Temecula Wedding Photographer // The Chateau at Harveston
Temecula Wedding Photographers rocking The Chateau at Harveston
What a difference a year makes… seriously. So much has happened within our lives that I never expected. My perspective on life, relationships, priorities have all changed… and for the better. To be honest, I havent blogged much, if at all. If you are a former bride reading this wondering why your wedding hasn’t yet gone up, Im sorry, I truly am. Your wedding was awesome… you know it and I know it. We had a kick a$$ time together and the photos deserve their place on here. Im making strides to get to em! Its just that and as our family has grown and gone through the changes I took a break to enjoy it. Its been huge for me at this point in life. To slow down and enjoy.
We are now in a new house, a great place. Our little ones are 2 and 4. Every morning I wake up feeling the day holds so much potential and there is just so much around me to be inspired by… Im at a loss for the all the right words here but Im so content with things the way they are right now. People say to me “it goes by fast” [when referring to your kids growing up] and I can honestly say it hasn’t, because so far, I haven’t let it. I’ve been there pretty much every day since they were born. This wedding photography thing can take up a ton of time if you let it. Emails, meetings, shooting 3k photos a wedding, sorting through em all to find the best of the best, editing all of those, phone calls, staying up on facebook and twitter, instagramming and blogging, submitting to blogs, workshops blah blah blahhhhh. Yeah it can be totally consuming… but I haven’t let it. The big dogs in this wedding photography business have ghost writers, people assisting them, people blogging and editing for them etc. thats how they stay on top of things. We dont have that. The other thing they have [which I think as of today I just might have broken free of] is a filter.
I remember photographing this wedding a year ago thinking it was rad and a super unique experience but that it had no place on my blog. For a number of reasons. There were no details. Details are what wedding blogs want to see, right?? Another reason being these two werent anywhere near the age range I get on the regular, would an audience of potential brides relate to the photos and say “ohhh I want that!”. Third reason [and this was one of the worst] but I simply worried too much about others perception of our work. Would they approve? This was a budget wedding in an old folks home after all. Some of these “others” Im speaking of are other wedding photographers. There is a “cool kids club” cept for most of the “cool” wedding photographers are non boozing techie dorks.. so who am I really trying to impress?? .. still, whether anyone admits it or not there is a level of sizing up that goes on in this [and most any profession] people are seeing what level you are at, ya know, its only natural to want to be accepted among your peers. So that used to be in my head a lot… and if it wasn’t impressing other photographers with my work then I was concerned with if the photos put forth fit the mold of what brides [coming to my page that would potentially hire me] would want to see? Its a tough place to be, having concern with the perception of other people I have never met.
Which leads to this post and where I am now. I havent blogged in a while so I’m combing through a massive amount of work that NEEDS to go up and come across this particular day. I chose to start with this one [over dozens of others that would be more likely candidates] for reasons I couldn’t have ever anticipated a year ago. I’m finally at a place with all of this that Im not trying to impress anyone anymore and I don’t really care what other photographers think about me or my art. This day was rad and there were beautiful authentic photos taken of people that make me smile. I dont care if it wasnt super hipster DIY with tons of chotchky details that get thrown in the trash at the end of the night. I captured love in the hearts and eyes of people… it was authentic and I did what I came to do. Coming to the realization that this site is my thing to do with what I want is totally freeing.
When I opened this folder of photos on my desktop, a rush of memories and emotions flooded my mind. I hadn’t even thought about these people in over a year… probably not since I delivered the photos to them. Still, they left a mark on me and its something I wont forget. This wedding was totally inspiring to me. Im gonna set this up for you real quick by saying that Monica is a beautiful lil old lady [possibly great grandma] that found me online. Im guessing shes in her 80s [I know better than to ask a woman her age] and the fact that she hopped on the internet and looked me up in itself is a huge accomplishment. The reason she needed me is because she found love in her assisted living home and wanted to get married. This was a modest gathering of family and friends from the home they live in over in Harveston and this is not the normal thing I shoot. After talking with Monica on the phone the first time I knew I had to meet her. Not only that, I REALLY wanted to do this for her. To tell her story. Document the day. She was such a warm ball of energy, the sweetest lil granny ever. It was wild being at a wedding where most of the guests didnt need chairs and just rolled in on their own and parked [rascals and wheelchairs] Below are some of my favorites from the few hours I spent with them. The warmth, the love and the way they held hands and looked at one another was so refreshing. It never too late for love. ever.
Below are a couple of bonus snaps that I couldnt help but throw in. Monica and I talked about the flow of the party and if they would dance or cut cake. etc. She joked about doing a garter toss… at at the end she surprised me saying she had one and wanted to do it and that it’d be funny. she was right, it was.
