Weekday Faces, Favorite Places

I made this image during a wedding at the stunning Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St Nicholas in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. I think this church is my favorite ceremony location yet. It is absolutely stunning. Stained glass windows fill the small, ornate hall with light. I made this frame as Wafik and Nadia walked back down the isle after exchanging vows. Bits of sunlight illuminated them making it possible to capture the feel of the church.

For Wafik and Nadia, the ceremony lasted well over an hour. Many brides these days opt for very short ceremony, sometimes less than 5 minutes. But from a photographers point of view, I love long ceremonies. With a long ceremony I have plenty of time to move around and find fun and compelling ways to capture moments. Also, there is more time capture interaction and emotion. Anything less than 15 minuets really limits how the ceremony can be shot.