When you strip everything back and map out your wedding day, what is the key driving influence(s)? As Josh Withers succinctly points out, “The legal simple act of getting married only requires 120 words and five signatures”. The answer to this question is interesting. It can range from “we want to celebrate the new chapter in our life with the people we love” to “we want to ensure that we don’t have regrets down the track” to “a celebration is important to my partner, so I am going along for the ride” - <insert whatever reason here>.
In terms of photography, is the key driving influence to have perfect images of a perfect day? It is easy to get swept up in a current of Pinterest boards, Instagram hashtags, wedding planners, blogs - all of the things! - and lose sight of what makes the two of you exactly that: the two of you.
We were recently flicking through Deborah Needleman’s beautiful & relatable book The Perfectly Imperfect Home. The following stood out to us, in particular:
“Growing up, I was struck by the fact that our house had nothing personal in it. Nobody ever tacked up a picture she found amusing. No momento was brought back from a holiday and put on a shelf. No bunch of flowers was ever cut from the yard and stuck in a vase.
In fact, nothing ever got moved around or changed, until the day the decorators were brought back for an update. There were certain rooms, like the dining room and the living room, that we rarely entered. And there was a piano that no one knew how to play.
It was by no means a sad house. We were loved and cared for and the house itself was neat and attractive. But I have come to realise that the soul of a house needs attention. Our house had very little life - it wasn’t heavily used, engaged with, or loved. It didn’t add much to my conception of childhood or happiness.
This led me to appreciate deeply homes that are imbued with a sensibility and spirit-homes with a strong personality and signs of life. It made me long for a home with interesting people and dinner parties and friends spending the night. And it made me dislike homes that look perfect and unlived-in, or that have no whimsy.”
As you read the following two paragraphs, substitute the word “home” with “photograph” (okay, it’s somewhat of a tenuous stretch but please bear with us!):
“…Embracing imperfection in a home does not mean that anything goes. Here it means aiming for beauty tempered by reality. If real life involves mess, accidents, memory, and the incidental, then so too must decorating account for serendipity, and even embrace it.
…Good decoration solves problems elegantly. A stylish home is highly functional and reflects the best possible look for your life, budget, and mode of living (even your peculiarities), and the problems and advantages of the place you live in. This will lead to a home that enhances your sense of well-being, that inspires you and looks after you. Luxury cannot be defined by expense or by grandeur. Style is luxury, and luxury is simply what makes you happy.”
Our advice to you:
1) Take a deep breath
2) Don’t lose sight of the two of you
3) Enjoy & embrace the moments - even the perfectly imperfect ones! They are all part of your uniquely beautiful story.
