A wedding celebration…

After photographing weddings for fifteen years every opportunity to attend a wedding as a guest is a wonderful treat. Saturday DeWayne,  Edie Grace and I had the opportunity to attend Juan & Claudia’s wedding at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church in Statesboro.  This wedding was not your every Saturday type of affair.  The wedding was completely in Spanish!  I guess I had forgotten to mention that to Edie Grace.  About two or three minutes into the wedding Edie Grace leaned over to me and said, “Mama, I can’t understand a word they are saying.”  Well, I guess she hasn’t watched as much Dora the Explorer  as I thought she had!  Kids in other countries that are bi-lingual by six are so blessed!  But I digress.

I have always been intrigued by different religions and different cultures.  What a wonderful voyage Saturday was!  The thing that I was the MOST amazed by was the integral roles the photographer and videographer played at the event.  The entire event was basically choreographed by them.  There has been so much hype about photojournalism and just capturing the events as they unfold, but when everything is said and done all you have left are the portraits and the video.  Your cake is eaten, your flowers are dead and your beautiful dress is hidden away in a cardboard box in a closet.  Doesn’t it just make sense to have the day entrusted to pros that have experience recording your beautiful day?  I had never met the team that captured Juan and Claudia’s day before, but they worked very hard making sure that not even one detail was missed.

  If you, or someone you know is looking for a wedding photographer PLEASE do a lot of research before you book.  We are currently on a “sabbatical” from weddings.  I really love spending my weekends with Edie Grace and DeWayne.  When she is away at college, I will probably come out of retirement and do some more weddings but I learned five years ago that life can be really short.  So I want to savor every minute I can with her while she is little!  When interviewing wedding photographers, be sure that the photographer is a member of a professional trade association preferably GPPA or PPA.  That gives them a network of support in case they were to become ill or injured on or before your big day.  They are also provided professional insurance through these organizations that would include mediation and other legal services designed to protect you and the photographers investment of your incredible day.

Congratulations to Juan & Claudia!  May they be blessed with love, happiness and great wedding portraits!!!