Where do I even start with this blog post…
When the lockdown started, it was surreal to watch my inbox fill up with email after email from my clients making the difficult decision to postpone. I totally understand why so many of my clients would need to do so, with so much uncertainty, it’s hard to make plans and it’s heartbreaking to cut your guest list numbers.
And to be honest, this year was a challenge to adjust to shooting. A lot of the things I love about weddings weren’t there, from the endless embraces to the drunk dancing. I missed being able to shake my client’s hands or give them a big hug at the end of a long day. And it’s hard to photograph emotion on someone’s face when they’re wearing a mask.
However, the weddings I witnessed this year I’ll never forget, from rearranging last minute to avoid the lockdown wedding ban to champagne on the steps of the town hall. The tiny little elopements with only two witnesses but hundreds tuning in to the zoom broadcast. And the emotional vows when you finally get to say “I do” after your 4th time trying to set your wedding date.
And knowing that even with two guests, photography was still important to my clients. They might not have had a wedding reception or a wedding bouquet, but they still made photography a priority to them. And that was so rewarding.
Before 2020, I would have argued that weddings were a luxury and not really a necessity as they had been in the past. Now, having been through this year, I’ve come out to realize that weddings and celebrations like them are a necessity for our lives and our mental wellbeing. We need these little moments to remind us what it’s all for and have the time with the people we really care about. I found myself craving these moments throughout the year.
This blog post might not contain as many weddings or engagement sessions as my other “best of the year” blog posts but every single one of these images has a story behind it. So I wanted to say big huge thank you to my clients, from the ones that did succeed at getting married this year and the ones that decided to postpone. Every single of one of my couples were so incredibly lovely and I really did feel like we were working together to find a way to make their wedding work.
So here’s to 2021, and the hope that we’ll keep fighting for the things that are worth fighting for.
– Kari
