Photographing Tierra & Robert's Magical Day

Ya'll... I photographed my first real, full blown wedding! I'm honestly still on a high and it was on July 27th! In December of 2017 I was messaged by Tierra. She congratulated me on starting my photography studio and told me she was interested in me being the photographer for her wedding. I remember thinking she must not know I've never shot a wedding.

I was completely honored but one thing I pride myself on within my business is how transparent I am. I know what I'm fully capable of and what I still need to work on. I told her thank you but I had never done a wedding. She continued on to say she knew but she saw how dedicated I was and that was most important to her. From that day on, all the way up until I handed her her wedding images- her wedding day was my main focus.

And your thought right now is probably "well that's a bit dramatic isn't it?" But it's actually not. And let me tell you why. First off, photography is not as easy as everyone thinks. I know it looks so simple because all a photographer does is point their camera at their subject, clicks and then voila! you see a gorgeous image. But there is soooo much more to it and I cannot express it enough. When you really love photography and actually care about your trade you learn very quickly there is much more than just framing your shot. Now, apart from the specifics of understanding photography I also had to think about how I was given the HONOR to capture Tierra's special day. This day is a day couples and families spend hours upon hours planning, preparing, replanning and executing. They invest a HUGE portion of their time and money into this day to make it possibly the best day of the bride & groom's life. And this couple chose me to document this beautiful, once in their lifetime day. "Whew I can relax a bit now! Let me grab a glass of wine real quick."

I began reaching out to photographers I consider mentors and experienced photographers I look up to. Mike Marino gave me the opportunity to be his second shooter for a wedding reception. Gary Glaser allowed me to shadow him at wedding. Peter Levins answered my many, MANY questions. ( I don't know how he hasn't blocked me from contacting him yet lol) Jerry Seawood also always answers my ridiculous amount of questions. Frank with 17 Video Production has brought me on as a second videographer for his weddings and is an absolutely amazing mentor. I even got my computer tuned up the week of the wedding, by Hi-Mike Hi-Tech, to prepare for the huge amount of images I knew I'd be editing. I also brought on my fiancé as my second shooter. He has been so incredibly supportive of me and truly is the calm in my storm. Him & I practiced and practiced & PRACTICED. I'll always be appreciative of the helpful community around me. Making an effort to help me learn & better prepare, no matter how small, helped shape me.

July 27th, 2019: Tierra & her husband Robert were so great to work with. Not only them but their families and friends were so kind and fun. It definitely made my job a lot easier with the amazing people they all are. Our day started at 10:30AM. Their venue for everything was Hayloft in the Grove in East Aurora. The first photos we took were of everyone getting ready.

Getting Ready- Wedding Dress

Getting Ready- Guys Arriving

Getting Ready- Makeup

Getting Ready- Robert

Getting Ready- Selfies

Getting Ready- Last Touches

Getting Ready- Fixing Bowtie

Getting Ready- Ladies

Getting Ready- Guys

Then we grabbed the groom and headed to the pond for their first look.

First Look- Groom Heading to Pond

First Look- Groom at Pond Steps

First Look- Bride Alone

First Look- Groom Laughing

First Look- Walking Down Steps

First Look- Bride Out of Focus

First Look- Bride Behind Groom

First Look- The First Look

First Look- Walking Together

First Look- Together

First Look- In Trees

First Look- In Trees 2

First Look- Bridesmaids

First Look- Groomsmen

First Look- Bridesmaids 2

First Look- Groomsmen 2

First Look- Bridesmaids with Signs

First Look- Wedding Party

Next was the absolutely beautiful outdoor ceremony.

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And last but definitely not least, we photographed their reception.

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For our first huge wedding, I'm very proud of ourselves. It took a lot of hardwork, practice and trial & error. A huge thank you to Tierra, Robert & her Momma for bringing me on to their team for this incredibly amazing, absolutely gorgeous and memorable day. This was such an amazing experience and we're very grateful & appreciative. THANK YOU!