One Moment in Time: Why Every Moment of Your Wedding Day is Worthy of Being Documented.

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MARIA CARPENTER

 

Whether you have been dreaming about your wedding since you were little or the excitement began once you got engaged, it is one of the greatest days of your life to enter the sacrament of marriage with your soulmate. 

You’ve probably been told to enjoy your wedding day as much as you can because “it goes by so fast.”

Why then has the wedding industry normalized giving couples the choice of cramming their day into a 6 or 8-hour window or having their photographer miss important wedding day moments?

We have all been there. You begin the search for your wedding photographer, find some that you love, and then your heart sinks when you see on the investment page that you can only afford the shortest amount of time.

You start to wonder:  Well maybe they don’t need to capture everything. Maybe we can just shorten the day so that they can be there for all of the big moments. Before you know it, you are making compromises to change a day that you have spent countless hours planning and investing a lot of money in to make it perfect.

As photographers, we believe that all-day coverage is the best  way to capture a wedding  day as authentically as possible. In order to stay true to that belief, we always include all-day coverage for our couples.

It allows you to have a more peaceful and relaxing day, and will help you remember all of the special moments from it–big and small–for the rest of your life. 

All-day coverage offers a more flexible wedding day timeline, allowing for some extra wiggle room in case something happens to throw off the schedule. It also gives you a chance to mentally and emotionally prepare before the ceremony. If you wanted to have that downtime but was hiring a photographer for a shorter number of hours, then you would feel like you were “wasting an hour” to not have them photographing some of the posed group photos since you have them there for less time.

Limited hours often lead couples to choose between the “getting ready” photos or most of their reception photos, but those are the two best  times to have captured. 

So many of our brides have told us that their favorite pictures of them and their mom or other close female figures are the “getting ready” photos. 

Yes, the pretty posed pictures outdoors are beautiful and important, but there is something so sentimental about documenting the woman who put your first dress on you now helping you into your wedding dress. That is when the emotions of the day start to flood in and become a reality; you aren’t trying your dress on at the bridal store, alteration shop, or your home, this is when you are finally preparing to meet your beloved.  

If you choose to have the photographer there for those important getting ready moments but then leave early before the reception is over, then you are missing out on some of the most fun candid shots of the day. 

There are the heartwarming moments like the first dance, family dances, and toasts but there are also all the fun pictures once the dance floor opens that totally exude marital bliss. 

All your favorite people in one room, singing and dancing to celebrate their love for you two as a couple, which is why they tend to be some of the favorite and most shared pictures for our couples. 

We have photographed the bride giving the maid of honor a piggyback ride, a groom and his groomsmen serenading the bride with an acappella song, a group of sisters recreating their childhood dance to their favorite song, and so many more incredible moments during the celebration. 

The reception is when the  stress and expectations for the day are over and couples are free to act like their truest selves. They have such a carefree spirit about them and the joy they radiate as they leave their reception to begin the rest of their married lives together cannot be posed or prompted.

Wedding photography certainly is not “one size fits all,” but when considering the best fit for you, make sure you are not compromising and shortening the happiest day of your life to fit the time frame of an average workday. 

You have been preparing your whole life to marry the person that God made for you, and you should cherish every moment of the day that you become one in spirit.

About the Authors: Maria and ayton are the faces behind Fenix Photography, Design, and Events. They both have pursued numerous creative outlets but fell in love with photography: they loved that they could bring the best emotive moments out of couples, and then edit them in a vibrant and colorful way. The motto of Fenix Photography, Design, and Events is "God writes the story... we just document it." As photographers, Maria and Dayton believe their job is to capture the deepest form of love that God can bestow on two people. They desire to build friendships with their clients through the wedding planning process and help them fully enjoy their special day. 

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Wedding Planning | Be Bold in Asking for What you Desire

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THERESA NAMENYE

 

I was a bridesmaid in one of my best friend’s weddings.

Her ceremony was beautiful. You could feel the joy in the air. Afterwards, we piled into our wedding party bus and headed to the park to take photographs. The bride and the groom got their pictures, then the families, and then the entire wedding party together. The photographer called, “Alright, let’s head back to the reception; dinner is waiting!” 

My mind immediately started to race about the photographs I still wanted my friend to have! Didn’t we always talk about a picture of our friend group at all of our weddings? Didn’t we want shots of all the bridesmaids all together?

Awkwardly, I said, “Wait, aren’t there a few shots we still want?”

PHOTOGRAPHY: NIKAYLA & CO.

PHOTOGRAPHY: NIKAYLA & CO.

It wasn’t in the plan. The photographer seemed surprised. Long story short, we ended up staying for another 15 minutes to get all of the photographs we could ever need.

Looking back, I treasure the photographs from my best friend’s wedding. If I had not spoken up, and just listened to the part of me that didn’t want to “make a fuss”, those photographs literally would not exist. I have been a part of many weddings now, and in every one, including my own, some of the richest memories prove to be the images captured of us all together. 

I have close kindred sisters spread out all over the world. We live in an age where many loved ones are separated by distance. While we may have all been ridiculously close in high school, childhood, or college, the harsh truth is that some of our closest and dearest friends will be seen on Marco Polo apps and over text messages for the rest of our adulthood. We don’t crash on each other’s couches every weekend like we used to. We receive our children’s milestones from Facebook. We try ever so hard to schedule vacations or get togethers when we can travel from state to state. Given the current climax of the world, it really is more unknown than ever when we will all be back together hanging out.

But I will always have those wedding photographs that immortalize our bond, and radiate happiness in a way that an old android snapshot just doesn’t have the range to capture.

Don’t be afraid to ask for exactly what you want. Write a list of photographs you absolutely must have. It can be a pain to sit down and write out all the different shots you need and the order in which they will happen. But it is worth doing. Every time. 

I created a detailed list of every single photograph I wanted with other people. This included my parents, my siblings, my sisters, my grandparents, my husband’s family, my bridesmaids, my childhood friends, my college friends, and a plethora of other combinations. We obviously all had photographs taken scattered throughout our lives, but to be all dressed up with a professional photographer was an opportunity I absolutely did not want to go to waste. 

Since my wedding, my grandmother, grandfather, and father have all suddenly passed away. Guess what I have? I have photographs of us all together at my wedding. There is not any dollar amount that can put a price on those tangible memories.

When we created picture boards for my dad’s funeral, almost all of the photographs we had were because of my grandmother who was extremely passionate about capturing the moments with her family. We have a rich documentation of my dad’s life because someone had the boldness and assertiveness to demand family photographs, capture candid moments, and encourage us all to immortalize those precious moments forever.

Now, more than any other time in history, we have almost no excuse for not doing this in some capacity. Instead of playing a game or scrolling, stop to take the photograph. It doesn’t matter if we look perfect or “attractive enough”. We--and our loved ones--deserve to have these memories of a life that goes by fleetingly fast.

Be intentional. Be bold about asking and calmly stating what you will receive in the end. No amount of “wedding day stress” should derail you from the one piece of your special day that will remain immortalized for the rest of your life.

At the end of the day, the wedding ceremony and celebration really isn’t about the visual details or the decorations. Ultimately, it is about the bond of marriage; but even beyond that, it is about two lives intertwining. My life is the culmination of my family and my friends--I did not exist in a void. My friends were the ones who walked me through my engagement, my dating life, my hard break ups, my singlehood. And I cherish the photographs that captured the beauty of those friendship forever.

So take the pictures! All of them.

About the Author: Theresa Namenye studied Humanities, Catholic Culture, and Philosophy at Franciscan University of Steubenville. She lives in Scottsdale, AZ with her husband Garrett and their children Leo and Aislin. When she isn't teaching fourth grade, she loves blogging, painting, and enjoying the outdoors.

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Vendor Week 2020 | Embracing Moments More Than Social Media

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DAYTON & MARIA

 

Lights. Camera. Post. After a moment takes place, it can feel like a race to document it and post it on social media. 

What used to be experiences shared only by the people present has evolved into an event valued by the number of likes, comments, or shares it gets, not unlike a competition TV show where your peers are the judges and your followers are the audience voting from home. 

Don’t misunderstand me! We also posted when we got engaged, when we had engagement pictures taken, and we’re excited to share future wedding photos. With a balanced mindset, social media can be a great tool to share moments with a larger group. 

Photography: Fenix Photography, Design, & Events LLC

Photography: Fenix Photography, Design, & Events LLC

As a wedding photographer, though, what can be problematic is when choosing vendors  shifts from Who can capture my day authentically and with a style I like? to Who is trendy or has been reposted on featured accounts and will get a lot of likes?

Consider past generations’ experiences: no app to search wedding hashtags; destination elopements, lavish estate weddings, or rooftop receptions. The quality of a photographer’s work wasn’t based on followers and likes—all that mattered was if you and your fiancé “liked” it, not thousands of others. 

Today, so  many brides immediately feel overwhelmed by a cloud of comparison when they start the wedding planning process. Naturally it’s easy to lose sight of what is truly important about the day--entering the sacramental union of marriage.

As photographers, we absolutely understand and encourage prioritizing photography for their wedding, but we also encourage couples to focus more on finding someone that is the right fit for them and your  day—and less on whose pictures are the first search result on social media. 

Do we construct our couples’ wedding timelines to allow ample time to take beautiful portraits of the two of them, including extra time at sunset? Yes! Do we make sure to get “the shot” which shows both their emotions and the scenery in such a stunning way that it makes the perfect wall canvas? Absolutely! But during an authentic interaction, the best photographers will never be so focused on the most aesthetically pleasing shot that the attention shifts to taking the picture, rather than the moment itself. 

Of course, as photographers we’re constantly moving, climbing, and laying on the ground to get the best shots, but in doing so we’ll never compromise the moment. If we see your grandmother embracing you at the water station, for instance, we are going to take the best picture, with the best angle we can, at that time. Could we interrupt and ask you both to move over to the flower covered arch and re-create the hug again to make the shot “prettier”? Yes. But we never would.

When you look back at the image years from now, we want you to remember how your grandmother pulled you close, whispered wise words about love, and clutched your wedding dress that had pieces of her own sewn into it. Even though you’ll still have posed portraits with her from earlier in the day, the water station picture is the one you will show your children and say, This was your great-grandmother.

We tell all our brides, “your wedding day is an experience, not a glorified photoshoot.” We don’t want our brides to condense one of the biggest days of their lives into a certain short window, which is why our services include all-day coverage. If we really are putting the client’s investment where our mouth is, then in order to authentically capture the day we know we must allow time for those moments to naturally happen. 

As photographers, we frequently think of ourselves as directors. We’ve developed a sense for when it’s time to give direction and when it’s time to say action and then disappear into the background. For example, if a bride chooses to do a First Look, we will do our job to ensure  the location, angle, and lighting is the best for that spot, then step back and capture the entirety of the interaction until its natural end. 

We don’t have to coach you on how to hug, smile, or cry because the only reaction we want to photograph is the one that naturally happens--which is always the most beautiful. 

Have you noticed when wedding stories make the evening news or go viral online, they almost always revolve around an intensely emotional encounter? A bride is walked down the aisle by her ailing father; a handicapped groom surprises his bride by standing for part of their first dance; a letter titled “read this on your wedding day” is given to a bride that her mother wrote years ago before passing away. The meaning of these experiences walking, dancing, and reading can’t be rehearsed for the camera. 

The sooner you choose to let go of  “the perfect wedding day,” the fewer  distractions and greater focus on prayerful growth you’ll experience during your engagement. A wedding is one day, but marriage is eternal. Whether you have your reception in a small church hall, or at the most luxurious venue, you still are experiencing the day with the same people.

You can put a price tag on almost everything associated with your wedding day, except for the priceless interactions you have with your loved ones, whether that’s a dedicated handful or a loving army. 

The day you became one in spirit with your spouse is irreplaceable. That is why we believe in moments over social media.  

About the Authors: Dayton & Maria are an (almost) husband and wife documentary photography team based in Virginia and the owners of Fenix Photography, Design, & Events LLC. Their business motto: "God writes the story; we just document it." “Moments in life are fleeting,” they share, “so it's our job to capture the most joyous ones for you to remember for the rest of your life."

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