Why Photography is the Most Important Part of Your Wedding Day
Obviously, you are having a wedding to get married. That’s pretty important. The other main reason you have a wedding day is to create memories that mark this most momentous occasion in your life. That is where a wedding photographer is needed. If weddings and elopements are all about making memories, then wedding day photography is truly the most important part of your day!
Yes, you could have gotten married in secret, eloped just the two of you and told no one. Even elopements with zero guests will commonly still involve a photographer such as yours truly and often even a videographer. It varies according to the couple, but even elopements commonly still involve a photographic record.
What Matters Most Is What Lasts the Longest
The logic is very simple: your photos are the only thing that lasts beyond your wedding day (besides your love of course). The only thing that’s able to take you back right down the aisle and to your first kiss are your photos. Your wedding day photography is part of your story–the thing you’ll share with future friends and family when you are 80 years old.
Do you realize that we are literally freezing time? We are creating a way to hold onto moments that you’ll never get back–even if you forget them. If there is anything worth investing in, it’s capturing those little moments. For myself, I wanted to photograph my husband and I at the start of our journey. I also wanted to capture the feelings from everyone there: my mom giving me a tight hug before walking out to the ceremony, or my grandparents dancing silly at the reception. I can experience those exact moments again because they were photographed.
Moments Worth More Than Anything
I hope to give those same feelings back to you. To capture your entire experience as a beautiful whole. We are going to take KILLER couples photos, but along with that I want to preserve the feelings throughout your wedding day. The look on your faces as you experience a beautiful destination together for the first time. The huge smiles of everyone along with the happy tears. All of your loved ones will never be in one place with you like this again. Highlighting those relationships is so important.
What To Do With What You’ve Got
When couples ask me what to do with their photos my answer is a very loud: DISPLAY, DISPLAY, DISPLAY!! Trust me, it will make you so happy! Also, make an album. Photos are not meant to live on tiny screens. They are meant to be held in your hands and viewed just like a storybook. When you look back on your story over the years, you will feel like you are right back there again!
Having a physical album or print can assist you in feeling the music, the hugs, and your partner’s arms around you. I hope seeing yourself through your wedding day photography memories makes you feel all the joy!
Take It From Someone Who Knows It Firsthand
I know this sounds self-serving coming from a wedding photographer, so take it from one of my beloved couples instead! I had the privilege of capturing both their engagement session pictured here at the Kennedy Center’s Victura Park at the REACH in Washington, DC, and their wedding! This is what they had to say about why pre-wedding and wedding day photography was so important to them in telling their love story:
“We love that Shelly seems to capture real people and who they are. Her photos tell a story, not just a posed image of people. We’d love to look back on our wedding and see images that remind us how we felt, surrounded by the people that love us, not just that we can look good all dressed up. We want to see all the details that made the day so special.”
