HitchDied

Might As Well Jump

| 17 Comments

When we first met our planner, I explained that we’d be using a friendor photographer, and that part of the reason is I don’t want to be instructed to do the silly things that have somehow become mainstays of professional wedding photographers’ must-have shot lists.

In particular, I made fun of the ubiquitous photo of the wedding party mid-jump.  Possibly trying to secure the contract, maybe just being of the same mindset, our wedding planner said, “Ugh.  I don’t work with photographers who make people jump.”

Friends, I am here to announce that I have turned around on the subject of the jumping wedding party photo.

This is because while visiting Collin’s family last weekend, I looked through his parents’ album from Carrie [Collin's twin sister] and Matt [her husband and my former law school colleague]‘s wedding, and the two-page spread of the wedding party jumping was maybe my favorite thing in the book.

[This is the part where I would show you the photo in question, but I can't because their professional photographer owns the copyright.  Another reason I am so excited to have a friendor photographer available!  Creative Commons License WHAT WHAT!]

I now understand that the point of the wedding party jump photo is to provide fodder to mock your friends and family:

“Jessica’s gonna have to work on her vertical if she ever wants to get off JV”

“There’s Justin taking off for his world famous triple lutz-triple toe combo!”

“Based on the expression of joy on Collin’s face, I’m gonna guess part of him was hoping he had just learned how to fly.”

Now, those were all actual insults tossed while looking at Matt and Carrie’s wedding party jump.  But with the power of imagination, I’ve realized another big selling point for the wedding party jump photo: what better way to preserve some of the most dramatic moments of your special day!?    You can capture forever the moment before your sister snapped off her high heel.  Remember trying to glue it back on with Big Red and a can of Aqua Net?  Oh, the laughs.  You can see the precise second the best man strained his Achilles tendon, which lead to that classic Percoset-influenced toast at the reception!  Uncle Roy still quotes the best parts every Thanksgiving.

Without the wedding party jump photo, not only would these memories not be preserved in an album, they would have never happened.   And a wedding day without ruined shoes and untimely injuries is like a wedding without CAKE.

So there’s one wedding culture mystery solved.  Maybe someday I’ll figure out why people always take pictures of their wedding dress on a satin hanger.

17 Comments

  1. I think they take pictures of dresses on satin hangers so that we are amazed at how see through the dress looks and then wonder what under garments the bride wore…
    or is that just me?

  2. And the entire reason I’m getting ready at the venue is so I can have a picture of it hanging from the giant windows in the nature center.
    I love the way dresses look when they are lit through the windows, and I love the detail of my dress. Before I mess the dress up by putting it on my short, chubby frame, I might as well take a picture of it looking stunning, all by it’s onesies.
    My hanger is canvas though, because that’s what I’m storing it on.

    • Your dress won’t get messed up when you put it on, it will come to life! But the photo you are describing of the dress being lit through gigantic windows does sound like a photo worth taking.

  3. Oh, and jumping pictures = silly. Especially when they involve argyle socks.

  4. Argyle socks are the bomb. All of the men should be wearing those short pants with elastic just below the knee and argyle socks pulled up high. Oh, and suspenders. Just because.

    I actually crossed many a photog off my list if they dared show a jumping photo on their website. When we met our photographer, I think one of the first things out of Tony’s mouth was, “We don’t jump. No jumping.”

    I’m also not a fan of the pictures of the bride hiding coquetishly behind her bouquet. Of course, with my pokey brooch bouquet, if I tried that, I would poke my eye out. Blood oozing from the bride’s eye might be a bad omen.

    • Brooch bouquet! I started foraging for parts for one of these this weekend. It’s still a zygote of a brooch bouquet, but we’ll have to discuss this further.

      • I did a how-to post on my bouquet a while ago. Not nearly as funny as one of Lyn’s DIY posts, but it may help. Also, I had a bunch of pieces left over that I rejected for color reasons. There are some very cute pieces in the orange, yellow, gold, brown family. Let me know if you want them. Happy to donate to a good cause.

      • My mother in law totally read your how-to post. She forgot to bookmark it (“I don’t know how to do things like copy and paste links”), but described it from memory, and I am convinced yours was the post she read.

        Also I’m so excited you have leftover brooches! Especially the gold and brown ones because they’re part of the wedding color palette! Shoot me an email and we can talk shipping strategy.

  5. Here’s what I want: A photo of my wedding party dressed like David Lee Roth in the “Jump” video. They will not be jumping. They will be lying on the ground in a delirious haze. Oops, too much Aqua Net!!!

    I think I just started a new trend.

  6. some of the ‘must have’ shots are silly but whatever. do them if you want them. untimely injuries make for good stories

  7. also, I made a brooch bouquet too! ebay was excellant for it

  8. Thank god I’m not the only one who finds jumping pictures inane. Because you can, and because it’s a “cool” shot that everyone else does, does not mean it belongs at my WEDDING.

    Also, it’s not just one hanger pic. The photographers actually take about 20 in order to get that one “iconic” dress photo. I guess if you spent $5K on a dress you probably want to remember it and at least try to get your money’s worth? Not my deal. I’m also aiming for a simple inexpensive dress, so this probably helps with my meh feelings on the matter. Fill my album with people shots please and of me IN the dress.

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