Planning a wedding….
No, not my own. I have been happily married for a long time. 
I got a call tonight while I was writing a blog entry on a different topic (don’t worry, I’ll get back to it), from two friends of mine who have asked me to photograph their wedding. I have known the bride-to-be for years and the groom-to-be for about a year. They are both wonderful people who deserve each other!
Weddings are stressful things! After all, how many times do you want to go through this?
I am glad that my high-tech jobs required a talent for interpersonal relations and clear communications in stressful situations. I was happy to “talk over” a lot of details tonight over the phone, because my head cold last week made a second face-to-face meeting a bad idea. (Since I have largely recovered, we plan that second meeting soon.) I was also glad that we all knew each other before my professional involvement in their wedding – it increased the “trust level” immeasurably!
To those planning their weddings:
- Engage a photographer who will take the time to understand YOUR needs. They will be different from the needs of other clients.
- Work with the photographer to clarify any parts of the contract that seem unclear to you. Make those clarifications in writing.
- Realize that photographers have to protect themselves from unreasonable demands, just as YOU do!
- Be flexible, and require the photographer to be flexible. Many things about photography and about client-photographer relationships are changing.
- Remember the needs of the guests of your wedding! There will be guests ranging from those comfortable with social media and mobile communications to those who have never used a computer. All will want images from your wedding! Work with the photographer to discover the best ways to make this happen for YOUR wedding!
- Most importantly, RELAX! As I said above, “After all, how many times do you want to go through this?” You want to ENJOY this experience to the maximum!
The phone call went well. One of the realities of living in California is that family members and friends who will attend a wedding may live in distant parts of the U.S. or in other countries. This is true of my friends and their wedding. The fact that both of my friends are professionals means that they have “collected” scattered groups of friends “along the way” in their lives.
One of the truly joyous things about California is that such weddings bring together very different people, from very different places, to celebrate the wedding of their loved ones and to celebrate their connection to them.
For one occasion, all of these folks will be gathered at the same time, in the same place. It is the awesome responsibility of the photographer to memorialize that gathering.
-Bill at
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