This past weekend I photographed my first wedding!  Not as a pro, mind you, but as a favor to a dear friend, the mother of the groom.

This wedding came up suddenly and I readily agreed to do it.  Yet almost as soon as I said yes I began to worry.  Not only had I never photographed a wedding before, I would not necessarily be the one you would want.  I’m not a “traditional” person in life or in my photography … some of the typical wedding shots would just not be my thing.  I rather prefer candid shots and more artistic ones.  In addition, I don’t use (or own – YET) a DSLR.  Finally, and most importantly, I wanted my friend to be happy!

Thankfully, I only had 7 days to stress it and I talked to some professional photographer friends before hand to get some hints.  I came home after shooting for 5 hours, was pretty beat and after viewing the pictures, was not pleased. In the light of day and after a good night’s sleep, I felt much better about them.

It was quite an experience and I had such a good time, even though it was WORK!  I have much to learn about this type of photography (not that I plan to do this for a living).  I’m only sharing a few (for privacy purposes) but am happily including several shots of the location – along side a creek in Giles County, Virginia.  The water was so still and the reflections on the surface were incredibly clear.