Quirky or Strange Happening at a Wedding and ...

[kiva]

Tell me about the strangest "thing" that's happened at a wedding for you or the

bride and groom during their Wedding day.

 

The reason I ask is that I want to be prepared and know how to respond;

suggestions on what to do and where to point the camera are welcomed.

 

Here's the story that got me going.... an acquaintance, who photographs weddings

in Indiana was recently shooting a wedding where the groom placed the Titanium

wedding ring on the Brides finger but it was the Wrong Finger and it wouldn't

come off.

 

After trying all the normal methods the couple was taken to the hospital and a

nurse tied a tourniquet on the finger, the finger "got smaller" and the

indestructible ring came off. They all then returned to the reception to finish

the night.

 

Did the photographer go to the hospital and shoot the events as they unfolded or

is this not a part of the "celebration." My vote is to go to the hospital and

shoot it all!

 

Do you photograph disagreements among family (read this as "fights")?

 

What's off limits and when do you leave the bride and groom to shoot "the other"

stuff (if ever)?

 

A just for fun posting but it may come in handy some day when that Unbelievable

and Stunning "thing" happens before your eyes. Iﾒd like to hear your story and

how it was handled.

[picturesque]

I've described this story before, but it fits your question. While shooting the groom and men with golf clubs at a country club, the best man whacked the groom in the head. Big knot on his forehead. Paramedics came. I photographed the whole thing. Everything calms down. Toward the end, groom's brother decides that another guy going for the garter was rough on the brother's son, a kid of about 8 or so. He beats the other guy up. Fistfist ensues with multiple men. I do not photograph this, but leave immediately (just outside, not permanently). The video person videotaped the whole thing, including the cops showing up, etc., thinking someone might need evidence. Later, when the bride sees the proofs, just the sight of the garter shot, which did show the "guy" grabbing the garter from in front of the kid (did not touch him though), causes her to break into tears. This is a no-win for everyone. Moral of the story--don't let kids participate in the garter toss (girls aren't so nasty).

[savagesax]

Wow William! That is an amazing story! I don't really have one to compare to that other than another wedding photographer showing up for the same wedding I was shooting for. Turns out that the other wedding photographer decided she needed images to show to a future client so she just decided to take pics of the bride and groom. She was standing right next to me. Turns out that the bride and groom had no idea who she was and long story short she was asked to get the hell out!

[steve_levine]

I saw a bridesmaid pass out in church once. This happened during the ceremony, and she got carried off the altar, like it never happened!

 

 

Several big guys hauled her out into the fresh air, and I'll bet only 1/4 of the audience even saw this.

[agaimages]

Nothing really out of ordinary except one wedding where everybody was drinking like there's no tomorrow and the father of the bride got so drunk he could not walk to sit down for the ceremony and an older aunt was throwing up in the bathroom sink just as I walked to the bathroom. No I did not take picture of that but they wanted me to shoot the father who was barley conscious all the time.

Except for the bride they all barley walked out of the reception (it was a short one as well)

[austinphoto]

Over the years, many strange things happened. During the Bouquet toos, one of the bridesmaides jumped and fell on her face, cracking all her fron teeth. Bleeding, she was hauled off to the hospital. One time, the bride got so drunk she was lap dancing the DJ's, videographer and me. I was more embarressed for her than anything else. I have been to weddings where guests were too drunk, passed out, vomited, unruley that fights broke out, WoW! Come to think of it, it's not that boaring of a job. Thank god it happens very rarely! When things go out of control, I stop shooting. I don't want to get involved in anything other than doing my work.

[jaimie blue]

Wedding crashers...three women on some kind of a treasure hunt crashed and stayed for about 15 minutes during the ceremony. They were really obviously not part of the guest list, harmless but strange and the bride was a little put off and did not have the best sense of humor about it. I did not photograph them because the bride was not happy about them. Definately quirky and very strange.

[jaimie blue]

correction, they came in right after the ceremony was over.

[bdp]

When I was doing video, had a bridesmaid come trucking down the isle of this large, older church with a theater type ramp walkway.. and as she hit the altar area.. flat out. Found out she was has a seizure and though she could make it to the seat before passing out. We cut it out of the final and the bride was ticked off. We thought we were being nice.

<BR><BR>

Another wedding in the distance you could see a commotion going on, but we didn't know it at the time until people started coming toward us (dance floor) crying. One of the uncles passed away during the reception, just after dinner. Again we didn't include that piece.

<BR><BR>

Sometimes you just shoot, not knowing what you have, other times you need to make a judgement. Had I been doing photo at the time, I wouldn not have shot the uncle, but the b/m, I had no clue what was happening until she went down.

<BR><BR>

[gulnara]

I was shooting formals in a park when a videographer who was hired by my couple just

throws his camera, runs to another wedding party and starts choking their video guy. I was to

busy shooting the couple and thought at first it was very emotional hug but apparently our

guy was fired from the other company three years ago and that was his payback. I was very

surprised that he wasn't fired again by my couple and he returned later like nothing

happened. Also I was shooting allots of weddings in Russia back in late 80 but I can write a

book on that only.

[jillmyers]

I was shooting a reception last summer and almost all the guests were on the dance floor. I saw something bright in my peripheral vision and soon realized that a guest had set down their napkin on top of a candle and it was in flames. I was able to grab a corner and shake it so that the fire went out (luckily the fabric was somewhat flame-retardent, so it was easy to put out) and then a guy from catering removed the evidence before anyone else even noticed. I should've told the bride what happened...maybe I could've gotten a tip!

[stacy]

Not nearly as strange as most of these, but we had a bride that cried no less than a dozen times through the day. She hated everything- the flowers- her makeup- the reception venue- she fired the wedding coordinator...basically had a bunch of tantrums through the day. I didn't photograph any of that (except one photo of her running out of the formals). Luckily she loved her photos and has nothing but happy photos from her wedding day...however, I would have liked to photograph her having fits, but we were still on her good side and I didn't feel like having those fits directed at me and not getting the photos I wanted :)

[eric v]

napkins and flowers/centerpieces, etc. catching on fire (didn't have time to shoot it, too busy trying to put it out).

 

If situation gets tense/angry I won't shoot in an effort to not instigate any further (think angry celebrity and paparazzi).

 

Otherwise, I tend to shoot it all, you can always delete, but you can never recreate.

 

There are exceptions to this and you have to go with your gut. After a small beach wedding, the B&G threw two flowers into the ocean; one for each deceased grandparent. This made for awesome pics, but immediately afterward the MOB began crying while thinking about her parents. The image of her crying with her husband and son(groom) comforting her (and beach sunset) made a powerful image, but I felt it was best to leave it as a private moment and just stay "invisible".

[darrel_wright]

I definitely err on the side of shooting everything. If things are tense, I turn off the flash

and maybe back off with a telephoto, and stay inconspicuous, but usually keep shooting.

 

Haven't had much weird that required a judgement call beyond the usual family tension

stuff. We did have a june bug crawl up a brides dress (a big steel hooped affair with layer

after layer of that gauzy mesh stuff) and she flipped for a full two minutes while the groom

was enveloped under there frantically trying to find it. We shot the heck out of that

one...she was too spazzed to pay much attention to us.

[derick_piner1]

Was shooting a wedding out in the country (the sticks) on a stormy day. 30min before the wedding was going to start the reception location (just down the road) was struck by lightning. I caught fire and the local volinteer fire dept was called. Problem was the the groom and all the groomsmen were the fire dept. So they all ran off to put out the fire, we had to move the reception to the church and had the cermoney 2 hours late. I wanted to go shoot the groom fighting the fire in his tux but the bride would not let me (too bad).

[craig_gillette]

My sister-in-law was married in a church across the street from a major horse racing track. The groom and most of the men in his family arrived at the church then they all wandered across the street to do some OTB for the east coast tracks then catch the first race, then barely made it back in time. I wasn't around for the discussions that ensued.

 

A couple in our Lamaze class must have been one of those always fun families. He passed out during the service and then when doing the unity candle thing, or something like that, she raised her veil to get to the candle and set it on fire. He wasn't hurt and she wasn't burned so after a bit of fluster, things went on fine, for them. Except for having a boy after the amnio said they'd have a girl - another story...

[stephen_kinosh]

Hot July wedding day, adn 1 usher that had just had major oral surgery a few days earlier. Yep, Got too hot and he passed out. Face first into the marble communion rail. Shattered most of the new dental work, and spent the rest of the day in the local emergency room. And NO, I did NOT get closeups of the groomsman. PLuse, there was another wedding booked for the same church 1/2 hour after the one I was at, and due to the time it took for the EMS squad to get there, everything was backe up about an hour, and the 2nd bride was none too understanding.

 

Steve