Another Journey Begins...

On occasion, Bryant and I shoot pictures at weddings. I always stress out about them beforehand. The pressure really builds up in me. This is THE day; there is only one shot at this. It's not like taking children's pictures where, if the camera breaks, or the pictures get deleted, or some other horrible thing happens, you can always just redo them. This is the wedding day. This will never happen again. You don't have a second chance at these pictures. Luckily, Bryant is a good yin for my yang. While there are many types of projects on which we don't work well together, we always manage to bring out the best in each other when doing weddings together. Bryant is a wonderful wedding director, and this Saturday was no exception. He ran the show like a pro. Everyone, including me, was looking to him for direction, and the wedding and reception came off perfectly. I am so proud of him.
Despite the stress and exhaustion doing these weddings cause us (and Judy - thank you for watching Reeves for us!), I ultimately do enjoy doing them. It is fun to be around people on one of the happiest days of their lives. It is interesting and inspiring to see how different weddings are decorated and which caterers are the best. It is also very poignant and touching to listen to the homilies and exchange a silent, knowing glance with your own husband when the minister speaks of loving each other through good times and bad, and learning to apologize and forgive each other, and revisiting in your mind the vows you took all those years ago. Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we forget how we felt on our own BIG DAY. It's nice to watch as two other people start their journey together and remember how far you and yours have come.
But what really got me this weekend, in addition to the homily, was the father/daughter dance. I don't know whether it's because I am pregnant or because I'm a daughter or because maybe I'm getting ready to have a daughter, but this dance got me. They danced to I Loved Her First. Here is the chorus for those of you, like me, who have never heard it.

"But I loved her first and I held her first

And a place in my heart will always be hers

From the first breath she breathed

When she first smiled at me

I knew the love of a father runs deep

And I prayed that she'd find you someday

But it still hard to give her away

I loved her first"

Wow! I can't even imagine what it must be like to watch your child get married. I'm tearing up just reading these lyrics. Needless to say, I had to keep my eye up to the viewfinder and keep taking pictures because I couldn't let people see that I was crying more than even the mother of the bride! The thought of Bryant going through this as father of the bride is almost more than I can bear, and I know that when and if the time comes, our little girl will have to give him a nudge to get him down the aisle just like I had to do to my dad.