It’s funny really, to think that I have attended more weddings over the last three years than most people would attend in a lifetime. Come summer time it’s like I am a wedding crasher every single weekend. It’s one of those circumstances where I get off easy because people can see that I have a camera and assume I am a vendor but there are so many aspects of a day where I feel like a lucky little fly on the wall as I watch moments unfold with people I barely know. Truth be told, weddings are pretty amazing. When you stop and think about the event beyond the florals and the centerpieces, the dresses and the cake, it’s this one day where two worlds fully collide and your closest friends and families are witnesses to the promises you make to the human you want to wake up next to for eighty more years.
Being a wedding crasher has it’s perks – especially when you are given a backstage pass to the most important day of your clients lives.I get to be there when you slip into your dress and your mom straightens your veil. I’m next to you when your dad sees his baby girl as a bride and you can tell by the look in his eyes that you are still that five year old toothy girl who loves Barbies. I am there with my eyes welling when I watch you walk down the aisle, I glance back at your best friends all standing in a row and we share a little grin that tells me that you are the most beautiful bride they have ever laid eyes on. I get to see your gentle hand squeezes when your soon-to-be husband takes you from your dad’s arm and I am there to watch your parents cling to one another in disbelief that you are old enough to say the vows and mean them with every ounce of your being. I get to watch you waltz down the aisle as husband and wife and hear you whisper “We did it!” to one another in celebration. I get to hold hands with your niece as she prepares to bust a Beyonce move on the dance floor and I grab your grandmother’s purse when she smiles to get her photo taken with you.
You see, it isn’t about the flowers and the invites, the seating charts and the peonies, in fact, it has nothing to do with those things. Sure they make for a pretty blog post or an epic album, yes, they help you to preserve every aspect of your day but the photos that you will cling to aren’t ones of shoes. They are the photos of your grandpa, smiling and dancing to a polka on the dance floor. You’ll hold tight to the photos of you and your siblings cheek to cheek and happy, the photos of your flower girl holding your bouquet and thinking about her own fairy tale wedding day. It’s the images of your best friend raising their glass as they toast to the fact that they will always be there for you and the picture of your parents watching your slideshow and seeing your life flash before them in a matter of minutes. Those will be the ones that you will never let go of.
Being a wedding photographer means that I get to (beautifully) crash weddings every single weekend. I sweat and dance and smile my way through your day as I soak in the moments I pray you will never forget. The truth is, you might not realize how important each image is until you are forced to. On those days when you argue and need a reminder of how much you love one another, the day you are dying to remember your grandma’s smile or the way your grandpa looked at you all grown up, you might forget that your wedding was more than just a party but my images will be there to show you the way your mom looked when she saw herself in you as you walked down the aisle, the pain in your dads eyes as he gave you away, the joy in your siblings as they watched their baby sister grow up. You see, your wedding is an event that I am dying to crash – not because I want your hors d’oeuvres or care about your food truck, because I want to be a piece of history, I want to be there on the day that your lives forever changed, I want to tell your story for generations to come, and I want to be a piece of the puzzle that is your happiness. I promise I won’t come up with a wild back story or a fake name, I won’t judge your crazy uncle or your sorority sisters dance moves, I won’t mind if you kick your heels off so you can dance barefoot, and I sure as heck won’t mind if you are so lost in the moments that you forget I am there – in fact, I welcome it. So what do you say? Can I crash your wedding day?
Psh, don’t go anywhere the fun is just getting started:
Jenna, you have a real gift. Love how you write. Keep making girls dress come t rue, in capturing a girls very special day.
Oh my gosh, my Jenna. You are amazing. I couldn’t have asked for anyone better to be with me during all those special moments. You have (obviously) become more than a photographer to me–you are a friend. That day was so special because of you, and I can’t thank you enough for that. You’re the best, and I love you! Thanks for being my Jenna! 🙂
Jenna Kristina golden Aunt again. Love reading your post and see g your amazing photoS. You have a wonderful talent. Keep making brides day.
Jenna, Oh, how I treasure the memories you captured of Cody & Lisey’s day. I find myself looking at them time and time again and always seeing something new and remembering yet another beautiful nomen from the best day of this Momma’s life.
Jenna, Oh how I treasure the memories you captured of Cody & Lisey’s day. I find myself looking at them time & time again. Each time finding something new and bringing back yet another precious memory from the best day if this Momma’s life. It was so much more than a camera, it was the eyes behind it. Thank God, you were there.
You are saying everything that I’ve felt as a wedding photographer. I love getting to be a part of all of those “little” (read: important!) parts of your day. Like when you show your wedding shoes to your besties for the first time, or when the groom secretly shows me the gift he is going to give you, the one he’s told no one else about…. I love every second of it! You have a gift, Jenna! I love your images and your story (and stories). Keep it up! <3