A Bryan Photo on Preserving Family Moments - Creating Weddings with Meaning

A Bryan Photo on Preserving Family Moments - Creating Weddings with Meaning

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A few years ago, our friend Bryan Johnson of A Bryan Photo wrote a piece for us, "Preserving Family Moments." It holds true to our core values of focusing on what is meaningful. Bryan has cultivated such an incredibly talented team of photographers, and it's clear that all of them absolutely love what they do. And while I would normally let the photos do most of the talking, in this case, Bryan has perfectly put into words the importance of wedding photography in preserving family moments...

I recently was faced with the overwhelming task of documenting a wedding for a bride and groom who each had a terminally ill parent. Going into the wedding, my heart felt heavy for this beautiful young couple and the weight of the situation. In my mind it became perfectly clear what was most important about their wedding day. It wasn't about capturing the special details & decor or finding a way to make this wedding the most unique. No, those things took a back seat. Instead the focus was on these two lovely families and the life they have built together. A month after the wedding, the groom's father passed away and I helped the family choose prints for the memorial service.

Often I forget, unless I'm faced with these dire situations, what is most important. I need a reminder that these quiet family moments should be the lifeline of the wedding story. A wedding is the culmination of a family's legacy and history. The photography should be preservation of a life that has been built and shaped by those closest to the couple.

When Ashley and I got married ten years ago, our wedding was not cool or unique. It wouldn't be worthy of being published on any blog nor in any magazine. Yet when I show my wedding album to my kids, they light up looking at images of their parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. These are the images that still matter and that carry significance a decade later. This is why the documentation of families deserves great respect and attention on the wedding day. Whether by taking a few great portraits with siblings or by capturing those quiet and endearing moments with parents, great effort should go into their preservation.

All photos by A Bryan Photo.

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