Not The Official Photographer

This is going to sound so odd coming from a wedding photographer... I have photographed close to 50 weddings, yet I have never been invited to one. I know. The first wedding I ever went to was a job. I finally went to my first wedding as a guest. It was awesome. Now, there is a twist to this story. It's sorta of a "that doesn't really count" thing but whatever. I was supposed to be the photographer at this wedding. However, the couples date was 2 weeks after my daughter was born. As much as I really, really wanted to do it, it would have been bad and wrong of me. I had to turn the wedding down. Actually I had to turn down 6 weddings this year because they ALL fell within 2 weeks of my daughters due date. I now know when the peak of wedding season is in Washington. So, my husband and I along with our 2 year old son and 2 week old daughter went to the very first wedding I have ever been a real guest at. With my teeny tiny daughter being hand held against my chest I photographed the whole ceremony with my iPhone. I had to act cool when the real photographer stepped right in my way and ruined my awesome shot of the kiss. It turned out to be okay though. The bride is currently using my picture as her Facebook profile picture while she waits 3 weeks for her pro pictures. That's a win for me. It was fun to watch someone else work. It was fun to not stress about getting the best shot. It was fun using my iPhone. It was a ton of fun watching my gorgeous son dance on the dance floor. It was even a beautiful place to nurse my daughter. So I wasn't the official photographer, I was still damn good and still got some winners.