Yesterday I had the absolute pleasure of shooting a wedding with a local Salt Lake City photographer, Amy Little. I can’t even begin to tell you how ridiculous it is that I feel so close to someone I only met in person four days ago. But I DO. Amy stumbled upon my blog out of the blue and contacted me recently about meeting up for coffee and commiseration (because that’s what photographers do when they get together, DUH), and I was all, YES PLEASE. Because her personality is magnetic. We made an instant connection, what with our chaotic and spill-our-guts writing styles, the similarities in our journeys in building photography businesses, our insecurities and desires, our styles…. oh, everything, really. One morning last week I was checking my email (while I was still in bed, thanks to my trusty iPhone!), and I read this part of an email from her and SO laughed out loud:
“WAHOOOOO, though, about you wanting to do the wedding!!!!!!! I’m so excited. It’s weird because I trust you and don’t even know you. Maybe it’s because you have red hair. I think there’s a rule that says you must be cool if you have wicked awesome hair like that…I’m trying to figure out a time to meet. thoughts? we can meet in jammies if that would be better for your immune system. we had a strict rule growing up that if you weren’t down with flopping in bed with the neighborhood (what kind of family was this?), you might as well just RSVP with a big fat “no”. Cause at some point during the visit, there will be flopping. Just sayin, I’m not afraid of cozy :)”
And she is just that great, and then some, in person.
So as the wedding was progressing yesterday, I found myself stopping every now and again and just taking a deep breath and realizing the absolute amazingness of this job. Don’t get me wrong, now. Weddings are SO much work. I am never as tired or dehydrated or sore as I am after a long day of shooting. But at the same time, it’s one long adrenaline rush, and you find yourself just being so energized by the love between two people that you have the privilege of witnessing and documenting. One such moment occurred as I was shooting the bouquet toss on the dance floor to the sounds of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” (which I’m tempted to think was written specifically for bouquet tosses across America). I couldn’t help but dance around a bit, and my belly was full of a delicious meal that the couple so graciously provided us with, and I was surrounded by really happy people. And I kid you not, I started choking up. I come from a long line of criers, and I’ve been known to sniffle at an AllState commercial or two, but heck, I had only just met every single person in that room. That’s what being a part of a wedding will do to you. I love weddings. And people pay us to be there to photograph everything? To do something we love so much we could burst sometimes? It just doesn’t seem…. real.
And then on top of all that, to be able to do it alongside Amy, who is now a peer AND a friend, and her cousin Kristen, who balanced out our all-over-the-place creative personalities beautifully, was such an honor. And so much fun.
Amy has (also very graciously) allowed me to use some images I took on my blog, which I’m so excited to share with you after I’ve sent off the raw files to her and gotten some editing on. But I just couldn’t wait to put up this little sneak peek, because I love it so, and because I feel like I need to prove that I actually HAVE been doing some non-personal-related shooting lately. :) More to come, but for now, let us bask in the glow of Miriam and Daniel:
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