A Spring Wedding at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Macon, Georgia
Amy and I went to high school together, so when she asked me to photograph her wedding, it was an easy yes. It’s a weird, good feeling to shoot the wedding of someone you’ve known that long. I’d never met Tom before that day. By the end of it, I got it. He’s easygoing, he made Amy laugh constantly, and the two of them made my job very easy.
A Macon Venue with Room to Breathe
Amy and Tom were married at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Macon, Georgia, and as far as I know, theirs was the very first wedding ever photographed there. Which is a pretty cool thing to get to say. The grounds gave us a covered pavilion, a big open field, and a garden path with a wooden arbor that ended up in a lot of my favorite frames.
As a Macon film photographer, I’ll take a spot like this every time. Shade when you need it, open light when you don’t.
The First Look in the Field
We started out in the big open field for the first look and Amy’s portraits in her dress. The light was soft and even all afternoon, no harsh shadows to fight. I shot the day on Portra 400 and Portra 800 alongside digital, and the film frames came back exactly how I hoped. Film just has a texture digital doesn’t, and shooting both meant Amy and Tom got that look with digital backing it up.
This is also where their chemistry really showed. We goofed off a lot, and honestly that’s where the best stuff came from. The in-between moments that look like them, not like a pose.
An Intimate Ceremony Under the Pavilion
The ceremony was under the pavilion, small, with close family. They asked us to stay put during the ceremony, so McKenna (my wife and second shooter) and I worked from the back the whole time. For a small ceremony that honestly works. You get the whole room, everyone leaning in.
Dancing into the Evening
Once it got dark, a local Macon band took the outdoor stage, and they were genuinely great. I wish I could remember their name, because I’d shout them out here. Pretty much everyone who stayed ended up on the lawn dancing, family and friends mixed together, nobody worried about how they looked. It was dark and everything was moving fast, so I kept it to a handful of frames and mostly let the night happen. Some parts of a wedding you document, and some you just let people have.
Looking Back
There’s something about photographing a friend’s wedding that’s different from any other job. Amy and I go back to high school, and getting to be the one behind the camera when she married Tom at the Museum of Arts and Sciences meant a lot to me. Between that and a full day of shooting film I was really happy with, it’s one I’ll remember for a long time.
Planning a wedding in Macon or across the Southeast? I’d love to hear your story. Reach out through kelseysmithphotography.net. I shoot on both film and digital, and I’d be honored to capture your day!
