Wow, where do I begin with today’s wedding. I suppose I’ll start from the beginning. 🙂 First of all, I was SO excited for Matt and Maria’s wedding because this was the official start of my busy season. Throughout the year, weddings have been off and on, but for the next handful of months, I’m going non stop… so of course I’m excited for that. Secondly, Maria wanted to included a lot of Mexican tradition into her wedding and I LOVED it. From the Spanish readings during the ceremony to the reception events. I love seeing other bits of culture because maybe this is just me, but we here in America just don’t have anything too exciting, am I right? Other cultures seem to have such amazing backgrounds and traditions with their weddings and even their social lives, so I’m always a fan of being a part of these traditions.
Jump to the day of the wedding. I wake up to Natasha not feeling well. With 4.5 hours till wedding time, she was unsure if she would be able to make it. Sickness is my number 2 fear – a tornado, fire, or the like destroying my hard drives is number one – because you can’t plan for sickness. If you wake up the morning of and find yourself extremely sick, how easy will it be to find a replacement on a saturday, in the morning no less. So I went into panic mode. I contacted a lot of photographers I’ve worked with that have expressed interest in second shooting with me, well, they were all busy today. I then contacted anyone I’ve worked with in the past whether it was for video or a photography job, again all busy. So I contacted anyone I knew that worked in a creative field that I knew at least knew a camera, to my surprise a couple of them were actually sick but one of them had a friend who was a videographer/photographer that was available. Aw, what a huge relief. So after 3 hours of searching for someone I was able to breathe and catch a few more minutes of sleep before the busy day.
Most couples I work with like some sort of direction with their poses, and I love being able to do this, but then you have those couples who all they want are pictures that show their love and Matt and Maria were exactly that. All you had to do was place them where you wanted them and they did the rest. From looking at each other with those love-struck eyes, or just cuddling up next to one another, their love for each other was very clear, and I absolutely love these pictures. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of the dramatic style of pictures, but when you have a couple like Matt and Maria, that style just doesn’t fit them. Dreamy, soft, and romantic style of pictures are what work best, and it was a blast to be able to capture these moments. We made it to the reception and they had two options for the meal; American and Mexican, loved the options. I opted for the Mexican. 🙂 Then they incorporated some Mexican traditions into the reception from a snake dance to a groom in apron dance, and a groom throwing where a bunch of guys threw Matt up into the air. I’m sure you’ve seen something like this before, but keep in mind that Matt is pretty tall, and surprisingly these guys could throw Matt up pretty high, it almost got to the point where I was nervous for him.
Overall, it was such a fun day and one I’m sure I will never forgot. Anatime Entertainment provided a great night for the guests and kept them dancing for hours! It was such an honor to be a part of Matt and Maria’s big day, and I definitely look forward to what their future holds for them. Congratulations you two!!
Since they are going to be living in Chicago now, they thought it would be best if Matt had a Cubs jersey… thing is, Matt is from Cardinals country and if you know anything of baseball, you know the Cubs and Cardinals are two opposite ends of the spectrum. 🙂
What a fun dance. One of the many traditions that Matt and Maria carried one. Matt was in an apron, holding a baby and mopping as Maria held her alcohol and whipped Matt with a belt. 😀
