Children and Weddings

  There is nothing more precious than a small child all dressed up as a flower girl or ring bearer. But there are a few things to keep in mind when inviting children to be part of your wedding party.
  Weddings are hard on small children. They are asked to wear clothes that are different, every adult they know is busy, dressed differently and maybe a little stressed. Children pick up on the adult stress and become stressed themselves when asked to not crawl, play or run around because they are dressed up.
  Here are a few suggestions for having children in your wedding party:

•     Always make sure the child has had a nap a couple of hours before the wedding.
•     Make sure children have eaten.
•     Bring small toys that will keep them happy and occupied while the adults are getting ready.
•     Dress children at the same time the bride is getting dressed so not to worry about clothes getting crinkled hours before the wedding.

  Keep in mind that small children can be impulsive, a child who did great at the rehearsal can freeze up on the day of the wedding. So keep a sense of humor and enjoy that sometimes wonderful memories are made by unexpected mishaps
  One wedding I shot the flower girl was about 4 years old. She did wonderful at the rehearsal and looked like a darling little princess the day of the wedding. After the wedding party had made their way down the isle, the little flower girl was left standing in front of the bride. The doors to the chapel were closed. Everything was perfect.
  Then the doors opened....
  This little princess got a look of panic on her face when she saw all the people standing for the bride. She managed to toss a few of her flowers, then turned around, ran behind the bride and out the door.
  Everyone, including the bride laughed a bit, and the child's mother jumped up to catch the little girl...and a precious unexpected memory was made.
 
   ~Bonnie

Busy Wedding Photography Month

It's been a busy, busy month in the photography business and nothing makes us happier! Several weddings, some beach portraits and a reunion at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi. We've met some great folks along the way. Now it's time to get busy with editing photos, creating wedding albums and make discs of pictures.

What a Lovely Surpise

Every now and then we get the nicest surprise when we show up to shoot a wedding. A few weeks ago, Kelly and I showed up to shoot a wedding at a small church in Mobile. While there a young man walked by and said hello as if he knew me. He looked familiar but I couldn't remember where I had seen him before.

This stayed on my mind the whole time we were taking bridal portraits and some before the ceremony group shots. Looking around the room, I then spotted a another person who looked familiar. It was the father of the young man. Now, I was able to place them...they were the father and brother of a bride we had shot almost a year ago.

After the pictures were taken, Kelly and I went over and spoke with the father of our former bride. I remember the wedding well as this father brought tears to my eyes as he sang a song to his daughter while dancing the father daughter dance. A slide show of her growing up flashed in the background.

As it turns out, it was this family that had recommended us for the wedding we were shooting. Beaming this proud father told us that he was about to become a first time grandfather as his daughter and son in law were expecting their first child!

At the reception, Kelly and I are running around taking the usual candid shots and backgrounds for the album, when I noticed a VERY pregnant young woman enter the room. It was our former bride! Of course I had to go see her at once and offer congratulations.

Once again, I was close to tears as I placed my hand on this young expectant mother's belly. It's not often we get to see our brides and grooms take the next wonderful step in their journey. But when it does happen it's a priceless moment in a wedding photographer's life.
~Bonnie

Facebook

Moving into the vast world of cyber space, Boyd Photography is now on Facebook. It started out to be a convenient way to let our clients see a sampling of pictures before their album is done. It allows them to share with the world a few "preview" photos of their day. But this Facebook page has become so much more than that for me.

I've been on Facebook for a while but only to keep up with friends, find old friends and play games. Now, there is a new dimension. I find myself obsessed with checking on our photo page, adding new content and seeing who has become a fan! I've learned that its a great way to let folks know more about who Kelly and I are, our personalities, as well as our passion for photography, this great adventure called life and our family.

Facebook lends a venue for brides and grooms to learn more about our philosophy toward weddings. We believe that when planning a wedding one of the most important things a bride and groom can do is choose a photographer. Photos of your wedding are a personal reflection of your special day, so choosing a photographer should also be personal. This person should be someone you can count when not everything goes right. Someone who can make quick decisions to compensate for rain when the pictures were to be taken outside, someone who is flexible when the wedding does not start on time, or grandma wasn't there for the group shots, and someone who is going to be on the look out for those little special moments. I'm not referring to those all important group photos....I'm referring to those little moments; like when a flower girl falls asleep on a chair in the corner during the reception; that look on mom's face when she is dancing with her son.

Kelly and I have years of photojournalism behind us. That training has taught us to always be looking for those "little moments".

That's why I am so proud of our Facebook page, it allows everyone to see a little of what we see when we look through our lens. It lets people see who we are.....
~Bonnie

The reluctant ring bearer

This actually happened on July fourth this year. I was photographing a small wedding by myself, Bonnie being at a rehearsal for a wedding we would do the next day. The young lad, he must have been four, who was the ring bearer for this wedding suddenly announced that he was retiring from his duties. He was not going to do it . He quit. Now so far he had stood amiably with the bride and groom for their photos. He had been a team player, but now, he had decided that he didn't want to play wedding anymore and he was through. His grandmother was a little upset by this. The wedding was about ten minutes away and here was the ring bearer sitting on the floor in a hallway in the church in his white suit with his little pillow with the stand-in rings laced to it by his side. Now, I know that weddings can be strange for little kids. Everyone is all stressed out and they are wearing clothes that they don't like and they can't play or get dirty either, so its kinda miserable for them. I went over and sat down on the floor next to him and started reviewing some of my images on the back of the camera. When I came to some of him and the groom I asked him, real casual like, which one he liked. The kid had a good eye because he picked the same images that I would have. Next I showed his some of him and the flower girl. Again he picked good ones and I told him what a great job he was doing looking good in the photos. I asked him if he could do me a little favor and help me out with the flower girl. I knew that he and the flower girl were coming down the aisle together so I asked him to make sure that she didn't walk too fast. "Just walk with her slow so she drops flowers all along the way" I said. He agreed to that, and I showed him some photos of him and Rita, the bride. Again he picked the best ones, that kid could grow up to be a photo editor. I got up and walked away and he was back on the team. He did fine the rest of the day. The truth is he might have anyway but I like to think that giving him a job and some respect satisfied his need to do more than wear a suit and stay clean. ~Kelly