I have been a wedding photographer going into my 8th season. Needless to say, I have been to my fair share of weddings. I often get asked how I got into photography and weddings specifically. Like many things, the road is not linear, nor flat - it was a curvy, hilly series of successes and failures and a great deal of the “in between”, where I sometimes can’t tell if I am going in the right direction or not.

Wedding photography for me started off with a chance encounter with an amazing husband and wife wedding photography team, located in Arizona. I took a leap of faith and enrolled in their in-person workshop. It was an eye-opening experience that I won’t ever forget. I made some photography friends and even met a wonderful photographer from Frankenmuth. She took me under her wing and showed me the ropes. That is the thing about wedding photography that is unlike other niches, most couples are not going to hire a photographer that has never shot a wedding, but to gain experience, you need to photograph weddings. Catch 22.

After I gained some experience and started photographing my own weddings, my main goal was to get beautiful photos. Period. I would pour over Pinterest and Instagram dreaming of photographing million-dollar weddings where there was a beautiful scene everywhere you looked. The problem was, I wasn’t photographing those types of weddings. I wasn’t at a cliff-side wedding on the coast of somewhere amazing, with arbors dripping with flowers and a gentle breeze blowing the white linen fabrics. I was in a barn or huddled under a roof overhang as rain poured off the end. I felt like a failure. Why wasn’t I getting these amazing venues with all the florals and perfectly flowy linens?

Then it dawned on me…When I photographed a wedding, I was just there to capture beautiful photos - what I didn’t realize was that it was just the entry fee. Of course, the images needed to be beautiful, but I needed a better “why”. Deep down I knew I wanted my couples to feel something when they saw their wedding gallery. I wanted them to see the “spark” they share. I wanted them to see the love they have for one another reflecting back at them.

After this realization, my whole approach to wedding photography changed. I still love photographing beautiful things, but those beautiful things have shifted a bit. I see beauty in the way the bride and groom look at one another from across the room or the way he touches the small of her back; how she holds his arm. I see beauty in the important people in the front row at the ceremony and the way the littlest guests pull each other onto the dance floor at the reception. I don’t want my couples to send me a mood board or list of poses they like. I want them to live in the moment on their wedding day and trust that I will capture it all in a way that reflects who they are.

I have trained myself to see the little moments throughout the day and use them to tell the couple’s story from start to finish. The big moments matter too, but I find that it is the little moments and authentic connections happening all around you that you come back to time and time again.