One of my favorite moments at a wedding is when we take the bridal portrait. It’s one of the most intimate moments I get to share with a bride. It usually happens right before she leaves for the ceremony. She’s just put her dress on, her make up and hair are freshly done, and if appropriate, I’ve just excused her entire wedding party from the room. And she is alone with me and my camera. She is free to feel pretty. She is free to take a breath before the day really begins. And in these few minutes that we have, I am privileged to capture the one image that truly is worth a thousand words.
As a bride, there will be no shortage of pictures of you this day, but it’s my job to make sure you have at least one image that stands out beyond the rest. One image that is in a category all its own. It’s the one that your husband keeps on his desk at work, or the one you have made into a canvas print, or the one you use for your “profile pic”. Most importantly, it’s the one that gets passed down to future generations.
You see, someday, this picture might be the only one your family has of you. This image will have been framed many times, and will have been placed on many mantles and bureaus and bedside tables. It might get faded or wrinkled, or even torn. But this picture will continue to travel through time, and stories of you will be told along with it. Stories will be told of your strength, your sense of humor, your “wild side”, your generosity. One day your granddaughter will be sharing one of your stories with her daughter. She’ll tell her the story of how her grandparents raised their family. She’ll talk about how she inherited some of your personality traits. She’ll talk about what a funny, strong, stubborn, kind, and beautiful woman you are.
And if I’ve done my job correctly, she’ll take a look at this one picture and say, “yea, I totally see that about her”.
