When I was growing up in the Mormon faith, weddings were generally never public. For the people I knew, they always took place in the temple. That is not a bad thing, especially since it is a pretty important part of Mormon belief. What it means to this post is that I had never been to a wedding with the exception of my own, which took place in a room the size of a broom closet at a wedding chapel setup in Las Vegas across from the Civil Unions Office (They were out to lunch). And since we refused to buy the videotape they so kindly made for us, even after they chased us down the street shouting “Make me an offer! make me an offer I can’t refuse!” I still haven’t seen my own wedding. At least it was a happy day.

I attended my first “real” wedding a month or so later. My husband’s oldest brother Brian and his wife Shari had decided to get married after seven years of living together, to the relief of my staunchly Mormon mother-in-law. Since James and I had been recently married, I was invited by default.

It was a beautiful warm afternoon with only a mild threat of rain. After Jimmy introduced me to some members of his half of the family, he ran off to be one of the groomsmen and sat me next to my sister-in-law, Andrea. Andrea had brought her camera, as did I. She asked me to take a couple of photos for my other sister Aubrey, who was also in the wedding party. I was concerned, because I didn’t know you could take photos at weddings. I took a couple that were required for Aubrey, but I didn’t know I could take any. Later, I asked my mom if taking photos at weddings was an acceptable practice and she told me she didn’t know.

Having only two photos of Brian and Shari’s wedding, I vowed that the next wedding I attended I would take an overload of photos to make up for my inexperience. Because God loves me and also has a sense of humor, few weeks ago my friend Shannon from work asked me to photograph her wedding today. I have purchased a tripod and an extra battery, and have warned her I am no professional.

Weather, please behave.

Lighting, please co-operate.

Hands, don’t drop the camera.

Self, don’t sing karaoke until they pull you off the stage.