On February 1 of 2013 at 4pm, the day before my own wedding, our marquee collapsed and was ruined in a storm. Hmmm…
Everything had been ready. The entire wedding was prepared – completely DIY. We had organised a private property for the ceremony and reception (we got married at Growwild, which is owned and operated by my parents). We had purchased a marquee. We had trawled garage sales and markets for vintage tea cups, saucers, plates and cutlery. We had hired a pizza oven. We had chosen a celebrant that we thought represented us: young, vibrant, passionate. We had constructed our own dance floor, had run 200m of fairy lights inside our marquee. Organised each guest to bring a salad as a contribution to the pizza. Organised desert. I had made probably the most kick-ass playlist known to mankind.
And finally, by 4pm, the day before the wedding.. there was no more to do. The marquee was completely setup, the tables all set, ready for the next day.
Then out of no-where a freak storm came in, picked up our marquee, threw it on the ground. The marquee was ruined. Our table settings were destroyed. We had to deconstruct our tables, remove all our place settings, and rush it all to a nearby shed (it was raining). By 7pm we had no tables setup, no decorations, and an 80 person wedding the following day. And a busted, unusable marquee.
What I learned from this
You see, weddings don’t always go as you plan they will. In fact, they never do.
I ended up having an absolute blast at my own wedding. I wouldn’t change a thing (we ended up getting a better marquee!)
I did learn something very important. A wedding is many things: a celebration, a ritual, a gathering of family and friends; a dinner, a dance, a tear, a smile and some laughter; a drink, a memory, a future. A family. A flower, a dress, a ring, and so many other tiny details.
But I feel that this is over-complicating things. A wedding is, quite simply, this:
– one person (man, or woman)
– and another person (man, or woman)
– exclaiming to the entire world
– that from the billions of other people out there…
– they choose each other, forever
Nothing else really matters.
And THAT is why I became a Bowral wedding photographer. Because of love. The ability to be involved in, and be able to document, the single thing that connects every human being on the globe. Deep down, love is the reason we all keep going.
Why book me?
Why should you book me? Well, I guess ultimately I don’t want to just be another fish in the sea. I don’t want you to book me because I’m a photographer within your budget in your area. I want you to LOVE my work, and to like me as a person. I w ant to work with people with whom I could be friends.
So, let’s be friends!