Some weddings are giant affairs, and I am hired for up to 10 hours, while other weddings can be low key. As a Fayetteville wedding photographer, I’ve come to enjoy doing both of these type of shoots because each has its benefits. Brittany’s wedding fell into the second category. I can’t recall when Brittany contacted me, but it was pretty close to the event. It’s always a nice surprise to get a wedding you weren’t expecting. For this wedding, I was only going to be shooting two hours, which would cover a few portraits before, the ceremony, and a few portraits after. Even though it was a short time frame, I was happy to be there.
Fayetteville Wedding Photographer: Dealing with the Rain
In my wedding photographer career, I’ve only had to deal with rain maybe four times, and all those situations, the photos still turned out. Too many people just freak out when the weather isn’t perfect, but if you’re creative, you can still get a lot done. This was the case with Brittany’s wedding, but with such a short time frame, it did make things a bit harder.
Lucky for us, the good people at St. Catherine’s at Belle Gable were there to help. They were kind enough to let us use their barn before the ceremony to get some group portraits done. The actual chapel is really tiny, so it wouldn’t have worked too well for hiding everyone during the storm and doing photos. I started with the guys, and we used the upper floor to get some group shots. It wasn’t anything extremely fancy, but you do what you can.
After about 15 minutes, we hid the groom and Brittany arrived. I had Brittany stand close the door to get some natural light and avoid getting her wet. Unfortunately, this did mean I had to stand in the rain. There’s also a nice staircase near the door that we used for bridal portraits and for all the girls. It was a bit of a trick to mix the natural light with the orange light, and then with my flash. Things took longer than expected, so we had to rush over for the ceremony.
The ceremony, like always, was very beautiful inside St. Catherine’s. Brittany was walked down the aisle by her brother, so that was special, and they had photos of their parents at the front.
When the ceremony ended, it was still pouring outside. Again, we worked with what we had. I started by having them stand under the overhang of chapel. I got drenched, but you do what you have to do for the photos. I wanted to try something different, so we had them hold and umbrella and a flash, so they could come out in front of the church. The flash lit them and made them stand out from the church.
The whole day was a rush and difficult because of the rain, but Fayetteville wedding photographers will tell you that sometimes you just have to deal with it. That’s what I did, and I think Brittany’s photos turned out splendidly for the situation.
