Here are a few of images from Dan and Erin Cordova’s wedding—the first wedding pics that I have shot with my new Camera; no more borrowing from friends, yes!  But, Celestial’s images will be up soon, and they will tell the real story.

One of the things that I love about the art of photography is that it gives the artist such an ability to celebrate life in very concrete ways.  The most likely result of a photograph is that something tangible and real is captured, something beautiful, something painful, something sad, something surprising—something real.

Weddings have become one of my favorite things to photograph because it something concrete that celebrates the beauty of love, even though society has an extremely different view of it.  Societies idea is that somehow marriage is a restriction on true love; certainly this is how it is portrayed in our entertainment.  In This Momentary Marriage, Piper says, “How much more will the magnificence of marriage in the mind of God seem unintelligible in a modern Western culture, where the main idol is self; and its main doctrine is autonomy; and its central act of worship is being entertained; and its three main shrines are the television, the Internet, and the cinema; and its most sacred genuflection is the uninhibited act of sexual intercourse.”  But, the truth of marriage is such a beautiful thing that reflects the very nature of God.

When I get to photograph a wedding, I am reminded about the truth of the gospel.  On a couples wedding day, they are usually the happiest they have ever been—at least, by the time they get to the altar together, they are; relief from the stress in the moments prior adds to their joy.  Because of the gospel, we work hard to make ourselves ready for Christ—rather, the Spirit works hard in us—yet we are moved forward by love from, and love for, Jesus, because of the cross—he gave everything for us; we responds by making ourselves ready for him.   It is because of this that our stresses, the stresses that the bride and groom feel before they are united, are made light as we keep the marriage moment in mind.

And as we prepare for the day that we will be fully united to Christ, we prepare for a day that is infinitely better than a wedding day.  Again, Piper says about the transition from marital bliss to the eternal marriage of the lamb, “Nothing is lost.  The music of every pleasure is transposed to an infinitely higher key.”  Every moment in this life looks toward that moment when all will be made right, as we are united with Christ.

Here’s one last quote from Piper—get the book: “The greatness and glory of marriage is beyond our ability to think or feel without divine revelation and without the illumining and awakening work of the Holy Spirit.  The world cannot know what marriage is without learning it from God.  The natural man does not have the capacities to see or receive or feel the wonder of what God has designed for marriage to be.”

So there it is.  That’s why I love shooting weddings. That day is a small picture of gospel hope. Do you see marriage like that?  Perhaps you have a negative view of marriage and have personal experience to prove it—fair enough.  Do share.