First Wedding Shoot

moose135

I shot my first wedding this past Saturday for Jim and Kevin. They have been together 22 years, and could finally marry here in New York.

Back in July, Jim, who I've know about 3 years, told me he and his partner Kevin were getting married over Labor Day weekend, and asked if I would shoot the wedding. It was to be a small affair - ceremony and reception in their backyard, about 25 or 30 guests, a very relaxed event. I told him I hadn't shot a wedding before, but had done other events. After looking at my web site, and talking to at least one other photographer, they booked me for this past Saturday evening.

About three weeks ago, I went to their house to check things out and meet with them. They were looking photos of the ceremony, posed shots with their guests, and some candids of the reception. Jim kept saying "The whole thing should only take two hours, at most..." I assured him I would stay as long as necessary to capture their wedding. The plan was to have a tent set up in the yard for the reception, and to hold the ceremony itself on the patio next to the house. This Friday, after the tent was set up, I went over again for a final check, making sure I was there around the time of the ceremony, 5pm. I ended up spending almost two hours with them, scoping out the scene, and making suggestions on how things should be set up.

On Saturday, I arrived about 3:30. The celebrant was there, and I spent a few minutes with her going over the ceremony. Guests started filtering in around 4-4:30, and a good friend of Kevin (I met her on Friday as well) made sure I knew who everyone was. The ceremony went off without a hitch, and we got everyone together for the family photos - again, Kevin's friend worked to get everyone together as needed. Of course, when we got started, Jim wanted to try a couple of different spots in the yard, so they wouldn't all look the same...but we got through them all.

Once the party started, I got shots of the toasts, and various candids. After that, Jim told me "Make sure you eat, and you can leave whenever you want." Jim, Kevin, and their guests made me feel like part of the family, and I ended up staying until nearly 9pm.

I've done a quick edit on some shots, to give the guys a preview...

1 - Kevin signing the marriage license - he is quite a character!


2 - Jim and Kevin



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4



5


6 - With Jim's aunt and her husband.


7


8 - Jim and Kevin with the celebrant, along with Kevin's nephew and Jim's sister.


9 - Kevin's first stop after the ceremony...did I mention he is something of a character?


10 - Jim's niece and brother-in-law. She wanted nothing to do with getting her picture taken - any time she saw the camera pointing anywhere close, she would cover her face, or hide behind her mother. Finally, her father told her he wanted a picture of the two of them together. She stuck out her tongue, and seeing that, he did the same...it was a fun way to end the evening.


I am really happy with the way the evening went - as I said, they made me feel right at home, and I feel I came away with images they will like.

Thanks for looking! I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions.

kclust

I'm not a very experienced wedding photog, and I've never done a same-sex wedding, but number one is really cool. I love his expression. This was by far a non-traditional union, so the normal 'bride and groom' shots definitely won't work, but a couple things would be nice to have. 1, some long, candid shots at 200 f/2.8 and 2, eliminate some of the 'clutter' in the shots. In #1 the first thing I noticed was the blanket on the couch. The lamps or globes at the top of #5 are distracting to me. Again, just my personal thoughts. Good job! The main thing is that everyone looks happy.