I shot my first wedding over the weekend and I'm happy to report that I lived through the experience. It was a small, intimate event, which made it a little less overwhelming for me as a brand spankin' new photographer. I did realize I'll never quit my day job and I'll leave big events, such as weddings, to the people who can dedicate the proper amount of time required.

I remember back in the day, paying my photographer a little over $600 for engagements shots and a wedding album. I seriously cried having to write that check not understanding why on Earth, simple pictures could cost so much. I'm now painfully aware of the value I actually received. Sure, your photographer spends all day at your wedding, but in reality, this is only a small part of the process. He or she still has to edit, package and prepare all of your gorgeous shots.

For the four hours I was there, I took over 400 pictures. I now have to go through each one, editing the good and tossing out the bad. I may have to take things out and add things in...it's quite the adventure. Just estimating, I've spent probably over 10 hours (editing) over the past two days and I'm only 1/3 of the way into the process. I'm not complaining because I do love this. Seeing what I can turn my photos into is just a neat thing to go through and I look forward to it. Does it get tedious? Heck yeah! A little boring? Some times! Would I wanna do another wedding? No thanks!

So, in the end, I've learned some of my strengths and weaknesses all through a very humbling process. I hope the bride and groom will be happy with their pictures because so far, I'm proud of myself for the job I did. I went outside my comfort level and discovered it wasn't so bad. Would I do it again? Maybe, but it's gonna a be awhile. Hubby misses having a laptop computerless wife laying next to him at night :-).

Want to see more of the pics? Visit my photo blog, Pixel Queen Photography.