This is not a wedding blog. And that's probably for the best, because my love of other peoples' wedding photos borders on obsession. I just can't get enough of them; they're my candy. And these images from The Flashdance are the perfect example of why.
The photography arm of The Flashdance--a total wedding resource based in Los Angeles--consists of Jess and Whitney from Our Labor of Love, and Max Wanger, whose work I guarantee you've seen here. Weddings are a microcosm of the newlyweds' universe, with each detail speaking volumes about their personalities and about what makes them unique as a couple. These photos so beautifully capture that.
What's more, the emotion that radiates from wedding photos captivates me. The smiles on this day are so happy, the eyes so full of love. Yes, we know there might be a million things happening behind the scenes to stress out the bride and groom (heaven knows there are more than a few shots of me running around like a crazy woman in my white dress) but in the end, the pendulum swings heavily in favour of utter joy.
But more than anything else, I love looking at wedding photos because my wedding was one of the most fun experiences I've ever had--think pancakes, a school bus, swing dancing, and a Civil War era fort--and I love seeing others having that much fun too. It's so fascinating to me all the different ways that couples find to be playful together. It inspires me to keep that spirit of play alive all the time, even when there's no camera watching.
So tell me: what did you/would you do for fun at your wedding? More importantly, what are you doing for fun this weekend?
All images courtesy of The Flashdance. See tons more here--it's like instant Prozac!
Oh my goodness! I love these! The dog on the roof is just amazing and the two of the them on the bike(love her outfit, by the way) ...swoon. I am going be doing some work this weekend, fun work though. Hope you have a lovely weekend planned Anne. xx
Posted by: blair | March 13, 2009 at 09:14 AM
I adore the applause photo and the black dog on the roof!
We're having a party this weekend, finally! I love parties and dancing!
Hope you have a wonderful weekend too, darling!
xoxo
Posted by: Caroline @ Patagonia Gifts | March 13, 2009 at 09:20 AM
I just adore that cake topper in the very first photo..so damn cute! our wedding was very small since we payed for most everything ourselves. the fun part was my fathers choice of music since he played dj. :)
fun for the weekend...well I won't be at work so all will be fun! happy weekend.
Posted by: Tina | March 13, 2009 at 09:25 AM
I adore all these photos. You instantly made my day better! I wish that my wedding photos could be half as charming. Unfortunately, our photographer was more into posed photos than candids so I feel like our photos failed to capture our personalities.
But I do have fun plans in store for the weekend...it involves a little boy with a crazy obsession with Easter and an early batch of Easter eggs, (probably) breakfast out with my boys and a photography class. Have a great weekend!
Posted by: christina | March 13, 2009 at 09:36 AM
These photos make me so happy. Wedding photos should radiate fun and personality, ideally, and these are perfect.
No big plans this weekend, which is perfect for how I'm feeling.
Posted by: Rachel (Heart of Light) | March 13, 2009 at 10:20 AM
My sort-of-cousin and her husband own a portable rock wall that they rent out for birthday parties, corporate events, school fairs, etc, and she told me she'd take it to my wedding, since she knows I like to rock climb. I haven't quite figured out how I'll get into the harness while wearing my dress, but I'll make it work. I figure (1) it's ridiculously unexpected, (2) the pictures would be awesome marketing material for her and her husband, and (3) it's fun and who wouldn't want to rock climb?
Posted by: Kristy | March 13, 2009 at 10:21 AM
I love that first photograph. What could be better than pancakes at your wedding :) At our wedding we had a photo booth, a lot of dancing and some break dancing by my brother. Hopefully I will do a wedding photograph recap soon! It's going to be rainy here so probably just relax and watch movies. Have a nice weekend! :)
Posted by: Melissa | March 13, 2009 at 10:26 AM
I love the balloons on a stick ... kind of like a balloon hobo!
Posted by: stephanie | March 13, 2009 at 10:28 AM
These are so adorable...so much better than the fake churchy pics. My fav is the one with the bride standing on the box...except for us that would have been LJ standing on the box so I could have worn heels.
Posted by: Jen | March 13, 2009 at 11:35 AM
I'm a wedding photo junkie too, and Our Labor of Love is one of my all-time favorites! Their photography is so fresh, modern, irreverent - and fabulous!
Posted by: Anna | March 13, 2009 at 12:01 PM
Oh man, those are 14 shades of fantastic. Ours, all three of them, were snapped by the court clerk. Sigh.
Posted by: Raina | March 13, 2009 at 12:24 PM
That cake topper in the first image makes. me. happy.
Posted by: nkp | March 13, 2009 at 12:28 PM
I have been following both Max Wanger, and Our Labor of Love for a bit as my sister is looking for photographers and I adore their images! I just spent some time on Flashdance and they also have a great DJ and a bunch of really good free music downloads. Thanks for the heads up! It's nice to see so much good art in the wedding world these days.
Posted by: Elizabeth Schneider | March 13, 2009 at 12:31 PM
I love these kinds of wedding photos - so full of personality! And YOUR wedding sounds like it was fun... love to hear more about it.
We got married in Florence, Italy so we just hired someone through the Internet. The photos overlooking the city are fabulous, but don't show as much of our personality as these do.
Have a fabulous weekend! xo
Posted by: Kotori | March 13, 2009 at 12:34 PM
love these pictures!
Posted by: Brian | March 13, 2009 at 12:44 PM
omg! love them all, good look at wedding images all day, :)
Posted by: vee | March 13, 2009 at 12:50 PM
I wish I had theflashdance when I got married.
Posted by: Zac | March 13, 2009 at 01:15 PM
I love the Our Labor wedding photos, and that flashdance ssite is really unique and super cute. I love the personality.
Posted by: Michael | March 13, 2009 at 01:41 PM
the photo with the dog on the roof is amaaaaaaazing!
Posted by: charlotte | March 13, 2009 at 01:42 PM
I'm so glad I found this blog, a friend sent this to me b/c I'm getting married next year and thanks to you I might have a DJ (fingers crossed), and I just booked max to take the photos. Then I spent an hour on YOUR blog and loved it! Very inspirational. My boss hates me today. Thanks so much.
Posted by: Nina | March 13, 2009 at 05:35 PM
You never disappoint...
Posted by: Miss B. | March 13, 2009 at 05:37 PM
these images are gorgeous, it's like a mini film! so lovely
Posted by: Luphia | March 13, 2009 at 06:19 PM
Just lost my comment!
This is wonderful, Anne.
A romantic's (me) dream come true.
I love their site and am off to look some more.
Thank you for a wonderful start to the weekend.
xo
Brooke
Posted by: velvet and linen | March 13, 2009 at 07:09 PM
makes me miss my wedding day. i love that you posted this!
Posted by: jim | March 13, 2009 at 08:40 PM
these images are so sweet. i agree, it's so nice to browse through photos of weddings that reflect all the spunk and spirit of the people getting married. thanks for sharing these!
Posted by: erin | March 14, 2009 at 08:12 AM