First wedding as a PHOTOGRAPHER - Abby + Brady - June 3, 2023

When I first made the decision to go full time as a videographer, effectively abandoning my “career" in broadcasting I had already done a few weddings for friends, family, and co-workers. I knew that I could rely on myself enough to network and book clients, because the caliber of work that I was putting out was well beyond anything anyone else was offering in my immediate area.

I was often asked to do photos for weddings by those who had seen my videos posted (this was circa 2017) and I would politely decline and recommend one of the two photographers I trusted enough to handle their special day the way it should be.

I was offered the opportunity to photograph my first wedding by one of my closest relatives; my cousin Brady and his fiancé Abby. I politely declined the offer made by his mother, my aunt, because I wasn’t completely sure that I could cover it and provide enough quality in my work to justify the cost, but she insisted after her photographer fell through and I’m very glad that I did.

One of the biggest obstacles for anybody trying anything new is the anxiety and fear of the unknown that comes with taking on an unfamiliar task. I wont pretend that I don’t already know a wealth of information about film/cinematography and that I was already a few steps ahead going into this, but I had never had to take the lead on a photography assignment outside of family and commercial shoots until this past weekend, so the anxiety was still there in full force. Thankfully, that quickly dissipated, due to the warmth and kindness I received from everyone I met that day, from friends, family, and strangers alike.

I headed up on Friday and spent the night on site with the groomsmen, many of which I’d known through my teenage years into my adult life. We spent the night playing trivia and reminiscing about “the good old days” and honestly it was refreshing and delightful and a much needed reset from the routine. We woke up the following morning, had breakfast, and I was surprised to learn that we were heading to do couples and wedding party pictures shortly after. It was stressed to me that I was to enjoy the day as a guest first and photographer second, but I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to start earlier. You live and you learn, or you don’t, but I always try to only make the same mistake once and only ONCE.

We spent the next fifteen minutes playing find where we left the ties, got ready, and headed out to meet the rest of the gang. We arrived at our first location (forgive me please, but there are so many scenic venues on Seneca that I can’t remember specifically which one it was) and I was immediately greeted with open arms by Abby and the bridal party as well as her parents, who couldn’t have possibly been more hospitable; a gesture that I’ll be forever grateful for.

We started with pictures at the house the girls had gotten ready at and I positioned both parties with the couple between them in front to achieve a nice symmetrical shot of everyone, but had to move them slightly more forward than I initially planned because Charlie was tall enough that the roof blocked the top of his head. I plan on providing this picture to Abby and Brady for its comedic value as I know everyone will appreciate it, especially Charlie. Being so close with almost everyone involved in the wedding provides me with more room to make those decisions and hopefully it can become a thing as well for future couples! This was also the first opportunity I was presented with to include my son Gavin, who had also been invited as a guest to grab a couple shots on my second camera. He proved to be the best second I’ve ever had and I would love to be able to include him in future bookings when/where it’s appropriate. My favorite part about having my eldest child participate in capturing the day is that I never had to or wanted to push him into doing something he wasn’t interested in. He just naturally became interested and honestly picked it up much faster than I did as an adult. I couldn’t be more proud of him.

After finishing up with the posed group photos we headed down to the pier where I was able to get some shots of just the couple and (thanks to Photoshop AI, removing all of the background traffic on the lake) they turned out amazing. I put up my favorite single shot on my Instagram page as it might be my favorite photo I’ve ever taken.

Gavin accompanied me to the ceremony location and we took the opportunity to mingle with family, friends, and some new faces as well until it was time to start. I gave him a brief rundown on where to be and what to do and he completely nailed it. Being so close to Brady my entire life and watching this moment unfold is something I’ll remember forever, even without the photographic proof.

Afterward, everyone just kind of hung out up the road at the campsite and we spent the night reminiscing and trying my hardest to steer the conversation away from old war stories that might have made Gavin think differently of his old man. I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend or a better couple to share it with and I’ll remember it fondly for the rest of my life.