I had been with Allan once to a wedding shoot but only for part of the event. He had me assist him with one shot and I was a bag of nerves. This time I had my own camera. My plan was to support Allan and do some shooting of my own and whatever else he needed me to do. Well, I was a bundle of nerves again. Firstly, I am not a professional photographer and secondly this is a high stakes event. I told Allan that he had to get all the necessary photographs and not to expect anything from me. I was just going to entertain myself with the camera. Even that was enough pressure for me!
We got to Sudbury on Wednesday and immediately we were on the job. We scoped out the wedding location. Allan talked to the people there and analyzed how the light was going to be at the same time and where images could be set up. We drove a little bit through town with Allan sizing up other locations for images. What does a photographer’s wife do? She stands in for the bride and groom during location testing.
On Thursday we ran the routes we would run on wedding day: from our place to dad’s place where the bride would get dressed to the groom’s place to the wedding location. What time would we need to start? What time would we need to leave to get to the next place?
Friday was rehearsal day, a time to see how the ceremony would be set up, how the processions would go and a time to ask specific questions. It was the final day to prepare all our equipment: batteries charged, memory cards empty, RV tanks emptied and clothes ready to go. Then a relaxing beer!
Saturday. Wedding Day!
Wedding Day was non-stop from morning to evening. First to the bride’s side, getting prep pictures and any images anticipating the big day.
Next to the groom’s side.
The wedding venue took up most of the day. Allan wanted me to move around and catch things from a different angle and perspective. Since I had never shot a wedding before, I didn’t know what was good to capture and what was unnecessary. So I kept shooting. Allan would have to go through it all anyway.
After all ceremony, speeches, dances and family group shots, it was on to the location shoot with the bride and groom. Here's how that testing plays out in a wedding image.
After a fast-paced day, we relaxed with the wedding party guests at a small dinner gathering at a lovely Italian restaurant.
I’ll go through more images from the wedding once they have all been completed and curated by Allan. For now, here are a few of my favorite raw images from my camera.
