Today’s post is really more of my rambling, but it is something that has been weighing on my heart for a while…so here you go!

Pinterest.  we have a love/hate relationship.  I am sure you can relate.  Brides…love pinterest right?  bouquets, decorations, photo ideas, color schemes, cakes, dresses, all at your fingerips to pin, pin, pin!  So you start looking and pinning and falling in LOVE with these beautiful wedding photos pinned before you.  And then you start trying to put it into your wedding.  That bouquet has flowers that are out of season during your wedding or costs $500 over your budget.  That beautiful dress is only in boutique stores and the starting price is your entire wedding budget.  Or you try to DIY that cute chalkboard sign for your wedding and it looks like a kindergardner wrote it for you.  And then it happens…you feel defeated.  I am sure you have been there.  You see this beautiful stuff before you and you want it and then it falls short.  THE PINTEREST COMPLEX!

 

I am here to tell you the other side of that.  As your wedding photographer.  We too browse pinterest looking at beautiful weddings.  Wanting to capture images like you see.  We want to photograph a wedding at that AMAZING location.  We love those detailed dresses that aren’t traditional (blush pink, yes yes!).  We want to capture those moments that just put tears in your eyes or a smile on your face…those amazing groom reactions, the sweet moments of a wedding day, etc.  And sometimes those things JUST DON’T HAPPEN!  Not every moment of every wedding is going to be perfect.  Most of the weddings I photograph have what I call a sweet spot.  Either their details were just so stunning that you couldn’t get enough.  Or their wedding party was so much fun that you snapped a TON of bridal party photos.  Or the bride and groom oozed love and your gallery was overloaded with couples portraits. Maybe the ceremony was so touching and full of tears that you have sweet reactions to remember forever.  But the reality is, that every wedding isn’t full of ALL those things.  Sometimes I leave a wedding feeling defeated because I didn’t make the entire thing look like it came straight off of pinterest.  IT IS HARD for us too.

The reality of it all is…a TON of what you see on pinterest isn’t real.  Wedding professionals often stage weddings for workshops, editorial magazines, etc. and that is a LOT of what gets pinned.  And truth be told if you looked at a wedding in WHOLE you wouldn’t find perfection from start to finish. It rarely happens.

 

We have had the opportunity to document beautiful weddings and tell the story of some amazing clients.  But within those moments of that day…there is always SOMETHING that doesn’t go perfectly…for us or them.  Maybe it rained on your outdoor wedding.  Maybe you had a fight with a family member and there was a lot of tension during family photos.  Maybe your cake was starting to melt or fall apart.  Maybe your flowers got too hot and died.  Heels break, hair falls, groomsmen get sick.  IT HAPPENS.  And it happens at every single wedding.  Every one of those scenarios I mentioned happened to couples I photographed THIS PAST YEAR.

For me, I have learned to embrace it.  It is part of what makes weddings fun.  I thrive on the chaos.  The bride may take an hour longer getting ready than on the timeline.  The room the bride dresses in may be filled with kids artwork or bags and water bottles.  The groom may not want to smile during photos.  The bridal party may hate photos and not cooperate.  The bride may look like she wants to puke while walking down the isle.  The light may be harsh at the “alter”.  The rain may change our plans.  But you know what…it is still a wedding and I still do my best to capture it.

So, I tell you this today because I want you to know that it doesn’t matter.  I promise you that SOMETHING will be off on your wedding day.  Something will go wrong.  Something may not be a pinterest worthy  moment, and that is OK.  The moments that go right will shine for years to come.  I promise.  So allow yourself some breathing room.  Don’t let pinterest get you down.  Use it as a jumping board, but realize that a lot of it is just out of reach.  It will still be beautiful.  It will still be YOUR WEDDING! And that is far more special than anything you can find on pinterest.