Weddingbee Blog

While I didn’t want them to be the focus of the wedding day, like most people, I believe portraits are important. There is something historical and timeless about seeing your family, dressed formally, arranged just so, looking right into the camera. And of course, the sentimental part of me imagines going through them many years from now with my kids, saying, “And this is your aunt so & so, and this is your cousin, and this person and this person, etc. etc…”

We didn’t have a long list of portraits. We requested bridal party shots, some creative portraits of my husband and I, and of course, family. My husband and I also took photos with each set of parents. After the ceremony, we only had two large family portraits: one with my family, one with his.

For the few family portraits required in advance, we just asked our immediate family members to be there a few minutes early (if they’re your immediate family, they were probably planning to be there early anyway). This worked out well, especially for my grandmother, who wasn’t up to being around for the entire wedding day (helping with my dress, early photos, etc.). All she would have to do was take a photo or two, and then wait a few minutes for the ceremony.

We got around to the family photos, and Grandmother hadn’t been feeling well.

But she insisted that she was fine for portraits, and we managed to take one that I like very much:

Out of the corner of my eye, though, she got a little wobbly, and then began to pass out. I grabbed her and held her up, and there was some chaos, and I remember saying firmly, to no one in particular, “Get a chair.” Mr. Oyster got one quickly, and we put Grandmother in it. Our photographer, to his credit, smiled warmly and remarked that the portraits would look better anyway with Grandmother sitting down. She was awake and wanted to continue, but the photos we took after that are just too painful to look at. We are smiling, but Grandmother looks pretty out of it, and I was close to tears.

In this one, she is recovered, and my mom is laughing after I told her to come closer. “I didn’t want to step on your beautiful dress,” she had said. As if that would even matter to me! Come here, Mom! And I gave her a hug.

My grandmother is diabetic, and luckily it was just a very sudden drop in blood sugar that caused her to nearly faint. We are very lucky that we have many family members who are diabetics themselves or are experienced in caring for them, so we had plenty of support and she was well cared for.

But I couldn’t help but remember the time two months prior, when my grandmother was in a week-long coma and the doctors encouraged my mom to “find her will.” We were suddenly and starkly reminded of that, and it was unsettling. It was a difficult thing to think about on the day of the wedding. (Incidentally, my grandmother, who’d been talking about the wedding just before she’d passed out, woke from her coma once, unable to remember anything except one word before going back to sleep: “Texas.” She was determined, y’all.) However, my grandmother did make an incredible recovery later that evening, as you’ll see in the reception photos!

Family is important. Candids are wonderful and they tell a significant story of your day, but I’m very happy to have these photos.

Photos by the Chicago based photographers, David Wittig Photography.

Previously:

• A dark and stormy night
• Our Wedding Rehearsal
• The rehearsal dinner
• The Wedding Morning
• Getting Ready
• The Unveiling
• Fun With Cameras