jwyche | For everything there's a season (Reply)

People who shoot weddings will know what I mean when I say that there are always the quiet pictures that you like but you know are basically meritless to the clients. These are them, for me. I realize probably everyone will be like, "ew wedding forget it don't click"... but you should.

The bride had a Hello Kitty zombie tattoo right on her sternum. She was wearing her new husband's military jacket, which had the bridal corsage attached. I thought those three things together were the most beautiful and unlikely things ever, but it wasn't up to me so I didn't really get to try for a real photo. This is all I got.

I have no idea who this guest is or why he was willing to smile so hugely for me.

Since my mother was a friend of the bride's mother, she was there as a guest. Another woman snapped this picture of us with my camera. I include it for purely sentimental value <3

I took this photo because I was thinking that the chance reflections kind of summarize what marriage can be. For some it's wild and beautiful, an organic thing. For others it's a prison sentence.

The mother of the bride paid me a huge compliment about the wedding photos. I hope I never forget how humbled I am by each and every wedding I shoot, how BAD I am at it, how- as much as I'm a total snot about it sometimes- the event at hand matters deeply to two people.

I'm really fascinated by this woman, with her one-in-six-billion blue eyes and her big country music star hair. Do I dare say she's an older woman? Yet she still has all the trappings of a young woman- she's slender and wears high heels everywhere. Her makeup is always just so. But what I like about her best is that she won't ever let anyone disrespect her in any capacity. Can you see that in this photo?

This is my favorite sort of flower.

I doubt the new bride will care much about this shot, but for me... I don't know, it just gives me a nice feeling. This was like her one moment of quiet before a crazy life-altering day. And somehow, accidentally, she's framed on left and right by those lines. I know it's nothing to write home about. This is not one of those sexy wedding shots people go nuts over. But it is special to me.

I've noticed, people seem to hate pictures of themselves where they're making such candid expressions. To me, however, a picture like this makes her more real. I liked photographing her tattoos. Wish I could have gotten all of them.