A Letter To The Parents

Here is an open letter to the parents of the bride or groom on the wedding day. As photographers who’ve photographed over 130+ weddings in the last few years, we’ve seen parents of the bride or groom do some really odd things that stress their kids out and take away from their enjoyment of the day. So this is to you:

First Things First

This day isn’t about you. This is about your son or daughter making a commitment to the one they love. You are here because they love you and want you involved and they want your support. They don’t want you to plan the wedding you wanted to have, or pressure them to do something they don’t want to do. Your advice might be helpful, but sometimes it’s unwarranted. Before offering your advice, maybe consider asking if they’d like your advice before dishing it out. Try being as selfless in this process as possible. We understand that this is going to be difficult to take the backseat, but we promise if you can slow down, ask them when they need your advice or your help, and can respect their wishes then that will go a long way with them.

Secondly

Trust us to capture the day. We see so many parents taking photos of the what’s happening in front of them, which results in them not experiencing those moments. Don’t worry! We got you. We’re here to capture this special moment between you and your son, daughter, friends and family. If you guys want to get some selfies, go for it! But you don’t need to photograph everything happening. We want you in the photos, experience that moment with them. We don’t want photos of you taking photos of that moment. Your phone photos are important, but it takes you out of the moment you could be experiencing first hand with your son or daughter. Be in the moment with them and leave the documenting up to us.

Bonus

Oh, two more things. Don’t ask if us we’ve captured this moment or that moment. Chances are we got it because it’s something we capture at every single wedding. And second, please don’t look into our lens 24/7. We don’t want staged photos of you looking at camera in 100 different places. Instead, we want real moments of you being you with your kid or your other family and friends. The real moments of you having fun on the dance floor is going to be a much better photo than you pulling the closest person to you in for a staged photo of you looking into camera. Be in the moment and let us capture it.