I'm A Wedding Photographer... Kinda...

So what does it take to "officially" be a wedding photographer? If owning your own digital SLR and lenses is a requirement... then I'm definitely not one. However... if borrowing the equipment from your good buddy and then shooting your friends' wedding counts... then maybe I am a part of the club! :o)

Earlier this fall, my good friend Jen asked me if I'd be willing to shoot her wedding for her in December... which threw me off a little bit.

"I'm not a professional photographer... but if you're okay with that... then sure!" I sez.

"Great!" She sez.

And just like that I had my first job as a wedding photographer. It wouldn't be until a week before the wedding that I would really start to feel a little bit of stress. Oh boy... I really can't blow this... or I might lose some friends!! Pressure... pressure... pressure.

In a very typical Santa Barbara fashion... the wedding was very low key. Ties were strictly forbidden... and the bride (who literally put on make-up and got dressed in less than 10 minutes) actually wore long-johns underneath her dress! But in no way does low key mean anything less than absolutely wonderful!

In fact... they did it the right way if you ask me. They made a weekend of it... a rehearsal, frisbee golf, wine tasting, a trip to the zoo, an evening at a coffee shop and then a wedding ceremony... all the time being surrounded by wonderful family and great friends! Check out the pics below... my first wedding ever...