Writing for Photographers | Turning Moments into Memories with your Blog

It was the first wedding I’d been to since I started working for Fotoskribe, but that wasn’t exactly the most prominent thing on my mind as I tried on the bridesmaid dress and had to get my husband to help me zip it up in the back because, wow, my arms are short.

My little sister was getting married. Finally. We’d joked for years about the fact that she’d probably get married young and get whisked off by some fairy tale prince, but it turns out she didn’t get married until right before her last semester of college.

The wedding itself was a blast, and I’ve got to tell you, I may not have realized it at the time, but my photography blogging senses were going crazy the whole time. When the weekend was over and I was asked to write about it, I got to thinking, and I realized that—yes—writing wedding blogs for photographers has changed the way I look at weddings.

First of all, there was the photographer herself: Stephanie. She’s an old friend of the family, and I’ve known her since she and her sisters lived across the street from me when I was just eight years old. Now, she works with the younger kids at my church, and my mom helps out and plays the piano sometimes for the kids when they’re singing songs. So she gives us a special rate and has done the pictures for my wedding as well as Bethany’s, plus several family portrait sessions.

Yep, I can already see the paragraph in my head for the blogging. The one introducing the bride and groom and how it’s so cool to see them after growing up with them. Yep.

Then, there were all the details. I swear to you, before I started working with Fotoskribe, you could have painted the entire dance floor gaudy orange and I would not have noticed. I’m a writer, not a photographer, and visual things have never been my forte. (Seriously, I just told my mother for my wedding that I wanted teal and light yellow, and she ran with it, being the talented person that she is.)

But now? Now, I notice those things. I noticed the antique window that had been set up with a love seat and a fake painting in the background to look like a scene out of a movie. I noticed that corkboard where people could pin up their marriage advice on these cute little cards. I noticed the hand-carved “B” (since Bethany and Brett were getting married, and their last name will start with a B). I even noticed the consistency in the lettering on all the decorations and invitations.

And there’s the paragraph in my head about all the details for the blog. I should start charging Stephanie for this!

Anyway, I think the biggest thing that I noticed was that I was logging away the big moments in my head:

• The moment they were looking at each other across the altar, and Bethany looked like she might burst into happy tears. (And Brett looked like a deer in the headlights, because nobody told him that Bethany could possibly look that pretty, and he had no idea what to do with that information. So cute!)
• The moment my dad lost his composure and started crying. (Seriously, I told everyone—do not look at Dad or you will start crying.)
• The moment my aunt, who had just lost her husband a few months before, hugged them both and wished them so much happiness before bursting into tears.

And then at the reception, there were so many more!

• The fact that Bethany had on sparkly Cinderella-style shoes that all the little girls called her “princess shoes.”
• The daddy/daughter dance in which Dad cried some more and then decided to fist bump Brett as he handed Bethany off for her dance with her new husband. (My dad is weird!)
• The beautiful waltz that Bethany and Brett did to their dance, because it turns out they both took ballroom dance in college and had been waiting to show off their moves!
• The moment when Bethany tossed the bouquet and my little cousin caught it—and her mother made the most hilarious “Noooooo” sound as she went into denial about her baby girl ever growing up.

These are all moments that I would have remembered regardless. But I would have remembered them as moments. Now, I remember them as snapshots, as images, as important things to include in the corresponding blog post, and the memories are clearer because of that.

Not gonna lie, I wish I had this newfound visual imagery memory ability when I was married. There’s a few moments I know I’d like to be able to call to mind this easily. ;)

So yeah, looking back, I think the way I experienced my sister’s wedding was different because of the writing I have done for Fotoskribe. But that’s a good thing. I think it made me appreciate all the work that went into making that day amazing for my little sister, which just makes me even happier for her, knowing how much she is loved!

After all, every big sister wants her little sister to have the best wedding of all time!

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All images Erni Family Photography