The Wedding Photographer in Portugal | The photographer and the restlessness, on a wedding day

THE GOOD ANXIETY by THE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER IN LISBON

Taking advantage of the graphic design of a half-open door, the wedding photographer captures the groom moments before leaving for the wedding ceremony.

Some portraits of the groom and his mother as he gets ready for the wedding ceremony

• Pode ler este artigo em Português.

Heart Racing on the Wedding Day

With the groom in the background, out of focus, getting ready for the ceremony, a photograph of him as a child, in a frame on a piece of furniture.

Let’s take a deep breath. The groom is ready. The initial jitters—struggling to fasten cufflinks that refuse to align, needing an extra hand here and there, the tie knot that just won’t come out at the right length (“I do this every day for work, and today I can’t get it right, why is that?”)—have subsided.

Well… I know. I’ve been at this for so long that I encounter these situations all the time, but I don’t mention it because it provides me with photos, and a groom, on his wedding day, doesn’t appreciate remarks and might feel even worse, especially since the worst, meaning waiting for the best, is yet to come, tension rises, and some get lips so dry that if the kiss after the “I do” were now, it wouldn’t work.

Before Meeting Her, a Groom Proud in Photos

In a mirror, the groom tightening his tie with the help of his mother.

But, assures the wedding photographer, it’s just like that, don’t worry because later on, it all eases, and you won’t even remember the button that wouldn’t cooperate.

Before moving on to the second phase of restlessness, let’s take some photos now that you’re ready; it’s better than any calming pill, assures the wedding photographer, who has witnessed much nervousness and learned some tricks to soothe it.

This also allows the groom to have some proud memories of looking all handsome and the reassurance that the suit was well-chosen, with no reason to think about it again, just being the groom who, with it—the suit—transformed to dazzle his beloved as soon as she takes the first step through the door, adjusts to the church’s dim light, and glimpses him at the end, pretending his legs aren’t trembling and thanking the suit for concealing it.

When She Arrives Enveloped in Angelic Light

Already dressed for the ceremony, the groom poses for the wedding photographer through a half-open door.

I find, at least, two types of nervousness that attack grooms on the morning of transformation and endless waiting until, by peeking out of the corner of the eye, since it’s forbidden to see the bride until she reaches him, he glimpses her at the end, emerging faintly within a sea of light, as they say angels do when they descend to the world, and, step by step, she resembles more herself until it’s truly her, and he pretends not to see her to not break the rule, but the image will remain forever in his memory, and confirmed by the wedding photographer’s photo, it wasn’t a vision, no sir, now I can, she’s here because she never arrives, I’ll turn… beautiful.

The Grooms: The Restless and the Silent

Well, back to the nervous ones. The kind that accelerates grooms and doesn’t let them stay still, feeling like each minute, until that vision of the bride enveloped in angelic light, is an hour, almost wearing out the shoe soles before they’re needed, and those who fall silent when they were previously chatty, don’t move from the same spot, as if the shoes were so tight they can’t move, and it’s necessary, both for the wedding photographer and those around them, to constantly stimulate them because it seems they’re a minute away from giving up.

Seems, I said. However, I say with pride, whether it’s one type of nervousness or the other, the wedding photographer always knows how to take advantage and never leaves empty-handed when moving, lightly, to the next phase of the wedding day process.

Point by Point:

As a wedding photographer at the groom’s house, I enjoy witnessing that slight nervousness that hinders tasks which, at other times, would be done without the slightest problem: buttoning a button or adjusting the tie knot.
Before departing for the next phase, the groom needs a calming effect in the form of portrait photos to feel ready and see himself looking good afterward.
Then, at the wedding ceremony, it’s still not time to relax. She, the bride, is about to arrive enveloped in angelic light at the grand church door until, finally, she reaches him.
This is exactly how the wedding photographer sees it. At least, that’s how it appears in the photos: a restless groom, each in his way, until, finally, she, the bride, arrives for an “I do” shortly.

You Need to Know:

It will be more or less like this, that any groom will be before that “I do.” In your wedding too. I want to be there to show it to you later in the photos. Contact me so we can talk and see how it will be.