Hey y’all! After our peak wedding season [September-November] I always go through a withdraw. I miss every single weekend working with the best vendors in the state. I miss the wedding day timelines. I miss the organization of each little detail. I miss the laughs of the wedding parties. I miss the DJ music and the dancing. Mostly I miss our amazing couples.

Each year around this time(January), when our schedules aren’t chaotic Kala and I spend time going through our business. We analyze the experience that we bring for each one of our elegant brides. We analyze our schedules and planning. We analyze our process and details from the previous year. We analyze our guides and brochures to make sure that the information we deliver is the best anyone on the front side of our cameras can have.

So it is safe to believe that Kala and I take what we do seriously. We believe each couple and family deserves us at 100% each time we look through our lens. We believe that we should be creative in our techniques and consistent in our approach. We believe it is our responsibility to help everyone feel comfortable in front of the camera and deliver beautiful photos.

What we do is important. As I write this in January of 2020 we are projected to shoot our 100^th wedding this year, but for each couple their wedding is their wedding day. They are not wedding number 89, 90, or 91. They are our couples. They are Amanda and Jeremy. They are Katie and Tyler. They are Liz and Brandon, Jessica and Casey, Andie and Cory, Taylor and Jared…I could sit here and name them all but this would look like a census. Their photos are important to each of them and we don’t get a second chance to photograph their day over again. So Kala and I know how significant each date we set is. Because what we do is important.

Most guests only see photographers at weddings and witness the few hours of them holding a camera and giving directions. Many think to themselves, “I can do that.” Full disclosure…I did. Before Kala and I met and began perfecting our craft as we now continually do, I was a turn and burn photographer. Which means I took photos and delivered photos—nothing more. When I shot my first wedding back in 2012. I had no idea what all a quality photographer does [read that blog here]. I didn’t understand what I was doing was important. I just thought it was fun and I enjoyed doing it, that’s good enough right?

We are fast approaching our 6^th year as Reg & Kala the wedding photographers and I have been reminded this week of how important what we do is. I was reminded that weddings are a special occasion and that people who love you make an effort to attend that special occasion. Thousands of times over the course of your day in just 1/200^th of a second we freeze the clock and record that time. We record you and those that spent that special occasion with you.

When Kala and I gather our bags and hug you bye we cannot wait to see our photos on your Facebook and Instagram. We love seeing the words “our photographers.” We love when you use a first look photo with your dad as a Father’s Day post. We love <3 the sweet post to your mom on her birthday when you use the picture of her pinning your boutonniere on. We love anniversaries, our feed fills up with our photos of our couples and in turn fills our souls with joy, because it reminds us what we do is important.

But…there is one reminder above all the others that never lets us forget about how important it is to hold that camera at your wedding. It’s a somber reminder. One that we feel deep down in our chest each time we see it. It is whenever we see one of our photos posted in memoriam to someone that passed away. Sometimes it’s a grandparent. Sometimes it’s a father. Sometimes it’s a friend, a cousin, or even a vendor and we are reminded that shot, that click, that decision we make to look over and catch you laughing with someone special is important.

So we will continue to take the front row photos. We will make sure we capture grandma being ushered in. We will ask for those family combinations before, so we are sure to remember who’s significant. We will make sure to ask if there are any prominent individuals that are dearest to you, so we don’t miss what’s important.  

We are thankful we understand that importance. We are thankful for our couples that trust us with something so important. I’m thankful for the withdraws that I’ll go through (for a few more weeks) to do something that’s important.