Listen, friend, I love a good crying sesh. And I love seeing other people’s tears. I don’t always love what causes those tears, but I love seeing people raw and emotional to the point that they do start to cry. It’s a beautifully human process.
As a wedding photographer, I absolutely want to see tears. Let me tell you why.
My dad is a crier. Not like a normal, tears up at a movie or sheds a few tears at a funeral crier. He’s more like a cries-when-bittersweet-memories-pop-into-his-head kind of a crier. Or a cries-watching-his-favorite-sports-teams-wins-a-champtionship crier. Or a cry-for-the-12-hours-it-took-to-drive-home-from-dropping-your-daughter-off-at-college kind of crier. His mom was the same way. She’d tear up when you left her house because she was already missing you. So you get the picture, I come from a long, long line of cry babies.
And as much as we could all roll our eyes and say, “Well that’s just grandma, you know how she is,” it’s something I really love about my family. Those tears showed me, like literally, visually showed me, how much they loved me. I didn’t wonder how they felt because it was so clear on their faces and their slightly damp t-shirts.
My grandma passed away over five years ago and I can still picture her, waving from her front door, tears in her eyes, as we drove away. But, babe, I don’t want you to have to picture it in your mind like I do. I want you to have those tears in print forever and ever, visually reminding you of how much you are loved.
Why Tears Matter
Tears mean that the emotion is felt so strongly, it has to find a way out. You can’t fake them (at least not very well) and they’re the best when they come from someone you don’t expect. Like your grandpa who’s a tough nut to crack, or your mom who always has it together. Those people will be more emotional on your big day than you’re expecting and I’m always hoping we get tears.
My goal as your wedding photographer is to capture all of the emotions on your day. I want to give you those tears and smiles and laughter in your wedding album so that in 10, 20, 50 years, you can look back and see all that love from your people.
And you can see the tears they cried, just for you, on that perfect day.
