Most guests left, and we called it a day.
u/StephaneCam: I had a mother of the bride lay into me after the ceremony because I ‘didn’t get the bubble shot.’ I had no idea what she was talking about.
It turns out the bride wanted a shot of them walking through a cloud of bubbles blown by the guests, like a confetti shot but with bubbles, which sounds lovely! I would have loved to do that!
But at no point was it mentioned to me by anyone at the wedding, and no one had brought bubble wands with them. Apparently, I should have a) read their minds and b) supplied the bubbles?!
The bride gave me an extensive list of shots she wanted on the wedding day.
It did not mention bubbles. It was, however, particular about other photos they wanted, including a ‘shot of groom wiping tears from his eyes as he sees the bride for the first time.’
I thought, “Okay, I can do that. He’s obviously a crier, and they know it’ll make a good picture.” When it came to it, the groom looked entirely unemotional on seeing the bride.
There was no reaction at all. It was like totally deadpan.
I’m not sure if they expected me to stop the ceremony and waft an onion under his nose or what, but I did not get the shot she wanted, and she wasn’t best pleased.
This wedding also had a classic ‘guest with an expensive camera he doesn’t know how to use,’ so throughout the whole wedding, it kept beeping as he tried to autofocus, and the little auto flash kept popping itself up.
Then I was getting dirty looks because other guests thought I was disturbing the ceremony. He also told me to move over during the group photos because he wanted to take pictures, and I was ‘ruining his field of view.’
I heard they divorced less than a year later, so I’m guessing the day was more about her ‘vision’ than the couple themselves.
These things happened when I was setting myself up as a photographer, too, so I charged them way less than the going rate.
u/Sarah-JessicaSnarker: I can’t pick just one. A bride’s father was “into photography” and emailed me a list of dozens of issues he took with dozens of photos, complete with pictures of his hairy fingers pointing at his computer screen.
One couple held their reception in a park in Texas in June and didn’t arrange for any help cleaning up. So, when everyone left, it was down to me to clean up the entire site.
I have seen more than a few relatives who thought their cell phone shots were more important than my professional images, including people shoving me out of the way, slamming me with their backs, etc., to get in front of me.
A venue was double-booked, and we found out when we arrived.
A few times of “sit! eat!” only to be accosted for sitting and eating, even though no one wants to be photographed during the meal portion of the evening.
I have encountered countless super rude people. I loved my job, though, and for every awful wedding, I had a dozen dreamy ones.
I also had a bride send me Pinterest links to beach weddings and wanted me to copy them, but she got married in a barn in the fall.
One of the worst, though, didn’t happen to me, just in front of me—the groom slapped the bride.
u/Whisky919: The bride and groom, who were wonderful to work with and had a fantastic wedding and loved the photos, started a rumor that I was hooking up with my assistant at the wedding.
I filled in at the last minute for a friend who couldn’t shoot it and did it at his rate, which was half my rate, and it was a destination wedding, and that’s the thanks I got.
u/gakattack9: I worked at a big wedding last year where one of the guests gestured our main photographer over and then pulled her mask down and said she should smile more.
He also commented on my ability to reach under the stairs and grab the equipment we had stashed there by saying, “YOU’RE SO FLEXIBLE. WOW.”
Years ago, some older uncle tried to balance his iPad on the main videographer’s shoulder to get his shot while the videographer was filming the ceremony.
Deleted user: A week after I served as the photographer at my friends’ wedding, I’m jolted awake by my phone lit up with like, 30 missed calls from the bride. I call her back.
She: “WHAT DID YOU DO?!
DID YOU EVEN LOOK AT THE PHOTOS BEFORE YOU SENT THEM OUT?!” Me: “Yeah, of course, what’s the problem?!” She: “YOU’VE DESTROYED OUR MARRIAGE,” and then she just hangs up on me. I’m flipping through the photos at lightning speed. My heart just stops at 41st photo.
There it was, something I missed before.
The photo showed the groom in the background, caught in a candid moment with a woman who definitely wasn’t the bride. Panic set in as I realized this was the rumored mistress who’d been the subject of whispers long before the wedding.
The image, a silent but damning piece of evidence, had just blown the lid off a secret that was never meant for a wedding album.
Deleted user: Wedding photographers, what is the worst thing you’ve caught on camera and had to remove then?Just sent the bride her photos when I get this message:
Bride: DELETE PHOTO #21 RIGHT NOW, ARE YOU BLIND? Me: ???
Bride: OUR MARRIAGE WILL BE OVER BECAUSE OF YOU, DELETE THAT PHOTO IMMEDIATELY!
My jaw dropped. HOW DID I MISS THAT?! I apologized and quickly delete photo #21.
In it was the moment the bride was kissing the groom’s brother, thinking no one was seeing them… Turns out, they were having a secret affair…
Deleted user: I always ask couples if there’s anything special at their wedding I should know about. The bride catches up to me, whispering, “You MUST take THIS ONE crucial photo” (explains the details).
By the time she finished, I was in shock, but a client’s wish is my command. The wedding went by, and I did everything she asked.
Then the groom calls me, yelling, “OUR MARRIAGE IS RUINED, HOW DARE YOU TAKE SUCH A PHOTO?!”
Me: ??? He: “PHOTO #13! ARE YOU BLIND?!”Me: “Your bride asked me to take a shot of you and her best friend.
She said you two were lovers and would definitely kiss. I caught that moment, just as she asked…
These confessions from wedding photographers show what goes on behind the scenes as the bride and groom pose for the camera. These first-hand experiences prove that weddings are not as glamorous as they seem, and there are moments when things don’t go as planned during weddings.
Have you ever experienced something similar at a wedding you went to? We would love to know about your experience.
