It was months ago, back in June, when I was asked if I could shoot a wedding. I had taken the train (what a surprise!) up to Monterey to help Brian and Kelly move stuff to storage and go to the first Northstar race of the year. I think it was in the car, driving up to the race that they asked if I could do it. Shooting a wedding is pretty different than shooting riders passing by. After giving it some thought, I said I'd do it! Of course, I knew I had to get some kind of experience, even though Kelly said I'd do fine. On the school snow/ski trip at the beginning of the year, one of the instructors told me his wife, a wedding photographer might be looking for second shooters. Remembering this, I contacted her and ended up being a third shooter for a wedding in Santa Barbara. I learned how a wedding happens and is shot. I can't imagine shooting a wedding myself without having first shot one alongside someone that shoots weddings.

Forward to three weeks ago, I was in Palos Verdes to shoot their wedding. They picked me up on the way that Friday. I shot the party at Kelly's parent's house Saturday night. Sunday afternoon, we did portraits in a park by a library before going to the ceremony. After the ceremony, I shot the reception. The most stressful part for me was the portraits before the ceremony. We didn't have much time before the ceremony, so I had to get creative and get the right people together for the shots quickly. After the portraits, we were off to the park above the shore where the actual wedding part would happen. I couldn't have asked for better lighting. The sun was setting over the ocean, behind where they would be. Probably not surprising, the reception after that was the most fun to shoot.

In some ways, shooting portraits and a wedding is easier than shooting sports. Of course, there can be just as many points made about weddings being harder. It was an awesome experience and challenge to myself. I'm really happy with my shots of my first wedding. Obviously, I want to shoot sports primarily, but it's likely that I'll be doing more weddings in the future.

Photo Gallery Of Brian and Kelly's Wedding