Reality Check: It is Essential to have Two Photographers at your Wedding

So you've dreamed about your wedding day as long as you can remember.  You have planned every detail from wearing Grandma's pearls to the song that will play as your father glides you across the dance floor. But setting these dreams in motion has been costly and it's time to trim the budget.

Serve chicken instead of prime rib!

Order a three-tiered cake instead of five!

Reduce the wedding party from 12 to 10!

Whatever you do, do not touch the photography budget!  As hard as you have worked to make your wedding dreams into a reality, you need to have those treasured moments captured into vivid and joy-filled images that you can re-visit and re-live for a lifetime. 

You will want two photographers for the following reasons:

REASON #1:  There is a pivotal moment at the start of the ceremony where you need a photographer stationed at the front and one at the back.  In doing this, your photography team will guarantee you the following treasures:

 a.  Images of the bride and her father preparing to head down the aisle.  This is a breathless moment where emotions are strong and real as a parent who has been responsible to guide and protect his little girl (no matter how much a woman, she will always be his little girl) is seconds away from relinquishing this responsibility forever. 

b.  The wedding party's procession down the aisle to the front, and then when the music changes, the priceless astonishment on the face of the groom when he sees his beautiful bride for the first time.

With just one photographer, you will have to choose which moment is to be treasured: the bride and her father or the groom and the wedding party.  One vantage point will be taken and one will be lost.  Which one will you choose?

REASON #2:  With so many people milling about, there is a lot happening all the time in so many places.  It is not just pictures of the bride and groom that will be prized.  Of course, posed family portraits filled with several generations will be precious in years to come.  But what about that completely spontaneous moment when Grandma kissed  Grandpa when they thought no one was looking?

REASON #3:  It is a sad fact that equipment will break down.  At the last wedding, I served as a lead photographer in a two-photographer wedding.  It was during the reception that my flash died and the backup photographer moved into the lead position without missing a beat.  I was able to step away, retrieve a backup flash, and resolve my dilemma without a loss to anyone.  Lo and behold, when her lens froze, I was able and ready to take the lead again and allow her the opportunity to retrieve another lens.

Here are a few of the gorgeous candid shots taken at our last wedding by the 2nd photographer while I was photographing at other locations (thank you Mandy at BBN http://www.bbnphotography.com/):

A grandfather praying for his granddaughter before she marries.

The wedding ceremony as seen from the balcony.

The bride and groom just moments after marrying.

These photos are treasures that would have been missed if there had been only one photographer.  Do yourself a service and find a 2-person photography team for your special day!

Elsie & Ryan Thurman Wedding: Lace, Love, & Laughter

On October 30th, Elsie and Ryan tied the knot at St. John's in Lawrence.  It was a gorgeous wedding on a beautiful fall day.  When two people are best friends, it reveals itself in every frame with the smiles, tears and stolen kisses.

With each wedding I photograph, I learn more and more about why I feel so honored to have been asked to document a pivotal moment in the lives of two people who are binding themselves and their families together forever.  It is a monumental day full of tender tears as parents let go and life-long dreams are fulfilled.  And, for once, I am not intruding if I catch it with my camera.

At one point during the rehearsal dinner, Elsie grabbed me and my assistant, Mayshell. "You two, I don't worry about. I worry about a lot of things tomorrow, but not you. Thank you for that."

Wedding Photography:  it is about trust, it is about responsibility,
it is about knowing what the families want and wanting it too.

I will share next week about why it is important to have two photographers at your wedding.  This shot of the entire ceremony from the choir loft comes compliments of my new friend and creative associate, Malinda Chapman of BBN Photography in Missouri (http://www.bbnphotography.com/ and, yes, I am learning that there is greatness east of Kansas). 

If this were a Where's Waldo, I'd ask you to find the sneaky photographer.

I love bubbles,
even when they land on my camera lens. 

Elsie and Ryan's family and friends filled out their wedding party.  They were an emotionally invested team, working hard on both Friday and Saturday to make sure they did their part to make this celebration beautiful and memorable.  With this group, I never had an awkward moment; not even when I body surfed through the limo to get to the where the chauffeur could hear me for driving directions.

Elsie and Ryan, I know this day was yours,

but you shared it with all of us and for this we thank you. 

Congratulations.