Aidee was once one of my students. One of my most talented students. During her senior year she was in my classes for three periods a day, so she was definitely missed when she graduated. You can imagine my surprise then when many years later she contacted me asking about shooting her wedding. Yes, I am starting to have students who go by Mrs. Man, that's weird. I was honored to be her photographer. She had booked this adorable little church and planned the wedding for a beautiful fall afternoon. I like to think that the photographer in her had a part in these decisions--all that wonderful natural light streaming in through the church windows made for the easiest and best lighting I've ever had the opportunity to work with during a wedding. Here is the story of her big day...
Oh, that's right... there was a groom involved too :) That's Daniel on the right with his best man and brother on the left. I didn't have Daniel in class and just met him at the rehearsal the night before the wedding, but he seems very genuine and kind.
Why oh why do they always set the bride up in the Sunday School room?! The getting ready photos are some of my favorites, but it's always a challenge to not include the Noah's Ark decorations and craft supplies in the background. On this dress photo I used some clever Photoshopping to "re-paint" the walls.
Aidee, the beautiful bride.
The pastor at this church was very photo-friendly. He had zero restrictions on where I could shoot. He even showed me a secret passageway that I could use to move around behind the sanctuary. The door on the left by the American flag went back to an office with a second doorway that led into the sanctuary. It was a great place to stand incognito and get photos of the groom with the guests in the background. From there I could go out a third door that led behind the sanctuary to the right side where I could get photos of the bride. There was also a back balcony of sorts--really an upstairs Sunday school classroom that had big windows overlooking the church. That's where I got this shot of the whole scene. Aidee and Daniel did not plan a long wedding ceremony. For the guests this probably sounds great, but for the photographer it meant I had to HUSTLE! All of the key elements--walking down the aisle, the vows, the rings, lighting the candle, the kiss, and walking out happened very close together. And when you're the photographer you have to balance getting photos that tell the story with making sure you aren't being a distraction. I basically shot it like this. When they walked in I was at the end of the aisle looking back. From there I moved to one side of the sanctuary and then the other using the back passage. After that I had to walk quickly and quietly to the back of the church and up a flight of stairs to the windows. Got a couple shots from there and hustled back down to catch the vows and kiss. After that I scooted to the back of the church for the walk out. Then I caught my breath, wiped the sweat off my brow, and breathed a sigh of relief that I got it all.
Time for the requisite family photos.
Love those sunglasses on Daniel's dad!
The guests at this table were also in my photo class :)
The kid table. Half of them were on their phones...
... and the other half were blowing bubbles.
I wasn't booked long enough to shoot any of the dinner or dance, but I'm certain it was beautiful. I was so excited about these pictures that I had them fully edited and ready for pickup in a week! That's a record for me. After weeding out blurry and missed shots I ended up with 453 photos total. This includes the extra photos of each posed family picture (which I only use if somebody blinks--and there was one blinker in this group.) I credit my speed in editing to several factors including batch editing, keeping a time card to hold myself accountable, and writing out a detailed workflow before any editing began.
When Aidee and Daniel came to see the reveal of their finished photos I had created a video of the best images put to music from their ceremony. I'm always so hopeful that the clients love the photos as much as I do. In this case I had the added pressure of having trained this particular client myself--I taught her to have a discerning eye when it comes to photographs--but they said they liked them. :)
Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Coker! Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your big day.
