Worried your family won't unplug at your wedding? Hire two photographers!

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Worried your family won't unplug at your wedding? Hire two photographers!

Recently a Facebook post appeared to blast a Wedding Guest at an Unplugged Wedding, for interfering with a Photo of the Bride walking down the aisle with her dad. The photographer accused the guest of ruining her shot, and taking a moment away from the bride, her dad, and the Groom. The post was designed to garner exposure for the Photographer ( it has gone semi-viral ). That being said, it does bring up the topic of Unplugged Weddings and whether or not your guests will respect the concept. 

Our recommendation to avoid this potentially stressful situation is to insure you have multiple photographers. Safety in numbers. Always.

It is at this point that the topic of having two photographers is clear. At the end of the day, no matter what happens on your Wedding day, it is a one off event. No do overs. No second chances. Without the ability to redo anything, it is our responsibility to get it right the first time. NO second chances. At the end of the day, isn’t that what you pay for? We believe you have earned the right to have professionals photographing your wedding. We also think that when it is all said and done, we have no ability to console you for missed moments. No words can ever replace a missed moment. At that point, all that will be remembered is that missed moment.

Being a second photographer to my wife is an amazing opportunity for me. I get to see the moments unfold organically. I also get to see how my wife reacts to the unexpected. Often I am tasked with add-ons, which are shots to compliment the primary photographers vision. I really like to work in black and white, both to simplify the workflow but to allow my wife to have less post-production editing needed. The focus becomes about the subject, an not the imaging. As her second photographer, I am there to support her vision for the day. It is the most fun I have ever had working hard.
On this particular day, we had what I would call the most challenging wedding day timeline ever. Local Church plus east coast getting ready location, and then back to the east coast for the reception. WHOA!

Bride checking her makeup while getting ready for her Florida Wedding

During the Getting Ready portion of the day, I really wanted to convey the frenzy of all the girls and makeup and hair and dresses and flowers and relatives within the space. The large banks of windows provided the perfect backdrop for these images. Like a giant softbox reflector in the studio, beautiful soft morning sun washed over the bride and her makeup team. Lighting conditions were perfect that day.

I am very proud of what we were able to accomplish in a tense environment. Telling the story is what it is all about. 

Ah… boys. Yes it is as tight as it looks. But at the end of the day, we don’t have the option to custom tailor everything to our own wants and needs. We are working professionals, tasked with walking into an overcrowded hotel room with 15 guys being guys, and figure it out. 

That’s the groom in the far end of the room by the sliding doors. He was ready before everyone else. He really wanted be married NOW. He was laser focused on every moment of that morning. He helped his boys. He wrote out his entire personal letter to his future bride.  Everything about his morning was focused on the task at hand. Very proud to be present in the moment for him.

Groom looks out the window as the boys crowd the bathroom getting ready for a wedding in Orlando

Father smiles as the Groom helps his groomsmen with their cufflinks.

With the groom, which is my area of primary photography, I found the physical space 10 times more tight. But, as always, we make it work. Here the groom ( lower right ) is helping the rest of his groomsman with their cufflinks. 

No matter how “un-posed” these images can become, the moments of family and camaraderie between fathers, sons, brothers and cousins cannot be understated. Everyone was in their own little worlds. Even the dad ( far right ) shows the love in the room.

As the groom wrote out by hand his personal letter to the bride, I was able to get in close to get a few moments with him. These images need to tell the story of the moment, as well as the story of his love for her. I hope that I was able to do that for him.

I helped to set up the vantage point for the videographer as well. When a good shot is present, it’s going to be great for video as well as stills. We aren’t bothered with keeping the best shots to ourselves. All of us are collaborators. We are a team, and the clients are our main focus. 

Without the common goal of working together, it all falls apart. We never want that for our clients. The day needs to be as perfect as it could be. It certainly makes all the challenges easier to overcome.

Custom Engagement Ring Box as Groom handwrites his personal letter to his bride on the wedding day.

Groom reads letter from his bride to be written on custom Poker Playing Cards

He is an avid car player, and for his personal gift from her, she took an entire deck of cards, and wrote out her letter to him, one card at a time. It was one of the most emotional moments I have ever witnessed.

I could tell that he really really worships her and loves her with all of his heart. All of the challenges of the day are secondary to being chosen to be a witness to moments like that.

As many times as I see a groom getting ready, it will never get old. When a man truly loves a woman, all the “tough-guy” things melt away and you see the real person. Every time we are selected to be a couples photographers isa personal honor for us.

The Ceremony was a first for us – Orthodox Church where nearly the entire ceremony was witnessed by a full gallery, standing as a matter of the protocol, for the entire ceremony.

Unexpected, to say the least. But we are professionals. We make it work. Hoisting my camera above my head on a monopod, I was able to get usable images. Often I don’t know if the images I capture will be selected. It is my hope that what is captured conveys the moment well.

It’s impossible to predict what the client will desire from the images delivered. Our best efforts can sometimes disappoint. We admit that as artists. Especially when the entire environment is as unscripted as a live wedding. In fact, a wedding is the most unscripted “scripted” event ever. 

Crowd of family and friends crowd around in a small Orthodox Church Wedding in Orlando

Bride and Groom from a hidden shooting position behind a curtain.

As you can see sightlines are tight. I was advised to go behind the partition, and peek out behind the curtain. Although I was later told by the officiant not to be there, I found the vantage point amazing and unobtrusive. We never wish to become part of the show.

Documentation, and not becoming a detriment to the celebration is our goal. In this chaotic environment, all we can do is hope that the client was excited about what we captured.

To that end, we put everything into what we do. You have earned our very best efforts.Even if that means crouching down and peeking through the corner of a curtain. My knees were killing me at that point.

This image really sums up the entire situation. And I loved taking it. Tiny church. Big personalities. And in the very center, two people madly in love, walking down the aisle for the first time as husband and wife. What a feeling. 

This moment in two peoples lives is a singular, irreplaceable blink of the eye. If you miss it, you miss it. Who are we to try to direct these people? No one really. It is with this genuine humility which we approach our seemingly monstrous task. 

Document the show, without becoming a part of the show. Being Orlando Wedding Photographers is not easy, if you are doing it right and with conviction.

Bride and Groom walk back down the aisle as family takes photos.

Beautiful Bride dances with her mom at her Wedding Reception at Crystal Harbor

There is no way around it. This is me pushing through the crowd to get the shot. It is a difficult position to be in. On one hand, the crowd is filled with people who have known these two forever – I am the outsider.

On the other hand, I have to try my best, and suck it up. In the end, technical skills max out and you have to trust that there is a higher power making it all possible for you to capture a few moments of love between a mom and her daughter.

These opportunities to give to each of them our vision of that connection are irreplaceable. There was so much love in that room. Everyone as so happy for the bride and groom. As chaotic as it was, you have to just ride the wave and go with the flow.

In the end, sneaking between whirling dancers to capture this smile is what we are after. Admittedly, it is as much to change and luck as it is to skill. Of course, being in the right spot at the right time helps. 

This is what you pay professionals to do. Overcome all of the obstacles given to them. Be where they are supposed to be. Focused on you and your moments. This is what it means to be “in the moment”. Not to be looking for things whichwould make for great instagram stories, or other marketing tools for their businesses.

If an image can do that, fine. but not at the expense of diverting artistic energy away from the matter at hand. Of course the bright DJ lights on the bottom of the dress didn’t help matters, but we don’t really care. We get what we get.

Bride Smiles as she enjoys dancing with her family at her Crystal Ballroom Wedding Reception

Groom Dances with his mother at his Wedding Reception in Daytona Beach Florida

Again – beautiful photo. tender moment between Mother and Son. and the Dj Bride and Groom Logo shining on his rear. Truly it is what it is. and then we make the effort to frame it out of the photo as best we can. 

For them, the moment captured was amazing. For us, we try to produce magic every time we enter the reception hall. The challenge is exciting to us.

Would we like to be center position for these images? Sure, that would be great. Did we? Not exactly, but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter to our clients who got to shoot where.

All they want is to know that theday was captured in an amazing way. It is up to us as professionals to work together, and make it happen.

Video Crew works to capture toasts at a Crystal Harbor Wedding Reception.