Taylor and Justin's Wedding At-Home

I shot Taylor and Justin’s engagement shoot a few months back and I remember it being a really fun time. Justin in particular was a hoot because of his sense of humor. Taylor and Justin had a large wedding planned with their wedding spanning 3-days. Sadly, COVID-19 hit and they had to rearrange everything. They decided to still get married on their day, but the big events would have to be postponed until later on this year. They had me come out to their small home wedding to capture memories of their small ceremony.

Even though the ceremony took place in a home, I loved it. Being at a hotel or event center is always nice, but being at someone’s home is unique and very personal. Sure, it may not have all the glitz and elegance, but that doesn’t matter in the long run. It was my job to really capture the day in the most honest way possible, and find interesting angles to take photos.

Taylor was nervous before the ceremony and needed a quick drink with her mom before getting her dress on. These are the moments I love capturing because they tell the story of the wedding day, and when Taylor sees this photo, it’ll bring her right back to that moment and how she felt during that time. To capture this photo I needed a pretty high shutter speed and ISO. Thankfully, the lens I was using (a 50mm Canon 1.2) did the job masterfully. I could have used flash, but doing so would not have given off the same mood as using the ambient light in their kitchen area. It was a difficult capture, but one I really like a lot.

Another favorite of mine was the father’s first look. This also took place in the kitchen area with some very difficult lighting conditions. I just love the angle I got here with her mom looking on with so much feeling. Again, if flash was used here, the mood would be completely taken away in terms of the final result as well as the moment between Taylor and her dad. A flash popping off is not something most people enjoy experiencing.

The ceremony was held in the backyard. Justin went with a pink shirt with cactuses on it. It was a simple, but nice set up. With the limited space, it was a bit hard to navigate around to get the angles that I wanted, but I made due. I was a bit thankful that I didn’t have to provide videography services as getting all that set up would have been difficult - not impossible - but difficult! Taylor is getting videography services done when they have their larger ceremony and my guy Brian of Brian GG Photography is helping me out with that.

Here’s a wider look at the ceremony area. The space was very confined as you can see with the bridesmaids and groomsmen - they couldn’t even make a line!

The first dance took place in the dark kitchen so that the couple could have some space and privacy. This photo of Justin is one of my favorites of him because it shows his expression of love for Taylor with his guard down a bit. For all the jokes and silliness, he is in love with his wife! Black and white seemed like the best way to express this photograph. You can see a bit of noise and grain in the photo, but to me it adds nice character to the image. I rarely mind some grain in black and whites.

We moved back and forth from the backyard to the front for the various reception events that went on. Here’s a pretty traditional photo of the bride ready to throw her bouquet to the single ladies waiting in the back.

Ahhhh, Justin is back to being Justin… we had endless pictures of Justin posing in his own ‘unique’ ways in the images we got. I just love mom’s expression here!

As a food photographer, I’m always excited to photograph the cake, and Taylor and Justin had a gorgeous cake for their reception.

And for my final image here I’ll share a funny one of Taylor as Justin goes in to remove the garter belt. I think Taylor’s facial expression says it all! I can’t wait to photograph and put on video their larger ceremony in a few months. it’s gonna be a fun one!