Wedding Photography

This weekend we travelled to Kansas City (Lawrence actually), to attend Amber's wedding. The whole family was involved, Marcie was a bridesmaid, Kate played the piano, Anne sang, Mom and Dad (the other ones) helped decorate the reception hall, and I did the photography (with help from cousin Steve). It was the first time either of us had attempted a wedding so we were both pretty nervous.

We headed to the rehearsal on Friday to see the church, get to know the order of events and find the best angles for shooting the key moments. Like most churches it was dim, high ceilings, bright windows along the walls and many other things that make photography difficult for a novice like me. We walked around and found the best places to stand for portion of the ceremony. Then we met with the priest and wedding coordinator. "you can't go here, can't go there, that won't work, can't use flash, and I've stopped weddings because of photographers before"! Wow, we quickly realized this would be harder than anticipated. That night Steve and I re-planned where we would be during the ceremony and the next morning we prepared for a lot of improvisation. At least in my opinion, the ceremony pictures came out really well and Steve captured a great shot of the kiss. Anne and Kate nailed the music and the ceremony was really great!

After the ceremony, the pressure was off and we got to have a little fun. We set up for the formal shots of the Bride, Groom and family and once that was finished, headed off one the limo-bus. The next stop was KU where we took casual and group shots of the bridal party. It was about 85 degrees but Amber and Troy didn't mind me dragging them up down the hill to get to the bell tower for pictures. It was worth it though, I think their gonna like those shots :) Then it was back on the bus and off to the reception to celebrate for the rest of the night.

It was a fun day pretending to be a wedding photographer. It was definitely more work than I anticipated but fun nonetheless. Thank goodness for the help though, having another camera in the room really saved the day (thanks Steve!). Congratulations Amber and Troy, it sure turned out to be a great weekend ...And you'll get your pictures soon, I promise :)