Newly Gained Empathy For When I Photograph a Wedding

As a wedding photographer, I have had sympathy for my clients and their families as they have finally reached the big event after days, weeks, and months of preparation.  Working closely with the participants has shown me some of the stresses of the wedding day. I have also been in a number of weddings as best man, groomsman, and yes, groom. But there is no teacher like experience, and this past weekend will serve me well in empathizing with the parents of the bride and groom. That is because my son, Peter, married Rebecca Davis on Saturday, May 1st.

As the big day approached, the list of uncompleted preparations seemed to grow. Not only were there things that needed to be in place for the wedding itself, but for the rehearsal dinner, house guests, out-of-town family and friends, and the final moving-out of our son, (who was to be living in an apartment instead of on a USCG Cutter now.) Additionally, the anticipated last-minute disasters were raised to a new level, creating a near panic the morning of the wedding.  Had it not been for the generous help of numerous friends, we may very well have had a disappointing event. But as it turned out, things went smoothly and a good time was had by all.

My wife, Bobbi, laid low on Sunday, but still had to call for a substitute RDH on Monday as she was so exhausted. Even my daughter had to veg on Sunday, but I took two of my nieces and my friend who came out to chef for me to San Francisco, Pacifica, and Half Moon Bay for the day, getting home at 9 pm. On Monday I had to work my day job and teach photography that evening. Because I had nothing left for the class, I gave them their final exam one week early. The looks on the students’ faces were priceless. But as they found out, it was not something they could have studied for and I actually saved them from unnecessary preparation by making the change.

This morning, Tuesday, I finally felt somewhat human again after a solid night’s sleep. But there is a ton of catching up, organizing, cleaning, and recuperating still to do. So now when I am photographing a wedding where one of the participants is not fully him/her self, I will have deep empathy for what they may have gone through and how long it might take them to return to “normal”.

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