Wirken Photography Blog

I have one vital piece of advice when planning your wedding: Let the right one in.

Your wedding day is a microcosm of everything you love built just for you, about you, and by you (with help from friends and family). It is so important when selecting your wedding vendors to let the right ones into that world. Those that match your vision closest will enhance your day. This is specially true for your wedding imagery. Your wedding film and photography will be looked back on for generations. Memories will be lost and created based on it.

Years ago Kaitlin contacted me to be an intern, when at the time we were not looking for one. We have been friends ever since. We have had so many conversations about weddings I cannot count. Conversations about photography and video, approach and design, about what a wedding should encompass and how I see them.

After a long and winding courtship, they arrived at their wedding day full of energy and excitement. Shooting Kaitlin and Sam’s wedding was a dream for me. We had that trust. They knew exactly how I worked when they hired me and gave me their trust that opened the door to the day. Their family and friends followed their lead. From the crazy dance floor to the flow of tears, they let me in to capture it all. But it was not enough to just give me access. They also trusted me to give those moments back to them in a way that was a perfect hybrid of my own artistic sensibilities and an honest telling of the day. A film about how the day felt and what it was like to be there on one of the most important days of their lives. It was an honor to be entrusted with this and I am so excited to share it with you. Without further adieu, Kaitlin and Sam’s short film:

Kaitlin and Sam let me in to tell the story of their engagement a few months ago. For a little more insight, take a look at their engagment film.

• Film Life, wedding life    | 
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Lauren, Dave and I are all proud grads of Shawnee Mission South High School.  I hadn’t seen them for years, but I was so excited when they came to me for their wedding photography.  These two didn’t date in high school, but ended up working together years later and falling in love.  Now if I could only convince Lauren to wear her cheerleading outfit, and Dave his letter jacket at some point in the wedding.  I don’t know why they aren’t doing that.  It has been so fun hanging out with you guys!

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• Portrait life, wedding life    | 
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Few things are better in life than family and friends coming together for a celebration. Nicole and Brian were acutely aware of this when they planned their wedding. Their day was filled with spending time with friends and relaxing in the context of their wedding celebration. I truly felt lucky to be filming their wedding. Not only because they originally thought they didn’t need cinema for their day, but because I thrive on variety. A variety that Nicole and Brian gifted me with by allowing me to document their day.

If you know me, you know I love encountering new things on a wedding day. Nicole and Brian’s wedding came with three things I had never seen before: Nicole walked instead of rode between each of the venues (she and Brian are closely connected to their community in Kansas City’s Westside), their dog, Bristo, served as the ring bearer and the ceremony ended with a champagne toast. What stood out the most was how Nicole and Brian seemed to inhabit an island all their own once they laid eyes on one another. Completely in love, completely in the moment. Thank you Nicole and Brian for allowing me a glimpse into your connection with each other, your friends and family and your relationship to your community.. It was a wonderful experience.

• Film Life, wedding life    | 
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Kelly and Dan, kindred spirits with  gentle souls.

I feel so blessed to be part of their wedding day.

Here is Kelly trying to brush the teeth of one of her bridesmaids.

Lindsay, Kelly’s best friend since kindergarten, was watching her getting ready for her big day.

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• Studio life, wedding life    | 
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I was talking with a friend this morning about things that inspire and reaffirm passion for what you do in life. I’ve been blessed in that so many of the weddings I have shot recently have been inspiring, and have reaffirmed my passion for what I do.

Laura and Andrew had the right idea. Their wedding was designed around their collective backgrounds. The officiants were family, Laura and Andrew wrote their own vows, the ceremony ended with a glass breaking, the tables were labeled with places they lived, there was a Hora, and they opened the dance floor with a dance inspired by the 2nd lines of New Orleans.

The more I see wedding days become celebrations of everything it means to be human, including where you come from, and who you love (and who loves you), the more I’m inspired to continue documenting these times. It makes it extremely easy to stay in love with what I do.

• Film Life, wedding life    | 
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Disney really is the most magical place on earth. Here is the place that my kids still believe, where they were in awe of all the things that they saw and where not one fight or melt down took place.  We took a short trip in the middle of wedding season to decompress and enjoy our kids, along with my parents. It was more wonderful than I could have imagined. I loved seeing Tyler be a kid himself and enjoy the kids without the hint of work creeping in.  I loved the hugs I got from Alex and Zach after they did something they have never tried before.  I loved seeing my parents spend time with their grand kids just playing for hours on end. Enjoy just a few images that jumped out at me while editing through the thousands yet to go….

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• Tyler and Pam's life    | 
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The thing that stands out to me most about Jobrina and Ryan is their positivity.  Because they live in Indianapolis, I wasn’t able to meet them until the actual wedding day, but after spending just one day with them, the image burned into my mind of these two is both of them with huge smiles, laughing, having a great time.  I am guessing that this is the way they go through life.  At the same time, they are not the least bit fake, they felt the bittersweet stuff deeply too.  And the people they surround themselves with are the same, laugh loud, love big, celebrate well kind of people.

Thank you guys for inviting me into your day and your lives.  We had a great time

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• wedding life    | 
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When looking from the outside in, most weddings look pretty similar. Rings, dresses, flowers, cake and presents. It’s all the same. Or is it.

The thing that makes every wedding a completely unique event: the bride and groom. How they interact with one another. How they rest, lean, hold hands, glance, laugh, cry, smile, cheer and dance. It is in these small gestures that their humanity and love radiate. That is what makes all weddings, and all days in general, unique and beautiful.

Katie and Dave sum this point up completely. I love how when Katie and Dave look at each other, they really look at each other. They are connected on a different level. We see it in the compilation of these gestures, their interaction with their loved ones, and yes even the little details of their day that serve as icing on the cake. It is my pleasure to present to you Katie and Dave.

• Film Life, wedding life    | 
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Want to see some of the things that inspire me?  I just started a little personal blog where I keep track of and share some inspired moments

See All the Colors

• Becca's life    | 
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Remember the scene in Annie Hall when Woody Allen says I lurve you?  Lurve is exaggerated love.  I lurve Jayne and Kelly.

I am so inspired by them as people, and their wedding was a candyland of visual treats.  Both talented architects, these two have such discerning style, and their good taste is warmed up and made personal by their sentimentality.  The beautiful things around them that day weren’t just beautiful things, they were personal, time-invested expressions of themselves and those they love.

It was an intimate gathering, so they were able to pay a lot of attention to detail.  The menu was extraordinary, and each course was paired with a carefully selected wine, Kelly and Jayne made a bunch of pillow by hand for the guests to sit on during the ceremony, there were ethereal white prayer flags hung everywhere, as a tribute to Kelly’s proposal in Tibet.  But as I say all the time, the things that stuck with me the most from this wedding were the tender moments between people that reflected the depth of their relationships.  Too many to name here, but I will share a few favorites in these pictures.

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• wedding life    | 
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