I knew I had given it my best! And yet, I wondered as I sunk into bed, exhausted at the tail end of the wedding day, why did I feel like I had failed?

James & Julianna had gifted me the honor and responsibility of leading the photography for their wedding. Hours and hours over the past weeks and months had been dedicated to planning, communicating, thinking ahead.

And now it was all over. The wedding day had come and gone. All the photos that were going to be taken, had been taken. So much planning, and yet I kept thinking of other pictures I had not gotten! 

Detail shots. With my own preparations I needed to make as a bridesmaid for the day, I’d run out of time and had asked my team to grab some while I pulled myself together to head out the door for the groomsmen photos. Then there were the decorations at the reception. The kitchen crew. The unity candle. Different aspects of the ceremony.

There were so many shots I could think of, as I lay there in bed, that I expected to get and I knew I had missed every one of them.

Breathing deeply, I gave my anxieties to the Lord and eventually fell fast asleep.

The next day I imported all the pictures from the SD cards that had been used at the wedding. Bit by bit I saw those pictures appearing in the gallery. Sarah, one of my photography helpers, had gotten more detail shots! Dara, another helper, had pulled the kitchen crew together and gotten a picture of them smiling at the camera! Angles of the special moments in the ceremony. There were so many beautiful pictures I didn’t even know existed . . . because I hadn’t taken them!

Weddings have a unique way about them. A day that starts out feeling like a quiet bubbling brook with birds singing and sunlight dancing softly in the gentle breeze . . . suddenly becomes a white-water rapid churning you downstream till you reach your splashing end!

I didn’t have the physical, mental, or emotional capability to see to every single detail as the wedding day progressed.

But God did.

Those hours spent in preparation were needed and well worth it. It was incredibly vital to take all that time to think through equipment, schedule, shot list, which aspects to delegate to whom, and to communicate all those things clearly with the two photographers that were going to be helping.

We had talked about camera settings. We tried to make sure we knew who would be using which lenses at what time. Lighting was discussed. Roles and responsibilities were given. We had talked in-depth through the wedding day from beginning to end to make sure we were all on the same page.

But there are times in life when you reach a point when you’ve given your best and done all you can humanly do, and it’s just time to trust the Lord with the results.

Taking on the responsibility of being a photographer can bring you to that point pretty quickly. Between the people that are involved, the weather that can change, and the logistics that need to be kept track of, there are a lot of components in photography that you have no control over.

However a quote I read from Elisabeth Elliot was so appropriate as I prepared for the wedding day: “Speak that word to me today, dear Lord: peace. Let Your calm spirit—through the the many potentially rough minutes of this day, in every task—say to my soul, Be still.” And an accompanying verse: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” (Isaiah 26:3)

So, now you know the behind-the-scenes photographer perspective. 🙂 It’s an honor, a responsibility, an opportunity to trust the Lord, a growing experience, a challenge, a thrill to be a photographer!

Now, how about showing some photos from the day? 🙂

Dara finished up the details and getting ready photos while Sarah and I took groomsmen photos!

The things photographers will do for photos!

Then the ladies arrived for bridesmaid photos! I arranged the groups and Dara and Sarah took the pictures.

The first look was such a beautiful, tender, sacred time to capture. I loved it!

Following the first look, we headed up to the church for the ceremony. It was beautiful and the Lord was honored.

The reception was both meaningful and fun!

Following the reception, we went to a local park for pictures of the couple!

And then the rest of the family came to end the day with family photos!

“The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.” (Psalm 126:3)