I love this photo because as Paul and Resina are running back up to the house from the ceremony, their kids, Tyler and Sophia, were running up with them. Tyler was exclaiming “we got married!” The photos from a bride and groom walking back up the aisle married are always wonderful – so full of excitement and sheer happiness – but this was an extra cute little moment!
I am very, very sneaky. (Pardon the Mr. Deeds reference… which really just confirms my bad taste in movies…)
I love this photo (the first, not the second) because the first is actually just creative use of the second. It just took a little forethought and a lot of wedding experience. Does that not make sense to anyone outside of my head? Let me elaborate…
When I first started shooting weddings I was quite timid (who, me?!) and I didn’t want to interfere with people’s stuff, people’s moments, or just people in general. But as I evolved over the past 7 years (wow!!!), I have learned when I can – and should – insert myself. This is a perfect example of that.
I really love to get some classic bridal portraits before the wedding. I only have a couple of not-so-awesome photos of me standing in my wedding dress in front of a fountain in my parent’s backyard. They’re not very flattering, though I am beaming with happiness (and I like to try and hold on to that happiness instead of the sadness I feel at the technical aspects of the photos.) But I digress. Most of the time, before the wedding, it’s a little crazy. Ok, most of the time it’s a lot crazy. It’s basically crazy-town. I love it. But I don’t love the mass chaos that this craziness leaves in it’s wake. See exhibit B. (I’m sorry Julia for the not-so-flattering photo. You didn’t know that I was planning to show this to the world!! But I know you won’t mind since you heart the WILTP feature so much!!)
I loved Julia’s sister’s orange chair with a strange passion (Jesse can attest to my weird love of chairs. Especially tufted chairs in offbeat colors. There is a moratorium on chair buying in the Ciras household at the moment.) I was eying it all morning. I mean, how perfect?! It matched her wedding colors and the fall theme! So when Julia was all dressed and ready, I promptly took her to that chair. I moved a bunch of stuff out of the way and moved the chair into some nice light. I cropped it so that you can see that her flowers match the chair… I had her scootch (is that a word?!) to the end of the seat so that she could show the back of the chair and sit up nice and straight easily. Her veil cascades down behind her and over the arm of the chair. You can see her necklace, earring and bracelet. The light pours in the window. ahhh. I love this photo! And I’m so sneaky, you’d never even know that it was anything other than peaceful and serene as Julia sat in that chair for all of 5 minutes to get a couple bridal portraits.
So, if you want to skip the first four paragraphs of this rambling post, this is why I love this photo: Because even in the midst of the crazy-town chaos that is getting ready on one’s wedding day, Julia looks like a goddess bathed in divine light.
These things don’t just happen. They take someone very, very sneaky. 
To read Julia’s own post about her favorite wedding photo, see here: http://cirasphotography.com/blog/index.php/why-i-love-this-photo-guest-blog/
To read all the Why I Love this photo features, go up to categories, and scroll to the bottom.
A few weeks ago, a recent bride – Julia, of Julia and Andy fame… or as I always accidentally call them, Julie and Andia – wrote me an email about how much she loved my “Why I love this photo” feature and that she wanted to do one of her favorite photo of her wedding day. I mean, being a big blog slacker as I’ve been lately, I was first excited to have someone do my work for me, but I was really really excited to see which one she chose. I was so surprised that this was her fav. But also really humbled… because out of all the photos of the day, it’s one that seemed relatively simple. I guess that’s what it is about weddings, and life in general, the little moments that take your breath away. Of course we didn’t know what was going on in Julia’s head as it happened, and the little story below made me cry. And then I kissed my husband, because he’s the one that caught the photo that made the wedding… Read on!
From Julia:
“My wedding day was amazing. I had a very do-it-yourself approach to the wedding and spent countless hours and days and months making everything from the wedding invitations, the table decor, the pew bows, the favors, the seating cards, all the way to the play list and my shoes. I loved being so involved but the time it took was often overwhelming. Then finally, the big day arrived. I expected to be a nervous wreck but found I was surprisingly calm. After getting my hair and makeup done, I went to my sister’s house to meet up with the rest of the bridal party and get dressed. Then everything started to move very quickly. Within no time, we were dressed and headed to the church. A few minutes later, we were lined up and ready to walk down the aisle. I was expecting to get emotional or anxious or nervous any moment, but it still just wasn’t hitting me what was happening. It still sort of felt like a dream.
The ceremony was beautiful and it was now time for my very-soon-to-be husband and I to exchange our vows. The priest instructed us to repeat after him as he read our vows to us. Andy went first. Looking into each others eyes and holding hands, Andy began to say his vows. Repeating after the priest he said, “Julia, I take you to be my husband” instead of saying wife. The priest was the first to notice the mistake but we all quickly caught on. The guests began to giggle and Andy blushed a little. I started to laugh too and looked out to our guests. In that moment, I feel like I woke up. It lightened the mood and make the moment real to me. Finally I relaxed and was filled with joy as my groom and I laugh together and with all of our guests.
In the days after the wedding, I kept thinking about that moment. I was so confident in Ciras Photography that I knew the wedding pictures would be beautiful, but could they have captured that one moment that meant so much to me? I was afraid to ask; if they didn’t capture it I couldn’t blame them. It was probably just two seconds when I looked to the guests and how could they have predicted that would happen or would mean so much to me? As soon as I got the pictures I scanned through the thumbnails looking for the one picture I prayed was there. There it was, exactly as I had remembered it. I was thrilled and reassured that I had made the right decision to choose Ciras Photography. I am so glad that my husband and I decided the photography was such an important aspect that we confidently made the investment. All of the pictures were amazing, but this is by far my favorite photo from the whole day.
I love this photo because everyone was thinking that Sandy’s mom was watching over Sandy and Craig’s Five Bridge Inn wedding, seeing a heart in the sky in this photo made everyone completely sure. See the heart?
Click here to see why I started the “Why I love this photo” feature..
I love this photo because sometimes it only takes one quick look.
Rene and her dad are not the super mushy types- they’re the tease-each-other-because-we-live-each-other types, which I can totally relate to So while there aren’t tons of weepy-eyed photos of them together, instead, in the middle of teasing, they shot each other this look. And I loved it.
Not to mention the amazingly glowy fall afternoon light that I made sure to put them in front of. This look still would have been cute if they were in an ugly hallway or something, but it’s SO much better with the warm light flickering through the trees, right?!
Click here to see why I started this feature.
I love this photo for a bunch of reasons, and the biggest is because Andrea & Corey were super nervous about having their photo taken and here they look so relaxed. (Engagement shoots are a great idea if you’re not a fan of having your photo taken. By the end, both Andrea & Corey agreed that they felt better about the idea of us coming and stalking them on their wedding day!)
I also love the light. Different times of day yield different colors of light, and here, right before sunset, is really beautiful golden/pink sunlight.
I love how they’re posed. They were looking at me for a straight-on shot (and that must be why they’re laughing- I’m pretty funny! haha), and Jesse snagged this shot from the side. They’re not “camera-aware” and it looks so natural. This is why it’s great to have two photographers- they now have one shot of them looking at the camera, and one shot of them laughing from the side.
I love the exposure. When taking photos, Jesse and I shoot in all manual mode. We like to have complete control over how the photo’s going to look. Jesse had the option of shooting with a flash and the sky would have been blue and everything would have been darker. But I love this more… it’s light, it’s airy and summery… it’s a fun, warm, “artsy” photo. In short, Jesse is a genius.
Read other “Why I love this photo” features:
http://cirasphotography.com/blog/index.php/why-i-love-this-photo-from-a-hawaiian-beach-wedding/
http://cirasphotography.com/blog/index.php/why-i-love-this-photo-zukas-hilltop-barn-wedding/
Tim & Trish’s wedding wasn’t without a hiccup or two. First, the entire waitstaff never showed up (but don’t worry- kick ass guests filled in, and then they found a local bartender who left work to come and help!), then the power went out! Jesse took the photo above which shows Tim and a friend fixing the blown fuse. BUT, the photo below that I snagged, shows the Chinese lanterns out, but the dancing continued. Trish had too many Irish relatives that were ready to party, and they weren’t about to let the power issue stop them.
These photos prove not only that Trish and Tim are awesome, but that if something goes wrong, who cares? You’re still dancing with everyone you love.
Click here to see why I started this feature.
Do I need to love a photo of a dog in a sweater at a wedding for more than the fact that it’s a dog in a sweater at a wedding?
Click here to see why I started this feature.
I love this little moment for what it is, a tender expression of love. But I think I love it more because it’s also an expression of relief, and it shows that even on your wedding day – maybe especially on your stressful, busy, super-emotional wedding day – you quite literally begin your life together by leaning on each other.
Erin and Dustin had a gorgeous destination wedding to a resort in Jamaica. However, it was one of those resorts that require that you have their house photographer at your wedding. If your style is on the “untacky” side, these photos might not cut it for you. While their photographer was very very nice and never once got mad at me for doing my own thing, he also made Erin & Dustin do cheeseball things like this:
and this:
that's right- Dustin is taking the garter off with his teeth
Erin & Dustin were good sports and joked around and laughed through the whole “photo shoot” with the staff photographer, but the little moment that I captured at the end – which the house photographer did not – is who they really are. And that’s what we aim for with wedding photography. Not super staged craziness, but a brief glimpse into your love and new life together.
It’s right after the ceremony. Your very closest friends, immediate family members, a big Hawaiian officiant, and Ciras Photography surround you. The photographers are snapping away, everyone’s hugging everyone, the Hawaiian officiant is talking with your mom about his wife. And all you see is each other.
That’s why I love this photo. On a wedding day, even in the midst of chaos, (even if it is just mild chaos, because Nick and Nicole’s wedding only had 22 attendees) you can block everyone else out.
We have lots of fabulous photos from this wedding (which you can see here and here) but this one holds a special place in my heart because it’s a real moment, unscripted, unplanned, and completely adorable.
