The instant the parent dances were over, we scooted into the hallway outside the ballroom to take some group photos. This part of the evening is the only chapter that caused stress and the mildest case of unhappiness. It wasn't terribly well planned, communicated, or executed, resulting in people running all over the place and missing photos they belonged in. Additionally, we had guests handing their personal cameras to other guests and the photographer's assistant, so each posed group had to smile for a small handful of cameras, drawing out the entire process. All the while, Mr. Snow Cone and I stood there, hoping this part would wrap up quickly so we could get back to celebrating and growing antsy and mildly upset when it felt like it was dragging on.
I don't mean to sound ungrateful for these photos, as it's nice to have some shots of the various family and friend groups. However, truth be told, I still can't really look at these pictures without feeling badly. I feel bad that I caused myself and Mr. Snow Cone stress by not planning this out better, I feel bad that certain loved ones didn't make it to the photo station in time to be involved in all of their shots, I feel bad that those loved ones in turn felt bad, and so on. The fact of the matter is, the photos didn't go that badly. They just seemed to be chaotic in comparison to how perfectly the rest of the evening was going.
After the wedding, Mr. Snow Cone and I talked through the evening, and we both came up with some solutions for how to reduce the stress associated with corralling a couple dozen people in various permutations.
- We could have asked them to stay a few minutes after the ceremony at the church to grab the group shots at that point.
- We could have posed for group shots with each table during the dinner hour, as each of these groups of guests only really spanned a table or two. It would have been simpler had we come to them instead of expecting 10-20 people to show up in the same place in the same time.
- We could have had the DJ announce which group was supposed to exit the party for a quick photo at what time, so there would be fewer missed individuals.
- We could have communicated more clearly to our guests that these photos would be available for purchase and sharing after the wedding, so they didn't need to capture this group on their own respective cameras.
Like I said, the photos are nice to have, and they'll serve as great keepsakes as we move forward in our marriage. Without further ado, we have Mr. Snow Cone's maternal side of the family:
Mr. Snow Cone's college friends:
Mr. Snow Cone's college friends hoisting him up, causing me great happiness:
Our collective high school friends:
My college friends:
The paternal side of my family:
The maternal side of my family:
Us with my cousin and his fiancée, who married barely a month later:
The paternal side of Mr. Snow Cone's family:
Us with Mr. Snow Cone's great uncle who passed away about a month after our wedding:
Once all of our group photos were done, we quickly re-joined the dance floor and let loose!
All photos by the amazing Christina Garber
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