On my Facebook history notifications I’ve been seeing the engagement pictures I shared of Rachel and Blake. Has it really been a year already since we did their pictures? Time has gone by way too quickly! The big day is here, and what a perfect day we had for pictures. Not only was the weather perfect, but the timeline we had for photography was perfect. Before the ceremony starts, I usually start with more time than is needed, just in case of any hiccups. Almost always, we never need that extra time. Sometimes we need a few minutes, but rarely do we need 20-30 minutes of extra time. With Rachel and Blake’s wedding, we only needed a few extra minutes, but we also started a little later than usual, and this worked out amazingly. After wrapping up prep pictures we immediately transitioned into the ceremony. Let’s talk about this ceremony for a moment. Most weddings, regardless of what church it’s being held in, usually have the same stories, the same Bible verses, and they can feel very generic and almost as if the officiant just replaced the names in what is read at every wedding. Rachel and Blake’s priest? This was one of the best wedding ceremonies I have ever been a part of. First, the verses that were read had some uniqueness to them. Second, I’ve never been to a wedding where the officiant walked the aisle as the message was presented, but this is how it went on Rachel and Blake’s wedding. Their ceremony was pretty special and I loved that it was very genuine and unique.
After the ceremony, it only got better. We were given pretty much all the time in the world to do pictures outside. Going on two weeks in a row now with Nikki and Jon’s, and now Rachel and Blake’s wedding, I love having a lot of time to work with for pictures. I exaggerate a little, of course, but in terms of wedding photography, having close to three between leaving the church and the start of the ceremony is pretty much “all the time in the world.” What I love about this kind of timeframe is that we are able to take our time with pictures. We aren’t rushing anyone to step in and pose so that we can ensure we get everything. It was a cool, relaxed time where everyone could enjoy their time a little more. We did pictures out a Ballard Nature Center in Altamont, just down the road from where their reception was, Carriage House in Altamont. Since we had so much time to work with outside, this also meant we had plenty of time for pictures at the Carriage House. I love having the opportunity to take our time with detail pictures at the reception. While these aren’t the pictures we show a lot of on our websites or social, these are extremely important pictures. My rule for pictures on wedding days is, “if you spent money on it, we are photographing it.” Anyone who has planned a wedding knows they aren’t cheap, and when it comes to the decor, this is one area that can begin to push the wedding budget. Or to save money, you might do your decor yourself. In either case, you probably spent some decent cash and/or time on the decor and we want to make sure to photograph it. As always at Carriage House, the reception was absolutely amazing! After the meal, the party got started and the dance floor was full! Couples tell me all the time that they want dance floor pictures, I always tell them that the best way to have a full dance floor is if the two of them on out there as well. Wedding guests want to be where ever the couple is and if the couple is not on the dance floor, neither are the guests. Rachel and Blake were out dancing the night away, and I loved being able to capture these moments on camera. They were such a fun couple to work with! The drawback to wedding photography is it’s a lot like a vacation. It seems like it takes YEARS for the day to arrive. Then, when that week long vacation is finally here, it seems like you blink and you’re on your way home. After we photograph the wedding, it’s like when you get home from vacation and all you want is to be back where ever you came from. We had a ton of fun working with Rachel and Blake. I’m so honored and thankful that we had an opportunity to work with them, and I wish we could just go back to the big day. 🙂
