We've been talking about adding personal details to make your wedding day special and memorable for you and your guests. When I think about weddings that really told me a lot about the couple, there are always a couple of people who come to mind immediately...Wendy's fun color choices for example, or Luis and his amazing floral arrangements. There are many others that just have something about their wedding that seems to pop out and make me think, "Oh, that couple looks really fun/classy/sweet/quirky/etc."
However, every now and then I see a wedding that is just gorgeous, but somehow leaves me without a solid impression of who that couple is when it's not their wedding day. I have to admit, I don't find that to be quite as satisfying, even if the wedding is beautiful. Part of it might be that the wedding was so simple and traditional, no new or unique elements stood out. I can understand that, especially for small celebrations, but it does remind me that even the simplest last-minute addition can make a world of difference. (For example, the balloons used in Kaitlyn's wedding photos = brilliant!)
It's not always simplicity that keeps me from learning more about a couple on their wedding day. For example, take a look at these photos of a couture wedding shot by Maring Photography:
Ok, as I said before, obviously this is a beautiful wedding and I'm sure it was an amazing day for the couple and their guests. Do you see what I mean, though, about not being able to learn much about the couple just by looking at the photos? There's just so much going on. I think this is a case of personality getting lost in the details. The only thing I can gather is that this bride has a big, over-the-top personality, but in reality it's possible that she just said, "I like pink," and the wedding coordinator took care of everything else. It's really hard to tell, isn't it?
Note: I do not think that having a couture wedding means that your wedding is destined to be a gorgeous exact copy of another person's couture wedding. I've seen a lot of "big" weddings that still incorporate a ton of the couple's personality into the day. (Cassie's and Brettainy's come to mind off the top of my head.) I think even just a simple personal accent or handwritten detail might have really rounded out the wedding photos shown above...at least for me.
What do you think?
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12 comments:
I can see where you're coming from but I think it might be a lack of intimate photos and wedding party photos, that's part of what you expect to see in a wedding post. They help give you a feel for the couple. From the ceremony shot the couple looks very much in love. From the shot of her seeing her reception site (both shots) it looks like she just opened the doors to what she had always pictured in her head. And the first dance shot is very sweet... If she in fact told that coordinator that she loved pink, she most certainly got it. There's a lot of pink in that wedding :)
Beautiful details and a beautiful bride! The cake is pretty amazing, it reminds me of my sister-in-laws! That's a lot of bridesmaids, I might go insane! LOL
I agree with Jess. What an odd choice of photos, though! There are some details, but not a full shot of the ceremony location, and there's one chandalier shot, but it's awkwardly close so you can't tell where it is.
As far as why it seems like the couples don't have any personality, there aren't any of just the couple after the ceremony, like you normally see in wedding posts (that really bring out the couple's personality because it's just them), nor are there getting ready photos, bridal portraits, even a tight reception dancing photo. It's hard to get a feel for a couple when it's 10% details and 90% them standing in front of everyone getting married. Does that make sense? Just my opinion. :)
(I want to make it clear I'm not bashing the photos at all. They're honestly great! It's just the specific choices here that I think limit a balanced impression of the day.)
I'm going to mimic what Jess and Jensey said, I think the personality may be lost in the photos. The Bride may not have wanted the very personal photos on the internet. I'm not sure, but I know if you take Brettainy's wedding as an example it is the shots of just her and Kyle that tell the story of who they are together.
I am too don't want you to think that the photos are not beautiful and as a part of the whole help tell the story. I just feel the story is not complete with this selection!!!
I see a girl marrying her highschool sweetheart. I could be way off base, but it's in the way she looks at him.
I also love the "prom" like feel. It has a very warm, sweet, "young love" feel about it. :)
The wedding was gorgeous but honestly I am not a fan of the couture weddings. I don't think they are very personal. You are pretty much set to the theme that they have in place. I would rather spend the money on a wishes wedding and make it more personalized. Its not like there is a money limit on what you can spend on a wishes wedding. I think it is more the idea that oh I had a COUTURE wedding. Just my opinion.
This is a beautiful wedding! It has been already stated that the pictures that were chosen didn't give enough about the bride and groom. Ever stop to think that maybe the bride and groom didn't really have posting their wedding pictures all over the internet to be critized by strangers in mind when they were planning on their photography.
You have no idea who these people, it's quite possible that their wedding "screams" them. and there are a lot of brides out there that don't spend countlss years planning their wedding so maybe by telling her coordinator that "she likes pink" and leaving it at that was enough for her. Wedding pictures are a personal thing for family and friends. I understand that this blog is supposed to help with wedding planning. I myself was a disney bride and I've been following your blog and I've enjoyed it seeing all the differences that everyone has had to make thier weddings their own. But I do disagree with using brides and grooms that aren't following the blog. They have no way of putting in their input. so no one really knows any of the little details. A couture wedding is just that COUTURE. Completely different from all the other traditional weddings. Maybe the couple isn't traditional at all, or maybe to them it was traditional in every way. To say the story is not complete because of the few select pictures that were given is wrong. When you thought that you should of also thought about not posting them just for that exact reason..they don't tell the whole story, and maybe just maybe their story is not for you to tell.
I think that some really good points have been made about the photography. These are very limited images and we don't have a good sense of what these photographers aren't showing us. I suppose this is one of the hardest parts about looking in on a wedding from the outside...we have to completely rely on just a handful of images with no other information.
As far as the argument against using brides and grooms who aren't readers, this is a tricky subject. On the one hand, I can definitely see your point. I don't know this bride's name and I'm positive she doesn't know we're talking about her photos today. It does seem unfair that she has no "voice" here.
Unfortunately, the reality is that I don't know who is reading the blog. Most of the time, I only hear from brides after I've posted their weddings, either because they were readers who didn't actively participate or because someone told them about the posting. I do receive submissions from readers, but at least half of the weddings I post are ones that I discovered and curated on my own, usually because I found them interesting for some reason.
I'm afraid that if I rely solely on reader submissions, the blog could turn into a small show-and-tell between friends and wouldn't end up showcasing very much variety. So, at the moment my policy is to show weddings that are already on a public site somewhere (versus stealing people's FB photos without their permission) and if either the couple or the photographer complains, I take them down. It's not a perfect solution, but it's the best I can think of so far.
Either way, I appreciate all the comments today! I actually have more to say about this wedding, but you'll just have to be patient for the part 2...
I personally think its a beautiful wedding and while the pics may not showcase "personality" to you, it may fit their personality perfectly. It seems to me that "personality" comes in the form of quirky, fun, or unique choices and while you can't see the little details here that might showcase it, this could be this couple to a tee. It is couture, but its also super glamorous and elegant and that could be exactly what they are going for. Just my two cents ;-)
Yikes!! I love this blog but I have since realized that I have no personality since I had a non quirky wedding. LOL When did it become about your personality anyways? Isn't it about the love of the couple?
BTW, I think this wedding is gorgeous. I am just not a fan of the photography style. Different strokes for different folks. ;)
I think the problem I have with this is that couture weddings they cost a lot and I personally feel like there should have been more bang for the buck. It just looked to me like a simple wedding. But then again I am a huge fan of over the top and out there.
I agree with Carly. It is a limited number of photographs. However, this week is all about personal details. With the couture weddings the case used to be that you couldn't change any of the details. You had to stick with the selected Tutera package so, with the exception of personal floral, there really was no stamp from the bride and groom. There really was nothing TO personalize. I think Carly has done a great job of showing the contrast between some over the top weddings that are completely personalized like Brett's and this one which is much more cookie cutter in a sense. Both are gorgeous weddings but this one definitely feels as though it could belong to any bride who chooses the package and I am not sure that more personal photographs of the bride and groom would change that. I honestly feel as though if it wasn't a Tutera package and it was all hand selected by the bride herself everyone would feel very differently. The good part is that the guests most likely didn't know it was a package option. I am sure they must have had an amazing evening! I love the pictures though! It really does look like a fairy tale!
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