This past weekend, I experienced numerous flashbacks to April 12, 2003: 11 years ago. 11 years ago, behind a Canon Rebel film camera, I photographed my very first wedding in Buffalo, Minnesota.
The bride and groom were co-workers of someone I babysat for…
Brian & Kris hired me to photograph their wedding after looking at a 3 ring binder of college photography assignments. I was 2 years away from graduating from college and I had nothing to show them that would give them any confidence that I wouldn’t screw up their day. They were not concerned. She looked at me and said: “there’s a first time for everything” and with that I was about to photograph my very first wedding.
I charged them $300. I’m fairly certain I spent $500 on film, processing, prints and an album. Prior to her wedding, I vividly remember Kris asking for all the images to be in black and white. I bought rolls and rolls and rolls of black and white film. To this day I shudder to think that she has not 1 color image of her wedding. I plead ignorance…just because she wanted black and white photography of her wedding didn’t mean I needed to shoot it in black and white film. To my defense, photoshop was barely “a thing” back then…
A week before the wedding, my mom and I did a test-drive to Buffalo, so I would know where to go.
A few days before the wedding, I recieved this awesomeness in the mail from 2 of my cousins:
There’s very little I remember about that day. I DO remember having the realization that I’d actually have to tell people what to do… (the extroverted person I become when I shoot a wedding is a post for another day) Everyone was so kind. So happy. For me, it was love at first wedding. I was going to be a wedding photographer.
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In total rookie fashion, I turned over EVERY. SINGLE. NEGATIVE. to Brian and Kris. You read that right. I don’t even have the negatives, prints, files or ANYTHING from my very first wedding. (shaking my head….) I must have made 1 print for myself, because I recently ran across it in a bin labled: Business Memorabilia. Ha ha ha, memorabila? What is wrong with me? That bin is filled with my very first price list printed on wrinkled copy paper, publishings in local magazines and area wedding guides and tattered out-of-date business cards. But I digress…
I found this:
and this:
The gratitude I feel towards Brian and Kris cannot be measured. How do you thank someone for giving you a chance? At the time they weren’t exactly making my dreams come true, they were just offering me the opportunity to find my dream.
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In September 2004, still 9 months away from graduating college, I officially formed my business with the State of Minnesota. 10 years ago! Throughout the remainder of this year, I intend to repeatedly publish a “10 Year Series” on my blog. The sky is the limit and sometimes I can’t sleep at night with all the ideas rolling around in my head.
I am excited.
