Wearing pearls: this is one of those wedding myths with both bad luck and good luck meanings. The ominous version of this myth holds that pearls represent future tears; thus wearing them will bring many tears and heartache in the marriage. The luckier version of this implies that the pearls take the place of the bride’s real tears, thus she’ll have a happy, tear-free wedding.

Tears on the wedding day: it is considered good luck for the bride to cry during her wedding. She will have cried all her tears away leaving none for the marriage. Another theory holds that a bride’s tears are good luck as they bring rain for the crops.

Rain on the wedding day: this is another good luck – bad luck wedding myth. In the good luck version, rain is said to foretell the coming of children just as rain promotes growth in the farmer’s fields. In the unlucky version, rain drops represent the many tears a bride will cry throughout her marriage.

Sign your married name before the wedding: it is considered bad luck for the bride to sign her married name before the wedding as it tempts fate. For the same reason, the bride should avoid wearing her entire bridal outfit (wedding dress, bridal veil, shoes and jewelry) prior to her wedding day.

Dropping the wedding ring: this is another contradictory wedding myth. On the one hand, dropping the wedding ring during the wedding ceremony was seen as lucky as it would shake out evil spirits hiding in the ring. On the other hand, dropping the ring was considered the most ominous of events; whoever dropped the ring was said to be the first to die.

The bride shouldn’t make her own dress: this wedding myth states that for every stitch of the wedding dress the bride sews herself she’ll shed one tear during her marriage.

Time of day to get married: the couple should exchange their vows as the clock’s minute hand is moving upwards, therefore any time half past the hour, for example 2:30 or 4:45. The upward movement is said to bring blessings upon the couple as the minute hand is “ascending towards heaven.”

Surname of the same first letter: it is considered unlucky for the bride to marry a man with a surname that begins with the same first letter as hers. This wedding myth is summarized in the following Victorian rhyme: “To change the name and not the letter; is to change for the worst and not the better.”

Letting others try on your ring: the wedding ring is considered sacred and should not be lent to others to try on, this is sure to bring back luck and even the possibility of unfaithfulness. If ever the wedding rings are removed by a bride it must be the groom who returns them to her fingers to continue the good luck.

The brides wedding dress has its own myths and superstitions of colors and wearing:
Long ago, it was considered good luck to have a piece of the wedding gown, so then the dress was literally ripped to pieces with the bride still in it.

No dress was to be more becoming or longer than the brides wedding dress as she should be the center of attention on her wedding day and it brought good luck.

It is considered unlucky for a groom to see his bride in her wedding dress as well as for her to try on the wedding dress more than one time after alterations.

It is also good luck for the bride to enter the church of her wedding on her right foot, while walking down the aisle after the wedding, it is customary to remove both wedding rings to ensure there is no trouble for the couple should she remove them at a later time.

The bride should have all the bridesmaids sign the bottom of her shoe, and the name that has not been walked off is the next female to marry.

The bride’s shoe: long ago, the father would pass one shoe of the bride’s to the groom to signify him giving his daughter away in marriage. It is also considered good luck for the groom’s mother to throw a shoe at the bride as the couple leaves their reception so that the bride and her mother-in-law would forever be the best of friends. It is also considered to be good luck if a house cat eats from the brides shoe the week of her wedding. In addition, the bride must have a penny in her shoe while being married for good luck and wealth.

When I shot racing events, it was the speed, unpredictability and size of the venues that raised my adrenaline level.  The fact that I was standing 1.5 feet away from a car which was moving at 150 mph was nuts.  And it became very clear to me that I may only have one shot at getting the photo, so I had better focus and stay on track.   Weddings are similar in that they are big events, the moments of a lifetime seem to move at 150 mph and you only get one chance to shoot the love that is unfolding before your very eyes.

When shooting nature photographs, I get a sense of scale and I learn about the art of patience.  You cannot control Mother Nature’s behaviour.   You may spend hours waiting for the right set of circumstances to make real what you visualized in your mind’s eye.  With weddings, you can spend all kinds of time imagining how the images are going to look in locations chosen with care, only to find that in the end, planning  goes out the window and spontaneity takes the cake.

Family photography affords me the opportunity to get to know people in their own environment.   Hanging out with the family clientelle has demonstrated that photography is not just about taking that picture which will be remembered, it is about forming relationships that ultimately contribute to taking a better picture.   I have come to believe that my role as the photographer is 40 % artist and 60% friend.   When I am shooting weddings, I know that I have been invited to share in one of  life’s milestones and that the way I relate to the couple, their family members and friends will be an integral part of how successful their ‘big day’ is.

Interacting with children during photography sessions is an exercise in fun and perseverance.   Likewise, a wedding is an expression of fun that undoubtedly takes on a life of it’s own, particularly when the reception begins.

So there you have it…the varied reasons why I shoot weddings and feel so passionate about what I do.

I apologize for the delay and hope to be back up and running very shortly.

Rene