“Your ring shots. The ones with flowers. I love those photos and I can’t wait to see mine!”
Me: (mental gulp)
As a wedding photographer, sometimes it can be tough to take a unique and creative photo of common items one sees at every wedding. How is this make up application photo going to be different, how can I incorporate the reception decor during a first dance, or how can I make this ring photo spectacular? Bonus points if it involves emotions and candid moments.
But you know what?
This is one of my favorite parts of wedding photography! The challenge to find something unique in the traditional; the thrill of surprising the viewer with a creative way to capture something most of us have witnessed many times before. With Tanya and Khoang’s Essex Resort and Spa wedding, I had so much fun trying to fulfill this artistic challenge during every part of the wedding day, and I got some of my favorite photos ever!
First thing’s first: Tanya’s ring shot. Balancing rings on flowers is a fun and cuss-worthy adventure, but for this shot I decided to try something very different: put them inside. I love it!
Tanya’s bridesmaids put together a “best wishes” wedding scrapbook for her as a surprise. Various family and friends sent in photos and notes for the couple, and the groom ended the book with his own special letter to his bride.
I shot through a gap between water glasses to create this cool blurry effect. Besides adding a creative element, they are practical: they’re covering up some of the distracting parts of the hotel room and helping your eyes focus on the bride.
Love, love, love candid moments like these. I can still hear Tanya squealing when she saw herself in the mirror!
And her touching her necklace with pursed lips? Such an honest moment of a nervous bride anxiously preparing to see her groom.
Khoang was SO excited to see his bride that we had to put the groomsmen on guard duty! They made sure he didn’t sneak a peak.
Role swap: I’m not sure what happened, but the ring bearers ended up tossing the flower petals! Love that they had fun with it.
