Vivier Wedding

                Walk through a check-out counter at the grocery store and you will see any number of magazine covers sporting a beautiful bride in an elegant dress. I really didn’t even know these bridal magazines existed until my own wedding in 2004. Suddenly my wife was carrying around a small stack of them and asking my opinion about dresses, flowers, and cakes. I never thought I would be worried about the color of my tie matching the bride’s maid’s dresses, but apparently this is very important. While there are many decisions to be made during the wedding planning, choosing a photographer tends to be at the top of the list. My wife and I still talk about the whirlwind that was our wedding day and how grateful we are to have those memories captured and framed. Even today there is a beautiful black and white image of my wife and I caught in a brief embrace hanging in our room. If we didn’t stop to think about it we could simply assume that these types of images have been the standard wedding photography from generation to generation, however, history paints (or shootsJ ) a different picture.

                Wedding images began to be made around the early to mid 1800’s. At this point in history paper photographs didn’t exist. Images were captured on glass plates or copper and tin sheets. These images, like the one below, are called daguerreotype portraits.

Jenny Lind and Otto Goldschmidt 

Click here for picture details.

                Believe it or not the image above is an actual wedding portrait. A shot like this today would have me forking out a refund faster than you can say “doily neck thingy” but this was the standard of the day. Photography gear wasn’t nearly as portable as what we have today and as such, most portraits were taken in the studio rather than on-location on the day of the wedding. They tend to be shot a week or two before the wedding day, show the bride and groom in their nicest clothing offering a fairly somber expression, and typically only one image was made. As time went on and gear became more portable wedding images became more commonplace, the number increased and the style began to change. Around the Second World War we begin to see a larger number of formal wedding shots being captured and placed into wedding albums, and in the 1970’s the shift to “documentary” wedding photography begins.

                Today most photographers will spend an average of 8 to 10 hours capturing a single wedding. From the mani/pedi to the last dance at the reception and everything in between, couples want to make sure every detail of the day is captured. I recently had the opportunity to capture MaryAnne and Eric Vivier’s wedding and it was such an honor to join them for such an amazing event.

                If you can conjure in your mind the stereotypical “bridezilla” MaryAnne is the farthest thing from it. She and Eric were completely laid back and a joy to work with. I had a feeling this would be the case when MaryAnne began our initial consult telling me about their Futurama wedding cake topper. On the wedding day each guest was given a vial of wildflower seeds as a gift and the imagery of these flowers seemed a great analogy of the adventure that awaits Eric and MaryAnne. A seed is planted and as it is fed and nurtured an amazing life springs forth. As it matures and flowers it not only becomes stronger but it lends beauty and life to those around it.

                Congratulations Eric and MaryAnne! Your optimistic and compassionate character is so encouraging and I was blessed by my time with you and your family. Blessings to you on your new adventure and thanks for letting us capture a part of your story.

Images below are some of my favorites from my second shooter Linsey Field.