Today's Image of the Day comes from a recent Dorset wedding day in Tarrant Monkton during the wedding reception speeches, which were held in a beautiful tipi packed to capacity!
When I'm photographing the wedding speeches, I'm always mindful that I need to balance getting the great shots with not getting in the way of the guests who are keen to see the speakers.. For this tipi wedding, the tables were laid in long runs up and down the tents, which created the necessity for me to stay relatively still - as to move to a different line of tables would involve going to the far ends of the tipis! So, on this wedding day I chose a spot where I could get a wide or tight shot of the speakers, dependent on which of my cameras I picked up, as well as a good viewing point of as many guests as possible.
I love this particular image as it demonstrates what weddings are all about for me - pure emotion! As the bride laughs in delight during her father's speech, there isn't even a need to see the whole of his face; the little smile on his lips is enough to create the connection in the moment.
I can't remember a wedding I've photographed where the speeches haven't touched me in some way - so I can only imagine how much more affecting and emotional they must be for the families and friends who are there to be a part of them. That's why it's such an important part of your wedding day to have photographed, for moments such as these are gone so quickly - but an image of the delight, love or emotion that those simple words spoken during a speech will bring back those moments again and again.
