Wedding Day Moments - As Seen by the Photographer

We rang the doorbell. There was no reply. We rang again. Eventually a bridesmaid, in a bathrobe, tiara in her hair came to let us in. "Hi there - come on in." It was the voice of our bride coming from the lounge. We wandered through. There she sat, having her makeup done, looking just beautiful. The light on her was amazing as it shone through the window.. The makeup artist smiled in acknowledgment and carried on preparing her bride. I caught her reflection in the mirror, along with "our" bride behind it. This was her moment.

The mother of the bride, already looking stunning in her suit stepped forward. Deftly and with the aid of a crochet hook she did up the delicate buttons. This would be the last time she dressed her daughter and she knew how important it was to make sure the dress was sitting just right. The bride took a deep breath in, the bridesmaids held the dress perfectly in place. The bride glanced sideways at herself in the mirror. I caught her glance, saw everyone working together and took my shot. I moved and focussed in tightly on the perfectly manicured hands doing up the buttons.. This was mums' moment.

I waited at the bottom of the stairs, camera poised watching as my bride carefully lifted her dress enabling her to take each precarious step. Dad stepped forward. I saw his face - a mixture of emotion - his little girl on one of the most important days of her life looking more beautiful than he had ever seen her before. His eyes filled with tears but he didn't cry. He fought them off. The bride - at this moment so in touch with her father noticed. This was a special moment belonging to the two of them.

Pachbels' Canon in D echoed through the beautiful little church. The groom shuffled nervously as he stood. The chief bridesmaid, holding the hand of the little flower girl beamed as she led the bridal party down the aisle and took their place at the front. This was their moment.

I swung back round to the groom. Unable to help himself, he turned and looked int he direction his bride was coming from. He had waited a long time for this moment.

The bride, clinging onto the arm of her father looked simply radiant, her father tenderly put his hand on hers - this was the last moment she would truly be "my little girl" to him. She turned the corner of the aisle and faced the groom. She looked amazing. I took my shot and swung round towards him. This was her moment.

His eyes were brimming with tears - he was blown away by how simply beautiful she looked. He was in awe of her and totally in love with her. It was written all over his face. The Vicar, who I knew had known the bride for many years simply beamed. This was a proud moment for her as the bride and her father reached the groom she leant forward, whispering private words of encouragement. This was her moment.

"Who gives this lady to be married to this man?" the Vicar asked. Full of emotion dad stepped forward. He tenderly took his daughters hand, lifted it and passed it to the Vicar. "I do" he said. One last glance at his daughter and he stepped back. This was his moment. I quickly refocused on his wife, just behind him in the congregation and saw her dab her eyes - proud of both of them. This was her moment too.

The Vicar asked for the rings. The best man stepped forward. So careful not to drop them he placed them on the waiting bible as if they were made of egg shells, the concentration showing on his face. This was his moment.

The groom picked up the ring and placed it on the brides waiting finger. Stopping only to make promises to her that would last a life time. She looked at him; they exchanged a glance as he pushed the ring into place. This was his moment.

The bride, hands shaking with emotion, picked up the grooms ring and put it on his finger. She struggled with her words, tears streaming down her face. They'd almost done it! She loved him so much she couldn't tell him what she wanted him and everyone else to hear. She choked try to make her promises. He smiled an encouraging smile - encouraged by his smile she pushed the ring home. Their fingers entwined - they were married! I took my shot. This was her moment.

They looked at each other, an eternity seemed to pass and then we heard the words "You may now kiss the bride." I took my shot. Then paused, they couldn't help themselves, they kissed again - so full of joy. This was their moment.

The reception room looked amazing. Every table setting had a little gift or "favour" for each guest. No-one had been left out. The candles on the table made patterns on the white linen as their flames danced. Everything about it was undisturbed, perfect.

It was soon time for the speeches. The groom stood up. He started to talk. I raised my camera to my face, tears streaming down my face. I was annoyed with myself. I glanced at Andy across the room - ever the professional - he appeared unmoved and continued on taking the shots I know we needed to make the story complete.

I focussed on the grooms' mother for a second. Seeing the tears running down her face made it harder to carry on, I shifted the focus slightly onto the groom - his eyes brimming over as he spoke so lovingly about his absent father. This was difficult. He looked directly across at me and I wondered if we were intruding on this - a private moment. He struggled to find his words. The bride stood up and carried on with his speech as he choked up and unable to speak further. The groom clung onto his mum - each giving the other support whilst the bride looked on, eyes full of love and concern. It was a poignant moment. This moment belonged to his mother.

As the Castle staff moved in to clear the tables, I was kicking myself for "losing it" - I was so taken up by the moment and the friendship I had built up with them as a couple since they booked us for the wedding meant that I was a party to how difficult the day was likely to be for the groom. I had got too close to them hadn't I? I had allowed myself to become too involved. The groom approached me. What was I going to say to him? He knew I had lost it. "Sharon - thank you." Was all he said as he hugged me. He didn't need to say anymore. It said it all. The pictures were important to him. His dad was gone but not forgotten. That moment, during that speech, belonged to his dad.

The couple went off to freshen up and we arranged to meet up with them to take some "Wedding Art" photos. I held the lights and watched in awe as Andy created picture after picture, capturing the intimacy between the two of them. We were there but we were incidental. This was their moment - and the first moment they had been together in private since the day began. It was important to them. It was a special moment. We stood back and quietly went about the business of taking pictures.

"Today This Could Be The Greatest Day Of Our Lives..." the lyrics said it all. Our couple were lost in the moment. They were alone in a room full of people. No-one else mattered. I took my shot. Again and again I took that shot. This wasn't just one moment. This was a whole series of moments and it belonged to them. These were their moments.

We took our leave, saying good night to parents, guests and "our" couple. We paused a moment outside to take a few last shots of the Castle floodlit and through the window we photographed the celebrations continuing, we had done our bit now.

Home again, I sat in front of the computer screen and began the task of downloading the cards of the pictures we had taken. Picture after picture flashed in front of me. They were documenting a perfect day full of moments in time. I felt a lump in my throat when I saw what we had captured between us, amazed at the beauty of the images Andy had documented as he went. Pictures I hadn't "seen" as I went about my day.