AUSTIN, TEXAS WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER:  TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY, LITTLE ROCK ARKANSAS WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

Friday, March 8th, 2019

We're getting into spring and summer, which means it's about time for wedding season.  Chances are that you may find yourself attending a wedding this summer, so without further ado, here is my number one piece of advice for the next time you are WATCHING a wedding:

*** In that moment when everyone stands up, the doors are about to open, and the bride is about to walk the aisle, don't watch the bride's entrance.  Instead turn forward and - just for a second - watch the groom as his bride appears. ***

It's maybe a strange piece of advice.  After all, the magnificent entrance and procession of the bride, adorned in all her splendor, is truly breath-taking to behold. In comparison, most grooms are dressed in monochromatic black, gray, or white, and they don't even move anywhere. However, if you watch for it, you'll see it every time...

...The exact moment he catches a glimpse of his bride... and everything about him changes.

Whereas he was once just a man in a drab suit, with hands politely folded, waiting at the front of the altar, he's suddenly transformed.  His eyes light with a fire that wasn't there just seconds before, and a smile overtakes his entire face.  It's subtle, with no noise and hardly any movement.  But I believe it's every bit as breath-taking as the bride, in all her glory.

In a single instant, you get a glimpse of love, unbridled.  You get a small vision for how the grooms views his bride.  To him, no one else in the entire room compares to her. She is his whole world.  She is precious, beloved, one-of-a-kind.   And while tradition states that the groom stands and waits stiffly, nothing can keep his overwhelming affection at bay.

I love watching the groom because it is a powerful picture of God's overflowing, insuppressible love for us.  Ephesians 5:25 likens the relationship of Christ and his Church to that of a husband and his bride: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her..."   The love that suddenly and overwhelmingly transforms a groom's entire demeanor gives us just a small glimpse of how magnificently God loves us.  In a crowd of thousands, He sees you.  He knows you. He chose you. He LOVES you and delights in you.

So the next time you're at a wedding, I pray that you'd be reminded of the passionate and unrelenting nature of God's love for you.  In the meantime, enjoy these photos from last weekend's wedding, and notice all those  smiles and smirks on these lovebirds' faces (seriously... every moment they looked at each other, they'd both smile!)