Jacqueline and Eric were married in a courthouse ceremony in Ludington, on a sunny afternoon in March. They were surrounded by their parents and Eric’s grandparents, who acted as their witnesses. It was simple, thoughtful, and heartfelt; a day that made me feel extra grateful to be a wedding photographer. There are so many ways to celebrate your love, and many ways to symbolize the commitment a couple makes to each other. A quiet elopement in the town you live, surrounded by family feels like a timeless choice.
It reminded me of stories I have grown up hearing about when my grandparents were married in the living room of the home my Grandma grew up in in Detroit. It was a weekday, and partway through the ceremony the mailman knocked on the door and got yelled at by my Great-Grandmother. “Can’t you see we are having a wedding here?” The photos from that day are simple snapshots, images that draw me to a different time, that memorialize the joy of that long-ago day in April. Now, most of the people in the photos are no longer living, but we try to keep their stories alive. Last year, I took my Great-Uncle Ed’s (my Grandmother’s brother) old Agfa Solette camera to their neighborhood. I snapped a photo of the house they had grown up in, where my Grandparents were married. Of course the evidence of their life there has faded after decades. I never met my Uncle Ed; he died before I was born. But I have his old film camera, grew up watching slideshows and flipping through photos of their family. I recognize his face in the images of my Grandmother and all her siblings, and still love to hear the stories that have been passed down.
Wedding photography can be forced to be a lot of things, especially in the age of social media. People love to see images that feel dramatic, adventurous, unique; the list goes on. But when I think about the intent of wedding photography, it has little to do with what is popular. I think about the photographs that make me feel the most, and it has little to do with the backdrop. Sure, I love seeing the photos my Grandparents took on their vacations with vast landscapes in the background, but they are not as memorable as the photos of my Grandparents walking down the front steps of her childhood home after their wedding.
My goal as a wedding photographer is to create the kind of photographs that freeze a moment, possibly even an era in time. Images that are first and foremost about the people in them. This set of images from Jacqueline and Eric’s day feels like a representation of that. It is two families coming together, a tight-knit support system gathering around a couple in their hometown, inviting them into what comes next.
