I’m A Wedding Photographer: Take 2

I did my first ever solo wedding yesterday.

I looked up tips for new wedding photographers and there was all this scary stuff like 

“you have no idea what your doing”
“you’re not prepared”
“hire the couple a real wedding photographer”
“you will most likely ruin the wedding”
“don’t do it”

After many encouraging messages, I figured the morning of the wedding would probably be too late to call and cancel…

So I put on my big girl panties and walked out the door.

This was my mantra for the day
Stay calm. Act cool…kind of like you know what your doing

I’m learning MANY new things every time I do a shoot.
Here are the things I learned yesterday.

1. My height is a disadvantage
2. I need to buy a couple extra lens covers. Those suckers get lost too easily.
3. A light diffuser thing is life changing. I need to return this one to it’s rightful owner (Thanks Jedi Josh & Kelley!) and buy one of my own
4. Other vendors become your friends during the wedding and keep you company
5. It is a guarantee that I will put the camera down and join in on the cupid shuffle
6. Stay calm
7. Act cool…kind of like you know what your doing (I think they believed me)

This was like one of the most intricate weddings ever.
Christy handmade 98% of everything. Bouquets. Table decorations. Boutonnieres
I wish I could show you everything.

I’m not legit enough yet to say “Christy and Mike’s Sneak Peek”
but here are some of my favorites. 
Or a lot of my favorites.
Whatever. Don’t judge. There was a lot to take pictures of.

I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
Every center piece was a different color of the rainbow and looked completely different
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
brown table
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
pink table
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
Brittany and I got a shout out!
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
These were used in the game to decide which order the tables got to get up and eat
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
All bouquets match the girls. Christy made each one by hand out of paper.
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
Christy’s bouquet
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
paper flowers made that hung from the tree where the ceremony took place
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2


I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2

I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
getting Mike ready for the first look
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
the first look about to happen
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2

I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
they were having just a little bit of fun 🙂


I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2
She was just a bit stunning.

I'm A Wedding Photographer: Take 2


Boom.
First solo wedding. 


  1. Lani says:

    Our wedding photographer, who had her own business until I ripped her a new one after our wedding, did a horrible job with our pictures and I probably would have told you not to shoot a wedding because of that experience. HOWEVER, these turned out lovely and are much better than ours were, so kudos, small fry.

  2. Tarrance says:

    Melissa, I have loved keeping up with you through your blog and Facebook. God has blessed you with a gift, and I am so happy for you. Keep shining, Girlie. – Tarrance

  3. Brittany says:

    AMAZING!!! These are great, I can't wait to see the rest!!!

  4. I love the paper bouquets!! They are really spectacular. Whoever made them could have a new career. It's a fabulous green alternative to real flowers. Nice job, Melissa, there are some lovely photos here. ~Aunt Karen A.

  5. Anonymous says:

    I wa the maid of honor at this wedding! You can see me holdin the now lets party sign. I have to say these pictures are absolutely stunning. I love that you weren't a royal pain like some photographers at someWeddings I've been in before. Your didn't ask us to do too much, and let us be done when you got the shot. Nothing is more annoying then having to take 80 billion pictures when you only needed 10. I thought you did just great! (and I'm not only talking about the Cupid shuffle) keep up the good work! I'll call you if I ever decide to get married!

  6. The Duerrs says:

    Thank you so much Stacey! Those are such encouraging words! You were so much fun to photograph, by the way 🙂

  7. The Duerrs says:

    It's so good to hear from you! Thanks so much for keeping up with me, it's always fun to know who reads this silly thing 🙂 I appreciate your encouragement, it really means a lot!

  8. The Duerrs says:

    Thanks, Lani! Although I will say I am pretty happy that I didn't talk to you before I did the wedding, haha.

  9. The Duerrs says:

    Thanks Lani! Although I will say I am pretty thankful I didn't talk to you before the wedding haha

  10. Liana says:

    Girl – you are awesome!!! These are absolutely gorgeous and I can't wait to see the rest!!!

  11. Madison Kate says:

    This is inspiring! I would love to break into the world of wedding photography, but it’s a bit tough with so many critics of newer photographers on the internet. And kudos for getting a 2nd shooter position! I’d love to find one. Congrats on a great first wedding!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: