A friend of mine recently shared a concern about weddings being too dependent and determined by the photography. Why are the events of the wedding day dictated by when and where pictures are taken? Isn’t it about the love shared between two people and the celebration of their new lives together?

Of course a concern such as this really concerns a photographer. Without the high importance placed on wedding photography, most of us would have to find another specialty (and stop doing what we love) or we’d be out of business. Photographers, including myself, stress over and over the importance of wedding pictures because physical images from one of the biggest days of your life may be the only thing you have left after such a day. And producing such images takes a lot of time on a wedding day. So much time that my friend makes a good point.

My friend’s point of concern reminded me of this manifesto that I stumbled upon a few months ago: http://jonaspeterson.com/wedding/a-manifesto-of-sorts/. Photographer Jonas Peterson fears that “the wedding train has derailed” and that such events are “getting lost in the details.” When I first read it, I was in a sort of denial because to be honest with you, I LOVE DETAILS on a wedding day and I’d hate to see them go away. All the DIY cute-ness that a bride puts together and all the lovely Etsy finds that she’s included in her day get me friggin’ excited because I LOVE SHOOTING DETAILS!

But a wedding isn’t just about the details. Or the photography schedule dictating the day. It’s about the love shared between two people and the celebration of their new lives together. I almost can’t believe I just typed the first two sentences of this paragraph because I LOVE DETAILS and because I’m a wedding photographer, but I’d like to take some of the pressure off those couples currently planning their weddings.

Don’t stress about the details. If you want to put together a bunch of awesome details that will excite your photographer and your guests, and really make your event grand, then go for it! If you’d rather put your efforts into creating a simpler day and spend less time worrying about planning  a bunch of fine details beforehand, then go for that, too! Do your thing! It’s your wedding day and it should be how you want…and it should be about love.

My “bread and butter” is wedding photography and I absolutely love what I do, so I’m not going to tell you that a wedding day full of pictures isn’t necessary and that a wedding day full of details isn’t beautiful. But I am going to tell you that a wedding day full of pictures doesn’t have to be dependent, determined by or dictated by the photography. When I put together a wedding photography schedule for my couples, I make sure it fits the schedule of the day they’ve already planned. We create the schedule together (I ask questions, they answer, I put a schedule together that’s tentative until they approve) about a month before the wedding that way the main elements like ceremony and reception start times are in place and we work around them. I’m able to fill in with the photography time needed and am always sure to give time for relaxation, enjoyment and love.

So I apologize if I’ve ever come across as a photographer who cares only about the details and/or the photography of a wedding day because I realize it’s not all just about that. I realize it’s important to some couples to have the moment where you walk down the aisle and your soon-to-be husband sees you in your dress for the first time. I realize it’s important to some couples to join their guests for part of the cocktail hour instead of taking a plethora of pictures. And I realize that some couples aren’t into grand details for their reception. And all of that is ok. It’s your wedding day and it should be how you want, and I’m just happy that you’ve put high priority on photography and you’ve invited to be a part of it! So make your wedding about love and do what you want! And if you have details, I’ll shoot the heck out of ’em. 😉

I shot Elizabeth and Chad’s wedding this past weekend. While there were a ton of beautiful details, there wasn’t an overwhelming abundance. There’s was just enough to display the natural and unique theme Elizabeth was going for. She enjoyed putting the details together, but she didn’t let them stress her out. She was more concerned about it actually being her wedding day and marrying her love. That was definitely evident during their ceremony kiss and cute-ness during portraits. I loved how genuinely excited and happy they were to be married. 🙂

More of Elizabeth and Chad’s wedding coming later this week!