As a wedding photographer, I get a front-row seat to one of the most emotional, vulnerable, and joy-filled days in a couple’s life. With each celebration I photograph, I’m reminded that weddings are about so much more than just love stories or beautiful décor (as wonderful as those things are). Weddings teach us about presence. In fact, they are a masterclass in what it means to show up fully, feel deeply, and connect with what matters most.
Here are just a few of the powerful lessons weddings can teach us about presence, connection, and what it truly means to be human.
What Weddings Teach Us About Presence and Being Human
1. Presence Over Perfection
In a filtered, fast-paced world, wedding days call us back to the present. They provide a unique opportunity to slow down and show up for our loved ones. In a world obsessed with curating flawless moments, weddings remind us that perfection isn’t the goal — presence is. We live in a world that runs fast and is full of deadlines, distractions, and a thousand tabs open in our minds. Wedding days force us to pause, be in the moment, and ENJOY it.
It is inevitable that something goes “wrong” at every wedding, whether the timelines shift, wind kicks up a veil, or it starts to rain. However, none of that ruins the day. Why? Because presence beats perfection. Every time. Often, the most memorable moments are the ones that are real, unplanned and unscripted. The moments couples remember most are never the perfectly posed portraits, rather it’s the quiet hand-squeezes during the ceremony, the kid who takes over the dance floor at the reception, or the shared looks from across the room.
Weddings remind us to be fully present with the people we love, among the chaos, calm, and everything in between, and when we do that, we get to experience the kind of moments that make life truly rich.
2. Raw Unfiltered Emotion, Without Apology
Wedding days strip away our usual layers and filters. I’ve seen stoic fathers dissolve into tears at the sight of their daughter in a wedding dress. I’ve watched best friends laughing through tears giving emotional toasts, and grandmothers squeezing a bride’s hands with tenderness. No one’s putting on a performance or trying to “keep it together”. Everyone is just feeling, unapologetically, and allowing the love and emotion from the day to fill them up.
That’s the beauty of weddings, vulnerability is welcome. We’re allowed to cry and laugh uncontrollable, and above all, feel everything. That’s humanity in its most honest form, and it’s beautiful.
3. The Power of Being Seen
There’s something profound about being seen and fully accepted on your wedding day — not just in a literal way, but in an emotional one.
You’re standing in front of the person you love most, in front of the people who matter most, and you’re letting yourself be fully seen as yourself, not just someone dressed up in beautiful clothes. You stand in front of everyone on your wedding day in love and in transition to a new season of life, and you’re being accepted and celebrated exactly as you are.
In that kind of wholehearted witnessing, there’s acceptance. For many people, that acceptance and celebration is healing in ways they didn’t even realize they needed. It says: You are worthy of love. You are enough. You are seen.
4. Our Shared Humanity
I’ve photographed weddings across different cultures, countries, and languages, and while the details may change or traditions vary, the heart of the human experience stays the same.
The anticipation before the ceremony. The deep inhale before walking down the aisle. The way couples look at each other when they say “I do.” It all comes back to the same universal longing: to be known, to be loved, and to belong.
Weddings remind us that, underneath it all, we’re not so different. We all crave connection, love and belonging. In that we all celebrate love, and show up to witness it.
Wedding days are more than milestones. They’re mirrors reflecting back what matters most: love, presence, connection, and the shared experience of being human. So whether you’re planning your own wedding or simply attending one soon, I hope you let it remind you to slow down. To be present. To feel it all and soak it up, because in those unfiltered, imperfect, and real moments that’s where life is happening.
You can find more resources, destinations, and couples I’ve had the honor of photographing on the blog!
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A Photographer’s Guide to Cartagena, Colombia
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