That's why I want to share this today. I want my clients (and others) to be educated about their options and feel supremely confident in the choice they make either to do a First Look, or not to. 

WHY I LOVE FIRST LOOKS:

1. The schedule

If the couple chooses to see each other before the ceremony that means ALL of the photos can get knocked out before the ceremony starts. To some that might not seem like a big deal. Why not just do them after? Well, it takes a lot of time to get wedding party photos, family photos, and portraits of the bride and groom. All of that time is time taken away from enjoying the reception with friends and family! When the ceremony is over and the bride and groom just want to get to sit down and eat dinner it's easy to rush though photos and not give them the time they deserve. I've had past clients look back and say "I wish we'd spent more time on this, but I just wanted to get to the reception and sit, eat, and see my guests". 

Another schedule element is the time of day. A wedding in December? Where I live that means the sun is setting around 4:30. If the ceremony starts at 5:00, your time in the sun is gone before you even start. Those beautiful natural light photos definitely can't be achieved after the sun has been down for an hour and a half. For winter weddings I have to strongly suggest doing a first look.

2. It calms nerves

The anticipation is crazy on a wedding day! In my experience (both as a photographer and a bride) it really helps calm nerves to be able to see your partner throughout the day. Instead of letting that sick, nervous anticipation build up all day the bride and groom get to spend the majority of the day hanging out with their best friend.

3. It's intimate

First Looks are significantly more intimate that seeing each other during the walk down the aisle. The couple is alone, with the exception of a sneaky photographer. No one has to worry about someone stepping into the aisle to get an iphone photo and blocking the view of the other person. It's ok to cry, laugh, react however. No one is watching. When the couple finally sees each other they get to TALK and TOUCH! They can spend a moment completely alone before the chaos ensues. They can ask how the other person is feeling, if they're nervous. At the ceremony there's no moment to just bask in it. The bride walks out, and then the ceremony is under way. After the ceremony everyone wants to talk to the couple, hug them, get photos with them. Oh, and they still have to go take the professional photos. There's no time to simply be alone together for a minute until it's all completely over.

Still DON'T want to do a First Look? That's ok. It's not for everybody - and it doesn't have to be. For those of you who want to keep it traditional I have some ideas I'll share with you soon! Stay tuned!

Her Success

For a long time I thought the only way to be in this business was to be in competition. I'm so glad that in the last year I've met some amazing people who helped me realize that I was so, so wrong. Not only is being in competition with one another exhausting and dividing, it's also just not helpful. My business doesn't thrive because someone else's business fails. I, therefore, don't benefit any by hoping for someone else to fail. The opposite is also true. Just because another is succeeding does not mean that I cannot also succeed. That's not how it works. We can both have thriving businesses. Heck - we can even be friends while doing it!

This has been my important lesson for this year.

Her success is NOT my failure.

We Belong Together

It's always interesting to see how these couples I photograph end up together. Sometimes it's a story that just makes so much sense. They have always known each other, always been friends, started dating in college, now they are getting married. Sometimes it's way crazier than that! It's so incredible to me the way people end up together, in spite of every reason why they probably shouldn't have even met.

Kyle and I were the same way! Kyle, until THE DAY classes started was planning to attend a college in California. His friends were loading up the car to come to college in Tennessee and without having registered for classes, or even applied to the school, he jumped in the car and came with them. We went to school together for four years and never met. We dated other people and never even spoke until his very last semester when he saw me crying quietly in the back of class because I had just been dumped by my boyfriend. 

What if he'd stayed in California? What if his advisor hadn't messed up his schedule and put him in that class where he spotted me crying? What if my boyfriend and I had broken up on a different day of the week and some other guy from some other class had seen me crying?

I've had several couples I've worked with who their spouse was from a different country! It's so unlikely that these people would have found each other at the exact perfect moment - but they did and I'm so glad I was invited in to capture their story.

Today I'm thankful for all the little accidents that put us together.

This is me and Kyle.

What to Wear for Your Engagement Session

It happens to all of my clients. They're pumped for their engagement session and then it hits them... what on earth do I WEAR?

Choosing clothes for an engagement session is a pretty big deal. You'll have the photos forever, probably use them on the Save the Dates or Invites, maybe display them at the ceremony, slap them all over social media. I get it - you gotta look adorable! Well, I'm here to tell you it's not so scary choosing outfits for your engagement session - I promise. Here are some tips to help you make sure you look your absolute best in your photos. 

1. BE COMFORTABLE - BE YOU

This should be obvious, but if you're not comfortable in what you're wearing you aren't going to LOOK comfortable. Don't wear something that is too tight, or bulges in a weird place when you sit. Get clothes that feel good and look good on YOU. Ask your friends what kind of cuts and colors flatter you most. You should be confident and feeling great about how you look. Your clothes should accurately represent you and your style.

2. PATTERNS ARE TOTALLY ALLOWED

I always get asked if it's ok to wear a pattern. Yes, it is! There are a couple of rules to follow though when choosing patterns for your session. First, your probably shouldn't both wear a pattern. It's not always a terrible idea, but I say each outfit should have one major pattern between the two of you. If the girl is wearing a polka dot dress, maybe the guy wears a solid colored button down. If the guy is wearing a plaid shirt, maybe the girl wears a solid color dress that matches one of the minor colors in the plaid. Second, go big or go home. Avoid things with really tiny plaids or houndstooth. Those patterns cause strange distortions in camera. Just trust me.

3. MIX IT UP

My engagement sessions are 90 minutes long. This provides for two or three wardrobe changes. I like to tell my clients to have one more formal outfit and one or two more casual outfits - all of which should represent your style. Changing clothes creates more diversity in your images and helps you get the most out of your session for the best images possible.

I'd love to dedicate a blog post to any other questions you might have. What things do you want answered before your session?