weddings are grown folk business....

Its been a long time coming but I promised I would post something about the wedding I took pictures at the other week in Michigan.... It was a long haul to get there ( is that a song?) and it was weird to see that much snow on the ground in Ohio, then see none in Michigan. Ann Arbor is a legit college town... i was amused at seeing actual fraternity/sorority houses and I felt like I was in some sorta movie when we tooled thru campus. We got to see the Big House, albeit with a lot of construction around it. And my Droid and Google Maps got a workout thru out the entire trip. I Think that what I took from the trip were some internal musings that I have been thinking about since that trip.

First, the Officiant asked me during the wedding rehearsal where my kids were and I told him "Weddings are grown folk business..." meaning that I have always felt that weddings are a intimately adult sorta thing. I have no problems with children being at or in weddings. And certainly they can add a certain flair and change of pace to the ceremony and proceedings. But I think that the symbolism and thoughts that go on, especially during the ceremony are of an adult nature, and I always am taken aback by the emotions that are present, both apparent and covert. The joining of two families and the myriad of subtext that goes with that are always interesting. Then you have the feelings of the parents... especially with a Father and his Daughter, juxtaposed with a Mother and her Son.

Next you have the friends and I have always enjoyed seeing the happiness that the Wedding day always brings to them. I saw happiness again with this wedding and it is a good thing. And I felt privileged to get to be a part of this particular wedding because the event was a more private, small affair. They pretty much paid/organized/put on the wedding themselves and decided to move the date forward by several months from the original date due to sickness in the family and a desire to make sure close family would be able to take part. It reminded me in many ways of my own wedding in seeing them dealing with preparations (cake/reception/rehearsal site/etc.) as well as taking time for family and friends and I hope that they got a chance to truly enjoy the experience, because the amount of mental energy dedicated versus the actual time of the event is way out of whack.

As I have mentioned before (and most people reading this know all too well), I am not a very open person and not particularly easy to get to know. I dont open up to people until they have jumped thru a myriad of hoops, tests, Huddle House conversations, Amphitheater talks, Botanical Garden walks and bus ride interrogations. And I tend to be fiercely loyal to a select group of people and I am confident those people know who they are. But I am also starting to ponder my mortality (and role in all of this)thinking that maybe I should be a little more... "friendly" to the general public and my friends in general. It is just very difficult to change something that was ingrained in me so long ago by my Grandmother to always remain under control and view the big picture. But as I gave a hug to my friends and said goodbye to them after their wedding, it felt a little better to give them a hug, and it seems to feel more "natural" as I go along... I know this is a strange concept to a lot if not all of you, but it never has been that I dont love you, its just that instead of jumping up and down in celebration during that long touchdown run, I was taught to look for the flag on the play and it all being called back.

Anyway, I digress... it seems I have been rambling about 3 or 4 different things at the same time...

I learned a lot about photography during this trip and I hope that at least some of the photos came out ok. I did flub a few but I find that the more I take, the more comfortable i become. Snapping in RAW was a revelation and it forced me out of auto settings on the camera and made me think even more about lighting and etc. And I learned a couple of lessons the hard way. But looking back at my work, I think some of it was decent. I hope they are able to grab some usable prints out of it too...