Saturday, December 13, 2008

The "need" for personal eye candy (or wedding porn if you prefer)

As you can see from my last post, I've been struggling with the "stuff" of the wedding and the meaning of the wedding. I mention in that post that Chris and I had decided not to do engagement pictures. We thought it was an unnecessary expense, and for us, self-indulgent.

But this decision has continued to gnaw in the background somewhere. Maybe there is something about capturing the joy of the engagement process that is important. Or maybe it is the cool idea for a photo shoot that keeps this in my mind.

I justify the consideration a couple of ways... Comfort with your photographer is very important, especially for goofy and camera-shy folks like Chris and I. We love our photographer's work. Frankly, I think she's one of the best out there... not just in Tahoe, but anywhere. I want to share her work with you because it is so great.


Annie X photographie

and her blog

Who wouldn't want the opportunity to have some extra photos from Annie? Her work is AMAZING!

Also, isn't it somewhat important to capture this time? We don't need photos to make memories, but they certainly do help sharpen the details in our minds. Looking at them evokes emotion, fills in the color, and provides an anchor for the time.

Finally, my mom has been bugging me for years to give her a photo for her desk. This would be a way to do that without having the photo be of me in a wedding dress!

Of course, we've also considered that we could probably get a friend to do photos for the cost of a burrito and some beer... and that we don't really "need" more photos, since we're getting some from our wedding day. Still, it's not really the same as working with our photographer. For a couple of folks that are committed to keeping costs down and the wedding industrial complex at bay, it feels a little like a compromise.

So I ask those of you who are engaged or married, did you do engagement photos? Are you glad you did or did it end up being unnecessary? Did it help to practice with your photographer? For those of you that know me well, do you think I'm losing sight of our goal by doing something like this? Should we just forget it? Or should we go for it?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mr. Bean and I did end up getting engagement photos from another intern who wanted to start her portfolio. It was fun, but I don't think that they were really necessary. (We have only used the photos in our wedding slide show and that's it.)
However, Mr. Bean and I had worked with our photographer before because friends of ours used her in there wedding where we were in the bridal party.
If you're still really keen on them, could you ask for them for Christmas?

Unknown said...

so I have never been married, but I watched as my brother and his wife planned their wedding. they opted for engagement photos. the photos are great. while the wedding photos capture the excitement of the big event, I actually like the engagement photos more. Jason and Cami are more natural, much more themselves in their normal clothes, not the tux, big white dress, and done-up hair. I do think it was good practice for them, too. after having mugged for the photographer for the engagement photos and getting over any apprehension, they were old pros for the wedding photos. :)