When it rains on a wedding day, brides and grooms must put their faith and trust into a wedding photographer with both a skill set and tremendous experience to provide the best possible imagery despite the adverse conditions they may face. Wedding photography is a much easier task in beautiful, late-day sunshine, but it’s an entirely different school of thought when the weather doesn’t cooperate. This image was taken very early on in my wedding photography career. The wedding was held at the Crystal Tea Room in Philadelphia, PA. While the rain had been steady for most of the day, the bride was determined not to let the rain ruin her wedding day.
We shot a few wedding portraits on Juniper Street, and I noticed a really cool reflection within a puddle in the street. Without any fear of getting drenched, the bride and groom allowed me to shoot a few images of them interacting in the reflection of the puddle in the city street. This image is one of my long time favorites, and I’m quite proud of creating a wedding portrait in such horrendous conditions. One of the things that stand out to me is the lovely body language between this couple. Although this image was captured over a decade ago, I still remember shooting it. I shot several frames of this situation, and I recall a few frames where she tapped the toe of her Stuart Weitzman shoes, which seemed to set these images apart from the others I captured.
After we made this image, it was time for the Ketubah signing before their Jewish wedding ceremony, followed by the reception at the Crystal Tea Room inside Philadelphia’s famed Wanamaker Building.
This image was also captured on black and white film with my old, trusty Nikon F5 camera. To me, this image has and will always stand the test of time. It has a timeless feel, and I hope my future wedding photography clients recognized it as a distinct example of my overall style.