The picture behind the picture

This was the photo I was waiting for... my sister and my dad as he was going to walk her down the isle when she was about to say "I do". There is eight years difference between my sister and I and when her husband proposed and we started discussing her wedding, it was an instant answer between us both, she wanted me to be the photographer. The planning continued for what seemed like ages, the small details, the flowers, the thank you gifts and invitations that we all helped with were finally finished just days before the big event in November of 2011. I wanted to make sure that I gave my sister what she wanted, but also was able to enjoy the day myself. She is my only sister, and after discussion with several other photographers I enlisted the help of my husband, (who is my right hand at all of my wedding shoots) and two photographers who we attend church with, Nate and Penny. I had given clear instructions of the things that I wanted: The location they were to be, the angle I wanted shots, the moments that couldn't be recreated. Nate and Penny were a wonderful help and relieved a lot of pressure from me when I just wanted to be in the moment where I was Lauren's sister.

When I got the images from Nate and Penny I was very thankful for the shots of me. It's VERY rare that I am in an image. There is a reason that I am on the other end of the camera, that's where I find comfort and allow myself to live through the images that I am capturing.

Yet, there I was, on the other side of the camera. Ironically, if I had to appear in an image, this is how I would want to appear, as natural as possible. And for me, being in a photo where I am taking one of the most important photos I've ever taken, meant the world to me. The first image of Scott and myself with Lauren and my dad behind the closed doors of the church sanctuary was a culmination of months of planning and preparation. This was her moment. The moment when she would wait for Scott and my Aunt Karen to open those doors and she would walk down the isle to marry the man of her dreams.

I had asked for moments from Penny and Nate where only they would be shooting, so that I, in my "sisterly" moments could participate in the ceremony. That would be the second image of me. This is me being Lauren's sister. Had I not been capturing the moments that defined her wedding day, I would have been in a pew with one single perspective. In this image I was holding back tears because I knew I was saying goodbye to the little girl who had filled my life with love, tears, cookies, and lots of hamburger helper dinners, and saying hello to my sister as she grows into a wife, and a woman that I had just realized she was. I'll post another blog of my sister's photos but this is just to say Thank You to Scott, Nate and Penny for your help and support on Lauren's Wedding Day!