I recently had a potential bride ask me the following question: What’s your favorite part of shooting weddings? If I’m being honest, I was caught off guard by this question. I had never had someone ask me this before. I know I love photographing weddings, but I had never really thought about what my favorite part about shooting them was. My mind started to race and run through multiple answers to this question, but I knew I needed to really dedicate some time to think this through.

Luckily when she asked this question, it was through an email, so I actually could process the question. It was hard to narrow it down to just one answer, so I came up with 4. Enjoy!

1.) I love helping couples navigate one of the biggest days of their life!

For many of my clients, this is their first time getting married and this is likely the biggest event that they have ever planned. This journey can be filled with frustration, stress, and the overwhelming feeling that you are missing something. Since I am shooting weddings all year long, I know the in’s and outs of a wedding day. I seriously love creating content and providing resources to brides that help them feel better prepared to tackle wedding planning. I also play a big role in helping execute the wedding day as well. If you really think about it, the wedding photographer helps set the tone for the day. I can help shape whatever environment we are in, to one that is fun, stress-free, and memorable. It is seriously a huge honor when couples trust us with capturing the memories of their wedding day. Lara and I always give it 100% when it comes to serving our couples anyway we can!

2.) I love people.
No really, I love people! Meeting with couples who are interested in hiring us, is so much fun to me! I love getting to know them and hearing their story. We try to take a more personal approach with our couples and actually have a presence in their lives. I want to hear when brides find their dress and are super excited or when the groom has a personal win in his life. I truly believe that it’s my love for people that makes me a photographer that people enjoy working with. I don’t just want to capture beautiful moments on your wedding day, I want to have fun with you as we do it. To me, friendships and relationships are one of the most important things we have on this earth.

3.) I love creating!
I’ve been shooting since 2009 and it’s been one of the best creative outlets I have in my life. Now when I say that I love creating that doesn’t just mean creating beautiful photographs. There are so many layers to being a wedding photographer that go beyond just clicking the shutter. Most people are initially pretty nervous about stepping in front of a camera. I have the opportunity to help create an experience for them that helps them drop their guard and become comfortable with me and in front of the camera. It truly is an art form. Most people don’t just start being romantic and lovey-dovey during their engagement session, I have to help create those moments. Some photographers hate editing but I truly love it! It’s like finishing a painting to me. Most days after a wedding I will run home like a little kid on Christmas morning and begin tweaking a few photos. My editing style is one of the biggest creative fingerprints I can leave on a wedding day.

4.) I love the unknown!
This might seem like an odd thing to love about weddings…but I that each one is different and presents its own sets of unknowns and challenges to overcome! Every venue has different lighting situations and even if I have shot somewhere before if the ceremony is at a different time of day the lighting is completely different. This might terrify some photographers, but I love embracing the challenge! Sometimes due to uncontrollable circumstances, the wedding timeline gets thrown off and I have to be extremely considerate of our time to be able to ensure that the bride and groom still get a good amount of romantic portraits. Photographing a wedding keeps me on my toes and has my brain firing on all cylinders! I get to problem solve all day long and help make sure that the Bride and Groom have the best day of their life.

I am so thankful that I took a risk and went full time with CCP to pursue a career that I look forward to doing every single day!