Why I Care So Much About Your Wedding Photos

The Story Behind Oh Shoot Photography

When couples hire me as their wedding photographer, they’re trusting me with something incredibly important—memories that can never be recreated.

And the reason I care so deeply about that responsibility is because of my own wedding story.

Our Wedding Story

My husband and I got married young. I was 21 and he was 23. At that point in life we were already building a family together—we had two little boys and had just bought our first house.

Like many couples starting out, money was tight. When we began planning our wedding, we knew we would be paying for most of it ourselves. We had to make decisions about what we could afford and what we couldn’t.

Unfortunately, a professional wedding photographer wasn’t in the budget.

Back then I had heard about people putting disposable cameras on the tables at weddings so guests could take photos throughout the night. It sounded like a great idea at the time, so that’s what we did.

We put the cameras out, hoping they would capture all the moments of our wedding day.

But when the photos came back, we quickly realized that it didn’t work the way we had hoped.

Most of the photos weren’t usable. Some were blurry. Some were pointed at the floor. Some were completely dark.

In the end, I have one good photo of my husband and I and one photo with our boys from our wedding day.

Just two.

And while the memories are still in my heart, I’ve always wished I had more photographs to look back on.

The Thought That Changed Everything

Years later when I started getting interested in photography, a thought kept coming back to me:

What if I could give couples something that I didn’t have?

What if I could capture the moments they would want to look back on for the rest of their lives?

At the time, that idea felt very far away. I knew wedding photography wasn’t something you just jump into. I needed to learn—lighting, timing, storytelling, editing, equipment, and how to handle one of the most important days in someone’s life.

More than anything, I didn’t want to let couples down.

I never wanted someone to walk away from their wedding day feeling the way I did—wishing they had more memories captured.

When Everything Changed

Then COVID hit.

The world slowed down, weddings paused, and suddenly life looked very different.

But for me, it became the moment I decided it was now or never.

While the world was shut down, I spent my time learning everything I could about photography. I practiced constantly. I studied lighting. I studied wedding timelines. I practiced editing. I asked questions. I second shot weddings.

I poured everything I had into learning how to become the kind of photographer couples could trust.

When weddings started happening again, I hoped a few couples might give me a chance.

And thankfully, they did.

A Dream I Never Expected

Fast forward to today and I am closing in on photographing 300 weddings.

Even saying that out loud still feels surreal.

What started as a dream—to give couples the memories I didn’t have—turned into something bigger than I ever imagined.

Every wedding day still feels special to me.

Every time I hand over a gallery full of moments—first looks, happy tears, laughter with family, quiet moments between the couple—I feel incredibly grateful that this is what I get to do.

Because these photos aren’t just pictures.

They’re the way couples will remember their wedding day for the rest of their lives.