The moments
in between.
Jessica and Patrick were married at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Edina, then celebrated at Interlachen Country Club. A November wedding, with a little fall color still around.
I remember the doorway light, the smiles before the aisle, and the children finding their own place in the day. Those are the photographs I keep watching for.
Something blue.
A little autumn.
I always like to photograph the details before the day gets moving. At her mother’s house, I took Jessica’s light blue shoes outside and used the fall leaves around them. A little color from the day, right at the beginning.
The rings,
with a little color.
I stayed with the shoes and the autumn leaves for the rings. It’s a small arrangement, but it connects these details to the season and to the place where she was getting ready.
Patrick,
above the pews.
At St. Stephen’s, I found Patrick and made a few portraits before the first look. The balcony gave me a view of him with the church behind him. The arches and the timber make a beautiful setting in black and white.
Watch her
mother’s expression.
Down in the room at the church, her mother helped Jessica get dressed. I wanted her mom’s expression in this photograph. You can still see Jessica’s smile in the softer reflection behind her.
Then a change
of focus.
Then I moved my focus to Jessica’s reflection. Same room, another smile. Sometimes a small change in where you focus gives you a different part of the same moment.
The first time
they see each other.
It was a little cold, so we did their first look inside the church. I watched Patrick’s expression as Jessica came toward him. After that first reaction, I like to give a couple a little room.
A little space.
A real moment.
Once they had seen each other, I stepped back and let them talk. He gave her a kiss, and I kept photographing. There’s no need to keep directing when a moment like this is happening on its own.
A little autumn
by the creek.
We went outside for a little while to use the fall color that was still hanging around. There’s a lovely creek behind St. Stephen’s, and we made time for a portrait there before returning to the church.
A look behind
the photograph.
You can see me in this one. My assistant made the photograph while I was working with Jessica in the church doorway. I put her where the available light could reach her, with the interior falling dark behind.
The doorway
and the church.
A wider view holds the stonework, the window, and Jessica standing in the doorway. The architecture gives the portrait its frame, with the light coming in from outside.
Let the light
come to her.
Standing right in the doorway, Jessica had beautiful available light on her while the church behind went dark. I like how the light brings out the dress and the shape of her pose.
A little closer.
We stayed in that doorway light for a closer portrait of the two of them. A different distance, the same lovely light, and their faces held against the darker church behind.
Let them
have a moment.
Outside, I put them by the gates and gave them a little space. I looked as though I was busy with my camera, then watched what happened. They relaxed together, and I caught a few natural moments.
Their people,
all together.
We made family photographs outside before the ceremony. The church gave us a familiar background, and the leaves on the ground brought a little more of November into the picture.
The little ones
beside her.
Then Jessica with the flower girls. I like getting everyone close together for a photograph like this. There would be more little moments with these girls before she walked down the aisle.
Stone lines.
Red berries.
I liked the strong lines of the steps for Patrick’s portrait. Then I noticed the red berries above him and worked them into the frame. Those little pieces of color can make a photograph feel like the day.
Another way
to see the berries.
For another angle, I focused on the berries and let Patrick soften behind them. I had already made the straightforward portrait. This gave me a different way to keep the same scene.
A little help
with the veil.
Back downstairs, the children were busy with Jessica’s veil. The ring bearer was trying to help, and I loved the flower girl’s look toward me, as though she was wondering what he was doing.
Stay and watch.
I kept photographing as the children moved around her and the veil spread across the room. Nothing needed arranging. I just needed to stay close enough to see what happened next.
The last
twenty minutes.
I like to spend the last twenty minutes before the aisle with the bride. Jessica moved to this chair, and the flower girls were right there with her. These are the little behind-the-scenes photographs you find by staying and watching.
Now it’s
their turn.
The same girls who had been with Jessica downstairs were now walking down the aisle. I love having both parts of that story: the little room before the ceremony, and the moment everyone gets to see.
A view
from the balcony.
I went up to the balcony to photograph the aisle from behind. St. Stephen’s gives you such a beautiful perspective from there—the arches, the pews, and everyone turned toward the bride. I love this view in black and white.
The smile
waiting for her.
And at the other end of the aisle, Patrick’s smile. I wanted the story to hold his reaction as Jessica and her dad came toward him, as well as the wider view of the church.
My favorite
of the day.
On the way back down the aisle, one of the flower girls reached up, and Jessica gave her a high-five. This was my favorite photograph of the day.
That little
high-five.
A few pages earlier, those flower girls were helping with the veil and standing beside Jessica before the ceremony. Then, as she and Patrick came back down the aisle, there was this.
I love a photograph that ties the day together without anyone planning it. The little girl reaching up, Jessica turning toward her, Patrick smiling beside her. That was the moment.
A little more
celebrating outside.
After the ceremony, they came out of the church to a shower of rose petals. Smiles, people gathered close, and one more piece of the celebration before heading to the reception.
The table
at Interlachen.
The reception was at Interlachen Country Club in Edina. I wanted a photograph of the table before the evening filled it with people—the flowers, the glassware, and that lovely window light.
A different view
of the cake.
I made the expected cake-cutting photographs, then looked for something else. Here, the cake and the glasses lead the picture, with Jessica and Patrick a little softer behind them. A small change in perspective keeps things interesting.
Across the table.
Another smile.
A candid moment while they were sitting together at the reception. I like to keep watching between the scheduled parts of a wedding. The looks a couple gives each other can be just as lovely as anything we arrange.
One more
way to see it.
For the first dance, I made photographs of their faces and the two of them together, then moved closer for their hands. I always like to leave a little room for a different photograph in the story.
The moments
in between.
The pale blue shoes against the leaves. A mother’s expression. A quiet kiss after the first look. A high-five on the way back down the aisle.
I want the photographs to keep the whole day, including the little things that happen when everyone is simply being themselves.