Exactly 10 years ago today (on June 8th, 2008), I photographed my first wedding. I was 23 years old and working as an intern photojournalist for a newspaper in Jackson, Michigan. So what better time than now to take a look back at our best wedding photos of the decade?
Before June of 2008, my only experience with weddings had been loitering by the bar while the person who thought it would be a good idea to drag me along reminisced with their friends and danced the Cupid Shuffle (or whatever the early 2000s version of the Cupid Shuffle was). I’d certainly never considered bringing my camera along. And anytime someone suggested I shoot weddings for a living, I would shake my head and furtively change the subject. I mean… wedding photography? Really? That’s one of the most artless and hackneyed professions a photographer could have, right?
Fast forward 10 years. I am now a full-time wedding photographer. Somewhere along the road, I had an epiphany. I realized that wedding photography doesn’t have to be boring. It doesn’t have to fit neatly into a box labelled “conformity.” It can be unique and it can be interesting and it can feed the soul instead of just paying the bills.
Over the past decade, Moira and I have seen so many cool places and met so many cool people that it’s difficult to imagine doing anything else. Tomorrow, exactly 10 years (plus one day) after shooting my first wedding, we’ll be shooting our 132nd wedding in Beaver Creek, Colorado. And the day after tomorrow, we’ll be shooting our 133rd wedding in Aspen.
To commemorate the first ten years, here’s a selection of our best wedding photos of the decade, starting with that first wedding in June of 2008, all the way up to present day. We hope you enjoy!
P.S. A huge congratulations to Anjali and Ryan on their 10th wedding anniversary. Many thanks to you both for taking a chance on a 23-year-old intern photographer. If it weren’t for you guys, I’m not sure what my life would look like right now.