As I've said before, I don't shoot weddings except for special friends or if you have something really good to blackmail me with. But the one last Saturday was a pip.

Venue: A hillside field near a tent across from two mud run pits and an ATV course
Groomsman attire: tux with work boots
Food: Buffet including hot dogs, mac salad, beans and jello shots... lots of jello shots

The service ran like the B&G were double parked. Once done everyone changed clothes and some of the guys never put shirts on so I got a great shot of the groom's "stars and bars" tattoo as "Twisted Teas" were imbibed. Round this out with mattress surfing in the mud run pits being pulled behind something called a skidder. Have you ever? No I never. It shot more like a reality show than a wedding.

Now... the question. Was this a friend of blackmail? (grin)

I would have taken this in a heart beat. I like it when the bride and groom break away from the traditional. Everyone is way more relaxed and everyone has a great time most all of the time. When B&G's break away from tradition, they are less focused on the stress of making everything absolutely script/magazine perfect.

Doesn't sound like blackmail to me.

Dude!! You gotta show some footage. I would LOVE to see that.

antz

Waiting patiently (or not so patiently) or a clip from this one... LOL! Sounds great!

As I've said before, I don't shoot weddings except for special friends or if you have something really good to blackmail me with.

So.... were they "special friends" or do you love hotdogs?

So.... were they "special friends" or do you love hotdogs?

The bride's mum and step-dad are special friends and actually it was a bucket load of fun.

I will post some footage, but you'll have to wait a bit since the priority slots in behind my real job. It'll probably be a couple of weeks, but I'll pop back in here and let you know where to see it.

Love it. I completely agree with your take on non-traditional weddings being more relaxed and way less stressed.

Love it. I completely agree with your take on non-traditional weddings being more relaxed and way less stressed.

Location weddings are so much more fun. I haven't shot a wedding inside a church since 2002. This year I have two inside churches and they are both going to be a PITA, one a low-light affair for the ceremony (what the?) and the other at one of those crazy 5000 member churches where you have to take a bus ride from the parking lot to get to the church.

Give me a mud slinging or beach wedding anyday.

Location weddings are so much more fun. I haven't shot a wedding inside a church since 2002.

how do you constantly land these non-traditional weddings and avoid the traditional ones?

If only all weddings were like this.
An overdose of cheese is bad for your health.

This is giving me some motivation for a wedding I have to shoot this weekend. I've never shot a wedding before but economics are forcing me to look at doing something I swore I would never do. There's nothing wrong with weddings, just not where I wanted to focus my efforts.

Anyhow, the wedding this weekend is a cross between redneck and biker. I was kinda bummed because I wanted to start with something more traditional that I could use to sale my services. After seeing your comments, I'm starting to think this wedding might be more fun. I've been wondering what to do with the audio but maybe 'Born to be Wild' ain't such a bad idea after all.

Anyhow, thanks for the insights into how much fun this might actually be. I feel more excited about the wedding now.

dave

Tripp: I don't shoot weddings, but I'd do one like that in a heartbeat! You'd have SO much latitude to just document the day. Just like a true documentary. Perhaps I need to reconsider weddings and (like Jeff suggests) take a couple of "out there" celebrations to have some fun with.

Sounds like a lot of fun to me - tradition is great, but tradition doesn't need to be stuffy! I'd have stuffed a camera in the sports pack shell, and taken a spin around the mud pit! "Normal" is highly overrated...

how do you constantly land these non-traditional weddings and avoid the traditional ones?

I am working in a demographic group where all my clients are 1. Older (at least 40 min), 2. Usually a second marriage, 3. Generally well off (although this may not really be a factor), 4. In an area where there are a lot of outstanding wedding venues, 4. My leads come mostly from photographer buddies who know what I am looking for.

Obviously I havent shot any Catholic weddings.

I am working in a demographic group where all my clients are 1. Older (at least 40 min), 2. Usually a second marriage, 3. Generally well off (although this may not really be a factor), 4. In an area where there are a lot of outstanding wedding venues, 4. My leads come mostly from photographer buddies who know what I am looking for.

Obviously I havent shot any Catholic weddings.

You sir are now the object of my envy.

... I was kinda bummed because I wanted to start with something more traditional that I could use to sale my services. After seeing your comments, I'm starting to think this wedding might be more fun. dave

I know exactly what you mean, but having this for a demo will help you broaden your market a lot.

And they are always fun!