How quickly time has flown by, and we are already in the 2nd month of the year. If you’ve read my previous blog post, you’d know that photography has been a passion of mine since an early age, but why weddings?

The first wedding I shot, in Bellingham, Washington. I stayed with Sharon & Nathaniel for a few days leading up to the wedding, and it was so nice getting to know their friends and family before the big day. Since then I’ve always wanted to offer a package where I could stay with the couple for a few days before the wedding, but never figured out how it could be done.

 

I remember being on a flight alone, and as the plane was still boarding I was in my seat flipping through the in-flight magazine. I began to dream. There were photos and articles of travels from around the world, and it was so inspiring to me that I remember thinking to myself, “I want to take pictures like that!” Everywhere I went, I brought a camera along with me, and I mean EVERYWHERE. Even working on a farm during my vet studies, the farmer would ask me why I was taking pictures of his lunch. Pretty soon it felt like shooting landscapes and inanimate subjects began to feel somewhat empty, and having people in my shots added a layer of depth to the images. 

 

 

Then I started shooting couples. Everyone has a story, and big or small, I believe they’re worth telling. Weddings happen to be the day when a lot of those stories become evident, and every emotion possible surfaces. The father that never says I love you says it for the first time, the brother that never sheds a tear cries during the vows, or even a niece who cannot stop yawning in boredom during the speeches, that’s what I love to capture with my photographs. 

 

 

More so than ever, love is something I’d want to tell the world about. Life can be hard, and it’s never perfect, but stepping into people’s journeys and witnessing how they figure things out together, how they celebrate their highs and lows, that to me is incredibly inspiring. I don’t want to tell stories of perfection, I want to give couples honest photographs they can look back at, and show people how beautiful imperfection can be. 

 

 

That is why I love shooting weddings.