In these times of amazing camera phones, brilliant DSLRs and a lean towards everyone being ‘a photographer’ it is easy to discount the value of wedding photograph. You may be tempted to get guests to just take photos on their phones, or ask a friend with a decent camera to do it instead. I have read so many horror stories about couples who have asked their friends to photograph their wedding. One actually ended up in genuine tears on the wedding day.
Before you think ‘well obviously this lady is biased’.. Read on 🙂
While many couples will go to the obvious parts of their wedding to put the budget into – venue, dress, food, styling and cake – what are all of these things if you don’t remember them? Wedding photography will provide the story of your day, and tangible memories to hold on to forever. You can also pass them on to other generations. Even when we may not be here, we will live on through photos.
This blog is more about the importance of photography as a whole, rather than just weddings. On my Facebook memories a few weeks ago, up popped a photograph of me and my family with my Grandma on her birthday.
A bit of back story – my Grandma had Alzheimers and has since passed away, but on this birthday she remembered who we were and was very joyful to have us visiting her. That afternoon, we came across an old photo album which I thoroughly enjoyed looking through, having never seen many of the photos within it. It was a documentation of my family in the 1970s and there was one photo I distinctly loved. A portrait of my Grandma sat outside in a deckchair, in a fantastic green 70s outfit, radiating through the photograph. I showed it to my Grandma, and sadly she couldn’t recognise that it was her. But I was so happy to have seen this album – I saw my family as I had never seen them in real life. My Grandparents young, with my Mum as a teenage girl, and the rest of my family in their early 20s. It painted a fabulous picture of their life at that point in time.
Another moment which reminded me of the value of photography was going through my other Grandma’s belongings a few years ago, after she had passed away. Amongst everything, there were several boxes of photographs and family albums of which I had never seen. I spent a long time trawling through them, seeing photos of my Grandparents with my Dad when he was a teenager – on holiday, at home and with other family who I had never met. There were also photographs of my Grandparents when they first met. Again, just to see this side of my family was fascinating and touching. I came across a photograph of my newly engaged Grandparents in the 1950s, posing on a beach – that is now framed and in my house, along with a photo of my parents on their wedding day in the 1980s. Though many of the people in all of these photographs had passed away, they were still alive in these and looking happy and full of live. I feel I know them better having seem at earlier stages of their lives – ages I am at now.
Good photography is a heirloom to pass down. Have a wonderful weekend! If you are still looking for a wedding photographer, do get in touch. I have a few dates left but having to turn down lots already.
Caroline x
