Dream Job For a Day

Yesterday was glorious.

I'm still marveling over what happened.

When my cousin Michelle announced her engagement a couple of months ago, we were all thrilled, as is typical when such an event occurs. But something else happened too. Everyone who knows Michelle knows that she is sweet, kind, thoughtful, hard-working, and spiritual, and that it has been hard for her since she lost her dad to cancer six years ago. There are many, many people who love her very deeply and would tie themselves into knots for her. When she announced her engagement, people started volunteering their time and talents to help with the wedding. It was truly heartwarming to see the hours and hours of time people put in to do things like make her dress and her cake and decorate for her reception. There was so much love involved from start to finish.

I volunteered to be her photographer. I've always wanted to be a wedding photographer. I was a little surprised when she actually took me up on it. And then I was a little nervous when the huge responsibility of the assignment hit me. What if I totally messed up and none of the pictures turned out? What if she just didn't like the pictures?

I called my sister Crocodile and arranged to borrow the camera that I used as a back up at Heather's wedding last year. It wasn't the ideal camera for a wedding, but it was good enough. Then I spent quite a bit of time researching wedding photography tips and techniques. It was a little overwhelming as I realized that I didn't have as much skill and practice and good equipment as was optimum. But I bravely went forward, knowing that Michelle was grateful for my willingness to give it my best effort.

Heaven smiled on Michelle yesterday, and some of that radiated over to me and my camera. I got some really nice shots. I haven't had time to look at them all yet, let alone process them, but overall I'm pleased so far. I wasn't the perfect wedding photographer and I didn't take anything like the stunning, clever, artsy example pictures I looked at online, but I think I did a right decent job.

For my first wedding, I was so blessed to have such an easy-going, happy, photogenic couple to work with. They were great. They were patient. They were fun. And so was their family. There was always a willing pair of hands to move my equipment and hold my baby. It was the perfect situation for a greenie.

Thanks, Michelle, for letting me fulfill my dream of being a wedding photographer! It really meant a lot to me. I had a great time!