Being a wedding photographer means you interact with many people, including the bride, groom, and their families, and travel to new destinations. However, a wedding photographer's job is not as fun as it seems. There are numerous moments when these folks think about changing their professions.
A bride and groom | Source: Shutterstock
Wedding photographers witness real bridezilla and groomzilla moments and many other surprising instances behind the scenes of taking the perfect shot.
Some wedding photographers opened up on Reddit about the worst moments caught on camera. Most of them had no idea they would witness something like that.
Comments have been edited for clarity and grammar.
1. It Started Raining
A bride and groom standing on a pier | Source: Pexels
u/TouchToLose: The wedding was on a pier. The couple and the planner kept checking the radar on their phones for the rain to decide whether to do the wedding on the pier or take it inside.
I looked at the pier and said to them, "I don't know what your radar says, but those are rain clouds." They make the call to do the ceremony on the pier anyway.
About three minutes into the ceremony, it starts to rain. Out of nowhere, a man appears with a heart-shaped wicker box.
I always ask the couple if there is anything different about the wedding I should know. They never said anything to me about this, so I was caught off guard. Cool. Fine. I just keep shooting.
He hands the box to the bride. She opens it up, and there are two doves in there. Ok. Pretty cool. I've heard of a dove release but have never actually seen one. But these doves were NOT feeling it. They just sat there and were like, yeah, no, it's the beach, and it's raining.
The bride looks at the bird handler. Back at the birds. Shakes the box. Nothing. He motions for her to scoot them out of the box. She reaches in there, and they immediately flee the box.
They both fly directly into her face. I shot in burst mode and got a pretty wild sequence of shots. One of the birds gets caught in her weave, and she shakes her head while swatting at the bird to free it.
Then, the bottom falls out. It was pouring rain and heavy winds. The officiant continues like nothing is happening—zero sense of urgency.
People are just getting up and heading inside. One of the family members gets up in the middle of the aisle and starts screaming and chanting, "JUST SAY I DO! KISS!"
They do, and it starts raining even harder. I backpedaled down the pier as they ran through the rain. The shots of them running through the rain are beautiful.
The whole wedding was a complete mess. The couple told me that I was the only thing that went right on their wedding day, that looking at my pictures made them happy, and that the pictures made the awful day look beautiful.
2. The Sad Couple
A photographer taking a couple's photo on their wedding day | Source: Pexels
u/BioregenerativeLamp: I got there way too early since I had to do some pictures of the place and some of them pre-ceremony. I met the future husband and talked to him and his bride about what I would do.
The ceremony starts, and everything is going well enough. I had to be ready all the time in case the couple called me or something happened, so I was constantly close and scouting for them.
Sometimes, I would see some good moments or have some idea, and I would ask them if they wanted a picture, so I'd take it.
At some point, the couple is no longer inside, so I go around to look for them. I spotted them outside in the back of the place, which was a beautiful patio with decorations and all that thing.
They are just close, talking side by side with heads slightly tilted towards each other, and I think, "Aww yeah, this is going to be a great pic," and I try to come closer without them looking.
I take the picture after zooming in, and only then do they simultaneously notice me, and I notice that they have the saddest faces I've seen in a bride and groom.