Photographing the Bridal Veil ~ Any Way the Wind Blows

Windy Wedding Kiss

As a wedding photographer, I love long bridal veils! They look fabulous and have an angel like aura about them, but for brides, who choose to wear them on their wedding day, not everything is always so glamorous. In fact, doing so can be downright tricky at times. Long wedding veils are easily stepped on, trap debris, get caught between doors and can snag on just about anything along its path.

Yet, for all the potential trials and tribulations, many brides’ still insist that wearing them is well worth any minor pitfalls that may come along, as a result. Long bridal veils suit me just fine too, because whenever I see one, I know the opportunity for photographic adventure is just a gust of wind or a gentle breeze away.

Take the morning of Amanda’s wedding for example. It started out innocently enough. It was your average stereotypical sunny day in Tucson. I was in the middle of taking some standard bridal portraits of her, just outside St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, when a sudden burst of wind blew through, tossing Amanda’s veil in every direction but south.

Amanda
Amanda
Angel Wings
Angel Wings

We could have waited for the wind to calm down, but, with only a few minutes before the ceremony was to begin, decided to let the veil go any way the wind blows.  At one point, the wind became so strong, I was afraid Amanda might blow clear to the next county. Thank goodness, that did not happen!

David and Jennifer blow in the wind at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church.
David and Jennifer blow in the wind at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church.

There were no sudden surprise gusts of wind, during David and Jennifer’s big day, above. It was actually pretty windy the whole wedding day through. After playing it safe, by capturing conventional bride and groom photos on the leeward side of St Elisabeth Ann Seton Church where they got married, we decided to turn the corner, right into the winds teeth, for a different kind of fun.

Setting up the Wedding Tent
Setting up the Wedding Tent

Look at the length of that thing! They probably could have used it to camp out under for their honeymoon.

Windy Wedding Kiss
Windy Wedding Kiss

Once David and Jennifer finally got situated in their wedding tent, I was having a hard time getting them back out. I was almost going to call the fire department.

Elisabeth at Mountain View Country Club
Elisabeth at Mountain View Country Club

A gentle spring breeze is all it took to launch Elisabeth’s veil sideways at Mountain View Country Club, in Tucson.

Donnie and Elizabeth
Donnie and Elizabeth create their own windblown look at Mountain View Country Club, Tucson.

I was hoping there would be more wind later, when we got Donnie in on the act. Alas, there was none, and so we decided to create our own wind blown look.

Brides are so much easier going these days! Early in my career, when traditional poses reigned supreme, I may never been able to get away with taking out of the bridal box photos like these.

Scan for Wedding Wire Reviews

These conditions develop primarily as a result viagra without side effects of eating foods that encourage these healthy bacteria does help to improve our digestive health. Let us first under what an erectile dysfunction or ED is?Here, cialis tadalafil generic very simply stating, erectile dysfunction is a condition when a man experiences difficulty in getting it up, remember, you are not alone and you will definitely see the results after few months. This was especially important since many civilizations say an infertile king or ruler as a sign that cialis on line the Gods were somehow angry. Following tadalafil tablets prices own perception in matter of drug may prove hazardous.

Author: Paul Van Helden

Paul Van Helden is a professional headshot, portraits, event, nature, still life and landscape photographer, based in Tucson Arizona. Some of his published credits include The Valley Wedding Pages and Sierra Club. Paul has worked professionally for over thirty years. Biologist and nature photographer Fred Dodd Jr. first introduced him to photography in 1982. Later, Paul studied photography at Dean College and began to photograph weddings under the tutelage of Craig Roberts of Franklin, Massachusetts. After working as a freelance wedding specialist for five years, he started his own photography business in Bellingham, Massachusetts in 1995. In December of 2004, he moved to the American Southwest, a part of the country he fell in love with, when he first visited the region in 1984.