We’re not happy to say that we were part of a slightly evil prank leading up to this wedding. Here’s the backstory: Crystal contacted us last winter to have us create a film for her and Jerry. This led to a casual chain of e‑mails discussing her wedding plans and what she envisioned for her film. She told us she would just need to consult Jer and get back to us. Then he called us.
Jerry had us tell Crystal that we booked her date right after we spoke to her. No checking in with her at all — just booked it and were no longer available. The intention was noble. He wanted to gift “us” to her for Christmas (weeks later, mind you) and thought it’d be a better surprise if she thought we were completely off the table. Our hearts broke a little bit as we wrote that e‑mail to her, and once again when she wrote back expressing her sadness. But we knew it was all part of an elaborate surprise that would undoubtedly yield a lot of happiness. It did. She was ecstatic, we were relieved, and we could continue on to the regular aspects of putting together one of our stories.
We’ve actually known Crystal for a long time. She was the photographer at one of our first weddings ever, and from that day, we’ve always made a point of keeping in touch and sharing lots of social media love. Along the way, we met Jer while shooting a wedding years later in cottage country and we all hit it off over dinner.
Being part of the industry, and being a photographer specifically, Crystal decided to do things a little differently. She forewent full-day photography coverage and had only the ceremony and a few portraits captured by When He Found Her in the afternoon. Aside from that, we’d be the only creatives shooting the entire day. We definitely felt the pressure of being solely responsible for capturing every memorable moment, but we also felt empowered by a creative freedom that we’ve never had before. It’s something you can really feel in Crystal and Jerry’s film.
The first dance was something that Crystal kept going back to in our conversations leading up to the wedding. She had a vision of a first dance on the Graydon Hall terrace, friends and family members around them, sparklers in hands. It was an idea that was both intimate and grandiose — as well as beautifully cinematic. As much as we love teaming up with a photographer to document a couple’s wedding, Crystal and Jer’s first dance is that much more magical because of Crystal’s decision to have us be the only shooters there. Not only because of the variety of shots we were able to get or the movement we were able to achieve as we circled around them, but because at the end of the day (literally), we simply blended into that intimate circle of friends and family, cheering along to their first dance, witnessing it candidly unfold, cameras in hand instead of sparklers. It was really something else.
