Why the 10 best wedding moments of 2022? Why not 15? Or 99?
Because quality over quantity, friends.
In an age where 4.7 BILLION photos are taken in the world every single day, it’s safe to say the overwhelming majority of those images will never be viewed more than once–if at all.
Something that worries me as a wedding photographer when we deliver a gallery of hundreds of wedding photos, is that the client might miss the really good ones lost in the onslaught of images.
We’re conditioned to look for portraits. But we rarely see the moments that make up the WHY they’re having a wedding.
And that’s why I’m a documentary wedding photographer. Weddings are one of few rituals that nearly every culture in the world shares. I’m interested in you, your relationship, and your experience with all of these people you love and what among those experiences stands out as universal. Because when something is universal, it means we can all feel it.
As I contemplated the 10 best wedding moments of 2022, I wanted to share those universal experiences. I wanted the viewer to see the image and know exactly what that second feels like, either because they have experienced it or they WANT to experience it.
And this is why documentary wedding photography is so fulfilling. Contemplation of singular stories over quick scans of smiling portraits. Quality over quantity.
And so I present to you the 10 best wedding moments of 2022. From my perspective. Narrowed down based on the moment they represent. (I’m also going to discuss some nerdy photography stuff, but education boosts the experience, so I hope you like a little learning!)
Without further adieu, here are the 10 best wedding moments of 2022!
10. LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED.
The bride is literally inviting you to join the party, and we can tell from the looks on all of their faces, the party has begun and you need to catch up. We don’t see pre-ceremony bridal images like this very often, so it’s unique. But most of us have done shots with our friends.
In the photo, each person is at a different stage in the experience of downing a shot. And, there’s symmetry in the colours with asymmetry in their dresses–repeating that they’re each at a different stage/place/moment in their drink. With the bonus that their placements are clean, with none of the bodies intersecting so there’s space to see what each person is doing.
I like how clean and clear the message is: bottoms UP.
9. YOU NEED TO EAT BEFORE WE GO.
Weddings are a giant hoopla of the extraordinary, but here we’re peering into a mundane yet intimate moment between two people. Feeding your spouse is something we do because we care about them, because we don’t want them to get their fancy clothes dirty, because metaphorically and literally, till death do we part and feeding someone helps them not to die.
I love the composition here because we’re peeking past the door on this private but very universal experience. She has some food in her mouth already, he is about to take a bite. She’s taken her shoes off during this break from a very busy day, he’s still wearing his. It’s real life, and it’s something we all do for the people we love.
8. WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH.
You can tell by the look on the bride’s face how very loved she feels, and that feeling is repeated on the faces of all the women around her. I love the contrast between the black and white of their outfits. But there’s symmetry in all the hats, with her standing out in white and shining like the freaking diamond she is.
7. SHALL WE DO THIS?
Even without knowing the vintage car the bride and groom are sitting in has been the wedding car for the bride’s family for several generations, we can sense that it’s an important family heirloom, and they’re about to drive down the aisle, just as their relatives have before them. The car is a symbol of tradition, and family history. Add to this the expressions they share and contrast–she is light and excited, he is more serious and grounded–and you get the sense that this moment has gravity. It’s TIME.
6. TAKING THE LITERAL PLUNGE.
We often use the euphemism, ‘take the plunge,’ when we’re talking about doing something big. Well, getting married is big. And this photo is of two people, just married, taking the plunge. The moment is just before the cold, just before the soaking, just before the water breaks. It’s *just* as everything is about to change. Much like saying, ‘I do.’
Bonus backstory: What we can’t really tell is that it’s OCTOBER, and the lake is COLD. Sky (in black) had wanted to jump into the lake after their ceremony, whereas Kingsley did NOT want to. It bodes well for their relationship that Kingsley was willing to do this for Sky, and Sky got to experience something they really wanted to do, with them.
5. THESE THREE SISTERS.
Anyone who has sisters is likely to agree, a sister relationship is pretty special and you can feel it in this double hug. There are two stories in this photo: the one of the bride–the middle sister in age and in this image–and her relationship with her two sisters; and the story of their mom–who has watched these relationships from their very beginning–feeling this moment with love and pride in her family.
The composition is good because we have the sisters’ story taking up two thirds of the frame on the right, and mom’s in the other third (hello, rule of thirds). But it’s also cool because the two sisters whose faces we can see look so much alike. You can TELL they’re sisters without needing to be told.
And if a photo can tell you without telling you, it’s a good photo.
4. I’M SO PROUD OF US.
Ok, this one GETS me. If there’s one thing I search for when making meaningful wedding photos, it’s THE LOOK between people who love each other. There’s a moment of pause when two people who share a history look at one another and everything they’ve been through runs across their faces.
Here, the groom and his mom share that moment. It was a millisecond in time, but it’s universal. Nearly every parent has this expression on their face at some point during their kid’s wedding. There’s pride and gratitude and a knowing between them. Add to the photo a witness, the bride’s mom, on the right. She gets it, too.
Their quiet intimacy amongst the crowd–some watching, some interested in other things–makes it even more poignant.
3. FIRST AND LAST DANCE.
I almost didn’t make this photo. I was leaving the reception, the couple were having a ton of fun on the dance floor, and I was just going to slip away. But then, the twinkle lights twinkled and who can say no to twinkle lights? I set up a flash and asked Alex and Stewart to take their dancing onto the deck for a sec, and voila.
I love that they look suspended among the lights, they’re focused on each other, and although there’s an awesome party happening 30 feet away, there’s no one else around. It feels kind of magical.
2. THIS IS THE REAL LIFE.
This year I started doing something really fun. For some couples, I stay until the very last moment of their wedding day. As a documentary wedding photographer, the really real REAL is the most interesting story. We never see how exhausting weddings are. We never see the contrast between the fairytale and the actual experience.
This is what the end of your wedding feels like. Dirty. Exhausted. You can’t wait to flop down on a bed and get some actual rest. Your wedding has been your focus for months, even years. This is the moment when you can finally rest your head, breathe it in, and fall asleep with the love of your life. Dirty feet and all.
1. THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS AN UGLY CRY.
Friends, if you can do yourself one favour in your life, it’s to let yourself feel the feels.
As a documentary wedding photographer, I’m often privy to people’s hang ups about how they look. People are always asking me, “You can photoshop that, right?”
And let me tell you–it’s heartbreaking. The answer is no. I won’t photoshop your double chin or your ugly cry. You have a double chin because you’re laughing with people you love. You’re ugly crying because you just saw your almost-wife for the first time.
Ugly crying and double chins are why I rally so hard for documentary photos over posed ones. Documentary wedding photos reflect the actual, real beauty we all have–and that includes our numerous chins and our red eyes. People who love you, see that and they love you MORE because of it.
So if you’re a feeler and your eyes burst with tears when you see your love in their wedding dress on the shore of Okanagan Lake on the most perfect day that is your wedding, let it go. It’s liberating and empowering and inspiring.
Real life is what’s truly breathtaking. The fancy and the mess.
I hope you’ve enjoyed deep diving in to the 10 best wedding moments of 2022 to come out of my camera. If so, click here to send me an email. Tell me about you, your loves and your wedding.