Get the Job Done: Jessaca and Nathan's Wedding

Photo by Sean Donnelly

Sometimes persistence pays off. In the case of Jessaca and Nathan's Christmas Wedding in December, that perseverance made the ultimate difference in the coverage of one of the most memorable days in their lives.

If you remember, the officiant of Jessaca and Nathan's wedding originally refused to allow I and second shooting Sean Donnelly to shoot the service because it was considered a sacred ceremony. But I just couldn't get over the fact that this couple had hired me to shoot their wedding, but that I WOULDN'T actually be able to shoot the event. It bugged me so much that I tracked the officiant down just minutes before the ceremony and asked him again to tell me again if we would be violating church policy to shoot the ceremony. He said that flash would be disruptive during the ceremony and he didn't believe our equipment would be able to capture anything inside the dark church. When I told him we did have the equipment capable of shooting the wedding without flash and that we could shoot it from the balcony without disrupting the service, he said "go ahead, but the photos aren't going to be any good."

I'm glad he was able to look past his doubts to give us a chance to shoot the ceremony. It was the best gift I could ever have given Jessaca who had no idea that Sean and I were clandestinely photographing the wedding from balcony! I got some great story telling shots with my 24-70 while Sean snared some great detailed shots with his telephoto.



photo by Sean Donnelly

photo by Sean Donnelly

photo by Sean Donnelly

photo by Sean Donnelly

Fans and followers get a special gallery sneak peak. Check out Jessaca and Nathan's wedding using this link, password Zion. Just a few minutes ago, I edited the last image from Jessaca and Nathan's Christmas Wedding. Out of more than nearly 2000 images shot, 355 were edited and will be placed in her album.

Here are several of my favorites. If you like what you see and think my style meshes with how you envision your wedding day, book it with me today. I promise I will go above and beyond you, too!









photo by Sean Donnelly

photo by Sean Donnelly

I will post up more favorites from the reception later this week! Enjoy

Get the Job Done: A wedding booking with a twist

Yesterday evening I had a wedding consultation with a young couple who's nuptials I will be shooting in December. Jessica and Nathan are such a fun pair that I know I'm going to have a blast with them. In fact, their wedding will present me with a new challenge: their church won't allow me to shoot the actual ceremony!

During the consultation, the couple explained that their church's restriction not allowing any photography to take place during the nuptials, deemed a sacred rite that shouldn't be disturbed with flashes, etc. The only chance I and my assistants might have would be to shoot from a balcony. That wouldn't be so difficult if it weren't for the fact that the wedding will be at night and the balcony is very far away from the altar. I have the equipment that would allow me to get some decent shots even in low light and no flash (High ISO and a tripod to the rescue!). Another photography colleague said she and her lead shooter had to work under similar circumstances and got good results by turning most of the images into black and white, allowing the low light to create ambience and mood.



But my client voiced concerns that she didn't want to upset anyone at the church by not following their rules. I think my best course of action is to speak with the officiant and church wedding planner to hear out their concerns and see if there will be time allotted for us to recreate some of the key moments from the ceremony after the wedding, including the bride walking down the aisle, the vows and ring exchange and "the kiss." The church will be decorated for the holidays with clear lights and gold and silver bulbs shimmering. It should be gorgeous! And if it snows, which is likely, we can have fun with that as well!



Jessica and Nathan want full coverage of the wedding preparation, including both of them getting dressed, formal portraits of relatives and the wedding party and about an hour or so of their reception, capturing highlights such as the cutting of the cake and the first dance. My assistants and I will also be working off a shot list to expediate the shooting, as my clients only booked three hours of actual shooting time. During the meeting, Jessica also booked a bridal session, which is wonderful!

Even though I have set wedding packages, I think every couple I've worked with so far has appreciated knowing that my ala carte items helped them create a custom package based on their specific needs. Jessica and Nathan also enjoyed having access to view a previous wedding I shot last month. That allowed me to talk to them about the differences between candid captures and traditional posed shots, as well as the type of shots they preferred. They both picked out the photos included in this post as some of their favorites, taken during Harriet and Peter's lovely day.

It's interesting to note how Jessica became my most recent wedding client. About six months ago, Jessica's company sent her to my house to do an estimate for some work I needed. I remember her walking around my home, asking me if all the photos I had up were my own work. I had no idea at the time, but Jessica would soon be getting married, and when it came time for her chose a photographer to capture her special day, she said I was the first person she thought of, "because I knew you did good work!"