My First Wedding
I randomly picked up photography one day as a hobby. I was working full-time for an insurance company and had gotten into this routine of waking up, going to work, coming home and sitting on the couch watching Netflix until it was time for bed. Then I would wake up the next morning and do it all over again. One day I decided that I needed a hobby - something to get me out of the house and disrupt the boring routine that I had established. I don't know where the idea of picking up photography came from, but there I was a week later buying my first "big girl" camera!
I started to ask everyone I knew if I could take pictures of them, I didn't care what it was! Family, portraits, maternity... anything you could think of. And I actually really enjoyed it! I finally had something that was all my own. I found these amazing photographers out of Scottsdale, Arizona and purchased all of their online courses. They helped me understand all of the foreign buttons on my camera and how to use them, along with many, many other things. They specialized in weddings, so I figured why not - I will too! I reached out to some local photographers who also took these online courses to see if I could second shoot with them at any of their upcoming weddings, and someone said yes!
So there I was... at my first wedding. I was sitting up above with the choir looking down at the rows of pews and wedding party as we all waited for the bride to walk down the aisle. I wanted to get the perfect shot of the train of her dress floating behind her as she walked towards her husband-to-be. Then it hit me. THIS is what I want to do for the rest of my life! I want to be the one preserving a couple's memories of the day their lives start together. Yes, a wedding can be hectic and stressful, and at times it can feel like nothing can go right. But then the bride and groom see each other for the first time that day, and all that stress melts away. The love that the couple shares shines through everything else, and nothing can ruin that day for them. Being able to be a part of that special day for a couple is something that I will never be able to put into words.
I love being able to capture love in it's pure, raw, joyous state so that fifty years from now, when you are looking back at your wedding photos, you can feel that emotion pouring out of the image. That wedding was one of those days where every emotional moment was captured for them to be able to reminisce on in the future. That day I felt honored to be able to do that for them. And that is the day I decided to become a wedding photographer.
