The Mother-of-the-Groom Diaries: Snapping Pictures at My Son’s Wedding

Fathers dressed in tuxes present bride and groom's rings at wedding ceremony. Photo by BF Newhall — From my front row seat on the groom’s side of things, I tried — too hard — to be inconspicuous as I snapped a shot of the fathers presenting the bride’s and groom’s rings to the officiant. Left to right: father of the bride, bride, groom, father of the groom. Photos by BF Newhall

By Barbara Falconer Newhall

My trusty point and shoot goes with me everywhere these days. But for my son’s wedding I resolved to Be In The Moment and resist the temptation to digitize every last detail of his big day.

As the evening went on, I got pretty good at just plain enjoying myself. But I confess, there were moments when my itchy shutter button finger got the better of me. To wit:

Handsome groom in tux, vest and tie with pink boutonniere before his wedding. Photo by BF Newhall — Peter — still calm just before his wedding.

A bride in white lace gown with bouquet of mixed purple flowers laughs during her weddng ceremony. Photo by BF Newhall — The bride laughs at a reference to how she and Peter met — during a college freshman course in mid-19th century German history. The bride and groom wrote their own vows, promising, among other things, to act as chef (the bride) and sous chef (the groom) for future gourmet meals at home.

Guests seated for a wedding a five event center minneapolis, mn. Photo by BF Newhall — Guests awaited the wedding ceremony, which was held at the Five Event Center in Minneapolis’s trendy Uptown district.

The wedding banquet by Brassa is served buffet style at the Five Event Center in Minneapolis' Uptown. Photo by BF Newhall — After the ceremony, the Five Event Center was transformed for a buffet banquet by Brasa, where menus feature organic, locally grown meats, fruits and vegetables. The menu: Honey glazed cornbread; cabbage, lime and herb coleslaw; black beans; coconut curried vegetables; barbecued chicken, and smoked beef. The “cake” was a buffet of four kinds of ice cream.

Several vases of flowers including callas, lilacs, and eucalyptus leaves decorate a stairway at the Five Event Center. Photo by BF Newhall — Vases of callas and lilacs by Ashley Fox Designs greeted guests at the entrance to the Five Event Center. At right are pictures of the bride and groom as babies, kids and young adults.

Brideand groom seated at a table with black tablecloths being toasted and smiling. Photo by BF Newhall — The toasts! In a rare moment of indecision, my point and shoot had trouble making up its mind where to focus in the dim light.

Wedding photographer and videographer set up to take pictures at the Five Event Center, Minneapolis. Photo by BF Newhall — The professionals at lauren b. photography took a grand total of 603 photos at the wedding — plus a video. I’m hoping they caught what I said during my toast to the bridal couple, because I forget what I said and it seemed mighty profound at the time. Something about how much I love my son . . . and my brand-new daughter-in-law.

Names of the participants in a wedding are written on the face of an old-fashioned mirror. Photographer & writer Barbara Falconer Newhall can be seen in its reflection. Photo by BF Newhall — The names of the wedding participants were written on an old-fashioned mirror. And yes that’s me in the reflection with my trusty point and shoot .

For more stories about Peter’s wedding, you can go to “The Mother-in-Law Diaries: The Day Before the Big Day” and “A Groom’s Dinner at a Place Called the Bachelor Farmer.” Also, “They Did It. They Got Married.” To share this post with friends, click on one of the icons below.

Comments

kathryn says

June 13, 2013 at 1:33 pm

Peter looks incredibly handsome! And your dress is gorgeous… And the bride is radiant. Looks like a lovely ceremony. Congrats!

- Barbara Falconer Newhall says
  
  June 13, 2013 at 2:08 pm
  
  It was all pretty cool.
  
Marilyn Slagel says

June 13, 2013 at 9:13 am

Lovely couple. I may be older, but not blind yet – Peter is a hottie! The bride is beautiful and her dress/bouquet are fabulous!

- Barbara Falconer Newhall says
  
  June 13, 2013 at 12:05 pm
  
  Yes. The bouquet was a work of art.
  
Toppy says

June 13, 2013 at 8:37 am

Thank you so much, Barbara. Those are the pics I’ve been awaiting. Stunning!! What is it about weddings?!!!

Toppy

- Barbara Falconer Newhall says
  
  June 13, 2013 at 12:04 pm
  
  Toppy. So true. There’s something about wedding . . .

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