Interview with Jocelyn, Owner of Danie Mae Photography

The best wedding photos don’t happen by accident—they come from preparation, clear boundaries, and a team that reads the room. We sat down with Jocelyn of Danny May Photography to trace her journey from high school photo staff to 30+ weddings a year, including the hard reset that forced her to sell gear, rebuild, and go fully legit with an LLC, insurance, and sustainable pricing. Along the way, a supportive partner learned to second shoot, a local media editor amplified her work, and a studio inside the historic Yuengling Mansion gave her a creative home grounded in preservation.

We dig into the shots that truly hold a day together: intentional detail images and thoughtful lay flats that honor the hours couples spend choosing rings, invites, heirlooms, shoes, and florals. Jocelyn explains why some trends sing and others fall flat—especially fully blurred frames that hide the memory instead of elevating it. She shares the reception calculus most couples miss: after toasts, cake, and special dances, galleries often get repetitive, so decide day-of whether extra hours are worth it. And yes, we wade into the bouquet and garter toss debate with real-world stories where age gaps, crowd energy, and tone turned fun into cringe—or pure comedy gold.

This conversation doubles as a field guide for new photographers and engaged couples. You’ll hear why ethical portfolio building matters (no stock or borrowed images), how to set up a foolproof backup plan with multiple camera bodies, and simple prep lists that prevent last-minute scrambles. We also talk about phone-free aisles, aisle blockers, and how families can support the vision without hijacking timelines—especially at golden hour when the light won’t wait.

If you’re planning a wedding or building a creative business, you’ll walk away with clear, practical takeaways: protect your time, communicate your boundaries, and invest in vendors who are as prepared as they are kind.

Follow Jocelyn on Facebook at Danie Mae Photography LLC or catch her around Schuylkill County capturing all of the best moments as a 'lifetime' photographer!

 Enjoyed the episode? Follow, share with a friend who’s planning, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.

Chapters

• 0:00 Setting The Stage And Guest Intro
• 1:08 Jocelyn’s Background And Niche
• 2:42 Starting Out And Finding Momentum
• 5:28 Going Legit: LLCs, Taxes, And Credibility
• 8:40 Mentors, Media Partnerships, And Growth
• 11:33 Hitting Bottom, Selling Gear, And Rebuilding
• 15:50 The Studio At The Mansion And Preservation
• 19:39 First Weddings, Free Gigs, And Learning Ethically
• 24:20 Backups, Readiness, And Workflow Discipline
• 28:16 Favorite Shots And Why Vows Matter
• 31:58 Reception Realities And When To Wrap
• 35:04 Trends: Lay Flats Loved, Blurs Debated
• 38:12 Boundaries, Enjoyment, And Missed Sunsets
• 41:02 Garter And Bouquet: Fun Or Cringe

Transcript

Amanda: 0:03

Welcome to the wedding wear with officiating by Amanda. Welcome to this week on the wedding wear, and I'm excited to have a vendor as a guest star today. Um, when I created this podcast, I really intended it to be anything I could say, but then also amplify others' voices, maybe potential maternity leave. Where it's not the officiant says the wedding wear, it's just the story of the wedding wear, because any other vendor, anybody else involved in a wedding, a bridesmaid or flower girl, anyone could have that same story. So I kind of left this open-ended for the hope that one day I would get wonderful guests on who could also shed some light on you know what they do, their work in the wedding world, and their weddings wear. So I've got Jocelyn with me today. I'm gonna turn it on over to her a little bit here with some questions. Tell everybody who you are and what you do in the wedding world.

Jocelyn: 1:08

So my name is Jocelyn. I have a business. It's called Danny May Photography. I'm obviously a photographer. I specialize obviously in weddings, boudoir, senior sessions, and sports, but weddings is weddings is my life. Yeah, I probably shoot about 30 weddings, 30 to 35 weddings a year.

Amanda: 1:30

So you do sometimes like the engagement photo beforehand. I was talking to my one friend who'd asked about the your boudoir photography, and she reflected, you know, your pricing is really great. And I kind of equated you, hope you don't mind, but I equated you for being you want to be a lifetime photographer. You want to capture that senior class picture, and then two years later, the engagement, and then a year later their wedding, and two to three years later their baby, and you almost make yourself available, especially to this area that we're in, of wanting to capture a life cycle's worth. Yeah. And that's what definitely drew you to me. I loved the high school sport photos and the parade ones. It was really great. How did you get into this line of work? And were there any like defining moments where you know you could have hung it all up and said, Oh, forget this, but you kind of instead said, I'm gonna double down.

Jocelyn: 2:24

So I started when I was in high school. I was on the photography staff. I really, really liked it. It was just very natural for me. And photography, it sounds so strange, but it doesn't always come naturally to everybody. It was just always natural for me. I hung the camera up though, because I went to school for social work and criminal justice, hung the camera up, and then 2009. Yeah, 2019, I decided to buy a new camera just to play around with. I have kids, like, you know, take picture of the kids, and I was like, huh, let's try this whole business thing. And I honestly didn't expect it to go anywhere. The it, the area, and not just this area, oh, you know, the market is just very oversaturated with photographers. And I'll be honest, I didn't, I had no clue what I was doing. So then I decided to give it a whirl. And I think what was different for me versus other photographers is I'm very, very good at sports photography. So I gained a following there. Never in a million years would I have imagined that I would have been a wedding photographer. I thought it was just gonna be sports, a couple portrait sessions and seniors, and that was gonna, we were gonna hang it up there. But it spiraled. I worked with Scook News and from there it spiraled, and now I am everywhere. As far as like a rough time, I will say, like, so I started my business and I went through everything legally because like I think my my biggest gripe is people that aren't legitimate businesses, they don't file taxes, they don't file their LLCs, like they just say, Oh, I'm a I'm a photographer and they run a business and they pocket all the money. I wanted to be legitimate from day one.

Amanda: 4:00

So huge difference as textbook timing between a hobby, a side hustle and a business. And again, like if you're gonna call yourself a hobby, you're actually probably losing money on it. And so, right, you don't really LLC a hobby, but then you also can't market yourself as anything more than it's a hobby. Right. You've got your level in side hustle, which is more the realm I'm in because most of the time I have a primary, but the the officiating doesn't bring in similar equivalent to but there's a profit to be made, nothing crazy, but there's profit to be made. And then there's there is business where this could be the everyday, full time, the amount of work you put in, as well as you know, the profit margin to share at the end run. And my tax person very much was like, So you want an LLC? I'm like, yes. And she's like, Can you share with me a little bit of what you're looking at? So I gave her the red house of financial. She goes, Oh, I'm so glad that you have a side hustle. Do you know how many people whose hopes and dreams I have to ruin every year when they come to me saying, I run a business and I have to explain to them, no, sweetheart, you run a hobby and it's losing you money.

Jocelyn: 5:04

Yeah, yeah. So yeah, I started out, I got my LLC, my business insurance. Even though I wasn't making any money, I was paying money to pretend that was a business. Spiraled from there. And like I said, I partnered with Scook News. His name's Justice Reed, Justin Reed, my editor. He is phenomenal. I messaged him out of the blue one day and I was like, hey, I'd love to take pictures. And he's like, sure. You know, and he promotes my business. And he honestly, like, I owe a lot of what my business has turned into to him because he constantly, you know, thanks to Danny Mae Photography, go to Danny Mae Photography. And like, he has a page of almost 90,000 followers. So, like, especially in this area, like it's super helpful. So, I mean, that that was the startup of it as far as a time where I wanted to hang it up. Ironically, I was just getting my business going. Now, God, if you look at my pictures from 2019, they are dreadful. They are absolutely dreadful. I would have never hired me. So, kudos to the people that hired me, but y'all must be blind.

Amanda: 6:04

Well, came back again. So, you're kind of like, okay, do I keep doing what I was doing because obviously they like what it was, or do I now, you know, show them I've amped it up and make them realize, oh, those first ones weren't great.

Jocelyn: 6:16

Oh, no, they're like the other day, I pulled off sports photos from when I first started. And and sports photos was where I like I was decent in that time, but to now, and God, they're like blurry, like I'm like, and I think to myself, why did you think this was okay to put out there? People loved it though. So I mean, I've just grown and thank God for that.

Amanda: 6:37

Well, when we look at fashion too, I mean, how many times do you look at pictures from middle school and junior high and high school and go, whoever let me walk out of the house with makeup caked on my face that was four shades the wrong color? Yeah, a bump it in my hair, and the four four lace camisols all on top of who let me walk out of a house, but yet not only did we walk out, we took pictures and we thought it was cute.

Jocelyn: 7:00

Yeah, yeah. And like I was looked at a picture of myself the other day and I had like white metallic eyeshadow on with like heavy black. I looked like a raccoon. And of course I had the emo bangs.

Amanda: 7:10

And did you do like the the pencil thinks? No, I never touched my eyebrows. Good, good, because they're I've gotten horse for it.

Jocelyn: 7:17

But yeah, so in 2019, I went through divorce and it was rough, very bad, and it it made me grow as a person, but the issue was like I didn't feel like I had much support other than for my family. I was at this point now a single mom working a full-time job. So I'm like, I don't have time for photography. And in that short six months that I did start my business, I accrued a lot of things and I ended up selling it because I was like, I needed money. And it was before I met my current husband, and I sold everything, everything but my camera. I sold everything and I had nothing. So I was like, it's all right, I'm just gonna be go back to being a hobbyist, and that's cool. That summer met my current husband who was absolutely amazing and was like, no, let's do this. He helped me purchase an even better camera. Help, he's an accountant, so of course, like he's great with money. He helped me budget money, but it sucked me.

Amanda: 8:13

Sometimes you're second shooter, which I think is absolutely fantastic. And then you're like, you know, you've said, like, if I need him, he'll come. Yes, yes, I'll edit them because I can't say they're great, but he'll come.

Jocelyn: 8:23

Yeah, you want to talk about support and a supportive husband. Like that man taught himself how to take pictures just to be a second shooter for me at weddings. Like he just he amps me up, and I love that because like it's so nice to have a cheerleader in this, you know, in any type of business. But it's so it's my husband isn't just my husband. He's like my support and my partner. And that's like the best thing with all of this.

Amanda: 8:44

Every podcast episode I have the first listen is typically me, just because I want to make sure, you know, it all produced outright. And I listen to it like four times the speed because I'm like, yeah, I heard it when I record it, when I edited it, and now it's just you know, finalization. The second listen is always neck. So that that gives you that gives you a lot when your your partner is your biggest cheerleader. Now he's not gonna go to weddings with me. He's making that clear. Yeah, he's like heard it once, did it once, we're good. Yeah. But I love that. So meeting your husband, define that moment, doubled you down, put you right back in, and then some.

Jocelyn: 9:16

Yeah, he's like, You're great, you're doing this, like, do it, like keep doing it, don't stop. So, what sucked was all the stuff that I sold, I had to rebuy. Stupid on me, but whatever. Also, in the meantime, I had no studio. I moved out of my old studio because my ex-husband and I split up. I moved into like a friend studio, but like the building itself was very dilapidated, and I'm pretty sure he was losing it to foreclosure. So I had no studio. So then we bought our house and I was running a small studio out of my house, which you know, having a husky and a child, like it just wasn't conducive. So then here we are sitting in my studio at the Inling Mansion. It's gorgeous. Yes. Since 2021, I was lucky. It was like one o'clock in the morning. I was scrolling on Instagram and I saw that they had one room available, and that slowly became the two rooms, three rooms, and yeah, I live.

Amanda: 10:08

Great access to the mansion as a whole, which I'll have it linked in the show notes. Um of the things about this area that I'm in right now, there's so much great local history in Pottsville with Yuengling, the brewery, the beer, the mansion, the everything. And it's I majored in history. It's just so cool to watch older buildings, older homes not undergo full, you know, modernization, but be maintained and upkept and loved and treasured, and then not also fall into disrepair. Like there's such a balance you have to strike with preserving and you know, putting the time into it and giving it beautiful new life as you really have in this space.

Jocelyn: 10:51

That's we have a director, her name's Marley, she's phenomenal. It was so funny. In the bridal suite, they had this beautiful chandelier, but it was from Wayfair. It was not original to the building. And I can, I was sad because Marley got rid of the chandelier, but I can appreciate that she is so dedicated to restoring this house back to what it originally was in this time period, and she has done such a great job doing that and trying to bring events and whatnot to this mansion because it is a it's a historical piece in Pottsville, and it's a difference. She doesn't look at it as a job. I feel like she looks at it as like she loves this place, and it's like because I love this place and I'm obsessed with this place, and I think I'll ever leave this place. And it's nice that like it's like I said, it's not just a job to her, like she comes to work and like she cares about the building, she cares about the place and her dedication to restoring things and making things different. It's just phenomenal. So shout out to Marley from the mansion. And if you ever need a rental, shout out to Marley, reach out to her.

Amanda: 11:50

I'm working to get her on. So hopefully by the time I get this out, I'll be like, and we named up Marley. Tune in next month because we'll have Marley. So I want you to think back. Very first wedding you photographed. What was that like? And you know, again, was it for a friend and family? They they paid you in food. Like my first few jobs, like I would work for food and free drink. Like I got I did it for kindness and not any sort of I actually know what I'm doing world. So what was your first wedding?

Jocelyn: 12:22

So I had no clue what I was doing. I wanted to do weddings, but I didn't know anybody. And like coming into the industry, like other photographers weren't exactly nice to me. There was one that I really looked up to and she just was not nice. And I was like, okay, like, so how am I ever gonna get into the wedding industry? Because I can't just be like, oh, let me shoot your wedding and charge a thousand dollars when I didn't have a that's someone's special day, like so someone's big day, you know. For most people, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, unless you're like me, it's a twice-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But I uh sorry. I was at work and my coworker was getting married, and she is she didn't have the budget for a photographer. So I'm like, well, I'll do it for free if I could use your pictures for advertising. And she was like, sure. And it wasn't terrible. The she it helped that she had like very like pretty colors, and I feel like the aesthetic of the wedding was helpful to my pictures because my pictures were very like, very contrasty, probably oversaturated and and overexposed. Because again, I didn't know what I was doing. Yeah, it was a lot of like the first couple of weddings was like, I didn't advertise because I didn't want to be charging people for things that I necessarily like didn't know yet. So if it was someone that was like, hey, I really don't have a budget for a photographer, I'd be like, hey, I'll do it for free. Just let me use your photos. And that's that's kind of how it went. I did eventually find another photographer that I was able to associate second shoot photos with. And she taught me a lot because that was my thing. I didn't want to charge for weddings until I felt comfortable knowing, like, you know, the just the different, because it's such a fast-paced day. Like, you can't go in there thinking, like, oh, I'm gonna be a wedding photographer and not have any knowledge of how a wedding actually goes.

Amanda: 14:06

And it's not like a me role, honestly, where again, if given a script and you've got enough gumption chutzpah, yeah, you can go up and deliver the script. Yeah, again, so like a license, all right, something a little different, but right, there's certain things you just can't make your way through with or have enough belief to get your way through it.

Jocelyn: 14:24

And it's crazy to me because I've seen other photographers, you know, they use other people's photographs and they're like, oh, they'll like advertise with other people's photographs for weddings. Like their second shooters or no, like just stuff they find off of Pinterest or like stock images. And I didn't want to do that. I wanted to have my own wedding, like or my own wedding photos because I wanted people to hire me for the work that they see. It might have sucked, but they saw my crappy pictures and they're like, oh, I want to hire her. It's amazing. Like, like I said, like five, if I look back to five, six years ago, I'm like, why did people hire me to now? You know, so I just wanted to, I wanted to learn, but I also wanted to be like, this is this is my aesthetic. This is the way I edit, this is what you're getting. This is my product, not the product off the internet or a product off of Pinterest.

Amanda: 15:12

Or like a, yeah, sure, I could do that. I don't. I could. Yeah. Because there's a very big divide there.

Jocelyn: 15:18

I just I was always, it's okay to learn at weddings, but you have to go into it knowing like this is how a wedding operates. You have to be ready for if my camera breaks, it's okay because I have two to three backups. I think for your wedding, um, full disclaimer, I shot Amanda's wedding. I think I brought six cameras with me. So like I have a backup to the backup to the backup.

Amanda: 15:38

I have And if you needed, as you know, my father, the amateur enthusiast, he is with every product, every room. He also had a camera. Now he's very excited because he's gonna take it to Alaska with us, but he got it from he had a neighbor who shot like wildlife in the backyard, like deer and eagles and beautiful photos, but again, of a deer that stands a deer of an eagle that yeah, every day you could time it flies overhead, you know. Yeah. And he gifted my dad this, I don't even know what kind of camera it is. Okay. Gifted my dad this camera. So now my dad is like, I'm gonna go to the auction house and help someone take my camera, put him on the auction. What's that? Like he likes to just yeah, pimp himself out for all of this. So he did. If you didn't have six cameras, if you only had four, he brought that backup for me. He does have a backup that again, I think he was waiting for a moment in the wedding day where it could have been Gary Saves the Day on something. If only he would have caught that podium.

Jocelyn: 16:36

Oh my god. So full disclosure for that story. They the venue Amanda had was absolutely amazing. However, at the very end, we had to fight with the sun. So there was one area where I had to do the group photo, so we weren't fighting with direct sunlight in the face. Well, unfortunately, the podium and all the chairs were stacked. So as we were trying to move the podium, was it Teya, my second shooter?

Amanda: 16:58

I honestly thought it was one of my cousins that like bumped. No, was it me? It might have been you because like you couldn't even react. And then one of my cousins went to like run for it. Um, I'm standing there, like feet little kitten heels sunk into the ground. I'm like, I can't move. Like, yeah.

Jocelyn: 17:12

So I bumped, I bump into this podium and it just crumbles.

Amanda: 17:15

Like it didn't back, yeah. Smashes matters. Yeah. Oh, thank, oh, yeah. I didn't say anything, they didn't say anything. We've gone what five, six months now.

Jocelyn: 17:27

And I've seen him at expos before. Uh and I was like, oh, I shot these photos of a man. I was like, and I was like, well, he didn't say anything to me about the podium, so I think they're fine.

Amanda: 17:35

They're fine. Yeah.

Jocelyn: 17:36

But yeah, so I always have backups to the backups, and like, you know, I didn't have those resources when I first started. Like a photographer that's just starting, if there's any advice I can give to you, is find a mentor, find someone that has the resources, and then you can find someone that can help you grow because at the end of the day, like it's helpful for you then. They can help you grow as a business. Yeah.

Amanda: 18:02

So obviously, you did a couple weddings, you like them, you did a couple more, you did a couple more, a couple more, and now, right, you're doing, you know, 30, 32, yeah, a million, it seems like, yeah, each year. What is one thing you love most about working weddings?

Jocelyn: 18:18

My favorite thing to I'm gonna do two different things here. My favorite thing to take pictures of is detail shots because brides put so much work and effort into details, like the centerpieces, the lay flats, which a lay flat is like the picture with the the invitation, the wedding jewelry, the rings, the flowers, all of that. Like there's just so much detail and so much thought that brides put into the details. And I just like capturing that because it's it's what takes up most of the time to the wedding is all those little detail things. So that's my favorite thing to shoot at weddings. My favorite part of weddings is I could be corny and say the moment when the bride walks down the aisle and capturing the groom look at the bride. Like, yeah, it's sweet and it's corny, but I love my favorite part is when they do vows that they wrote themselves because it's meaningful, it's heartful. I'm a sap and I cry all the time. Um but uh I think I like listening to that. I like listening to people's love stories as corny as it is, because sometimes there's just so much bad in the world, and like weddings are just a day of most of the time, or day of just a day of like good, like everything good in their world come coming together. And I like seeing that because like all the effort it takes to make a wedding go seamlessly perfect, and like things always go wrong, but at the end of the day, like you're there to get married, right? I like I like seeing it come all together for the bride and the groom.

Amanda: 19:46

Like I know it sounds so corny, but well, and again, it's a sometimes it can be a good indicator, not that I try to judge or be too too much into it, but a good indicator of you know how you'll handle things going forward. In your relationship. Like you know, I'm often there an hour before behind the scenes in the room with either the bride or the groom, where they get the, hey, you know, Johnny's stuck in traffic and he's got the rings, or oh, you know, this is going on, the caterer didn't show up. You know, yeah. One of those last minute problematic things. And those reactions in the moment give me a lot of feel-good on like, all right, this is fine. You know, I've had the brides who've absolutely lost it and I go, this is dangerous. And the groom are is like, okay, not a problem. Let me make a phone call. I've had the brides who have had a plan all figured out and the grooms have gone, well, I don't care. It's her day to write, you know. Yeah. There's there's ebbs and balances that can be struck. But similar to you, I love the vows. The couples write themselves. I offer a vow-proof reading, if you will, because I've had some grooms write grooms, it's always the grooms, had some grooms write some pretty interesting material. And if I can just help them, again, I don't want to steal their words. I just want to modify slightly so that that's not the moment that you look back on 20 years and go, did I really say shit in my wedding vows?

Jocelyn: 21:10

You want to hear a funny story about wedding vows? Yeah. I had a bride and a groom. Now this bride, like this this wedding was fancy, like fancy, fancy. It's fancy. Yeah. And the bride had like two pages of like very thoughtful, very heartfelt vows to her groom. The groom gets up, it's the groom's turn. He's like, I can't wait for you to suck this dick later in front of like 200 people. And he looked like people are laughing, and like people also look mortified. I was like, Oh my, and the the poor bride. I'm like, and then he goes, Just kidding. And but it was just like he had a paragraph, but like just the way and he like he was like throwing gang signs as he was like saying this. And let me tell you, like, it was wild. Like, I'll never forget texting my second shooter and was just like, I had my my eye watch on, and I'm like, did that did that really just happen? Like just 20 years later, like, oh, what was dad's what was dad's vows to you? Yeah, you're speechless. I love it.

Amanda: 22:11

Well, and I'm all one for say what we want to say, do what we want to do. But let me find the way to have you say it tongue in cheek. Where again, if you had to say it, you know, recite them five years later at a company picnic in front of your boss, you you get a respectable chuckle. Yeah. Yeah. But some people might not get it. I almost want it to go over their head. Yeah. Like children or a grandparent. I almost want it to go over their head, versus have it spelled out in black and white that then, right? You have to tell your children one day, I told your mother to soak his dude. And that's exactly how he said it too. Yeah, like I I don't even know the man, and I'm already putting myself, I can picture him.

Jocelyn: 22:54

Yeah. It was awful. I was mortified.

Amanda: 22:58

Is there a part of the wedding day that you don't really look as much forward to where it's like your least favorite shot to take, but you get you take it because you got to, you know, it it kind of flows in. What's your least favorite?

Jocelyn: 23:13

The the awkwardness after everything's done at the reception. So, like, you know, brides sometimes like I they always ask me, can we pay you to stay two extra hours to get to the end of the reception? And I always tell them, wait until the day of, because like, yeah, I'd love to make my extra 150 to 250 dollars an hour, but like, I'm also like, I've made my money. I'm not gonna make you waste your money if you don't need me to stay the extra two hours. And I say that because reception photos, some people don't realize, like, if I'm like, I overshoot. I'm sure you've like, I think I delivered you what, 800 photos at least, 900 photos. So I don't want to give 300 photos of people dancing to you. And it's just the same five or six people dancing. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem getting fun action shots of people dancing after like the garter toss, the games, the cake cutting, the dollar dance is done. But like it is just the same, it's always the same couple of people dancing, and it's just 300 photos I'm delivering of just people dancing. And I just, it's boring for me. It has to be like when you're going through your your gallery, you're just like, oh, there's a picture of Uncle Sally and Uncle Joe or Aunt Sally and Uncle Joe dancing for the next 35 shots.

Amanda: 24:28

Like, or again, with my wedding, it's it was my cousin Brittany, love you, Britney, but it could have been a progression of what drink she was on throughout the night, which is hysterical. Yeah. But yeah, when we booked with you, we I think I kind of said, like, hey, we want one hour in you know of the reception, just yeah, the speeches, the toast, the bigger dances, and then be done. And then fate in a way all worked together. I'll have it in more detail on whenever I break down my own wedding on this podcast. But I've already shared that we had like a surprise engagement during. And I had told the guy proposing, I'm like, hey, my photographer's gone. I will get a couple of bridesmaids in place. But like, you want minimal people knowing about this? We're not going all boos galore. And it ended up being that the second shooter that you'd had set for the day on my wedding, you're like, hey, it's just me today. I got an assistant, but you know, how how do we kind of make this all still work out? And I'm like, well, there's your offering. Again, I don't necessarily want pictures of people dancing. I think you ended at like seven originally. And I'm like, I don't really need all, but I got something. It just came together. It's in the works. Again, it's not things we knew when we met with you a year and a half prior. You only decide like three months prior to be able to say, hey, we've got this going on at eight o'clock. So if you pencil that into your availability and your schedule, we'd love to have you get this. And if not, you're good, no worries. Because right in my mind, I'm like, I don't need to see my Sorority sisters get drunk and drunker. Is there a trend in weddings right now or in wedding photography that you absolutely love or can't stand?

Jocelyn: 26:10

The blurred photos.

Amanda: 26:12

Like, oh, couples in clear shot, everyone else. No, I'm okay with that. Okay.

Jocelyn: 26:16

I my shout out to Jaden D photography because she did it a wedding and it it turned out so nice. Like she had people walking around her, and it it was like it was nice. What I don't like is, and and then this is just my personal opinion, and and I've haven't seen anybody local do it. Well, no, one person I lied, but like I'm in photographer groups on Facebook and whatnot. And the thing is like blurred shots, and nothing is in clear vision, like it's just blurred shots. Like, I don't know, like it's just like 70s yearbook where they're blurring to try to make a statement, but it really doesn't like do anything.

Amanda: 26:50

It looks like an accident and like not even a happy accident.

Jocelyn: 26:54

And listen, if it works for other photographers, great. It's just not something I like, it drives me nuts. But again, like that's not how I run my business. And if it is successful for them, props to them. It's just something that I can't stand.

Amanda: 27:05

And here's hoping that anything we can't stand ends up being like a millennial trend that just like our thick makeup and you know, and the black stretchy choker. Yep, yep, or the spike, the spike collar choker, like to wear to school day through Friday.

Jocelyn: 27:20

Like, let's just hope it's it's gone in a few years. As far as something that is popular right now, the lay flats are pretty popular. Like, I mean, they've always done them, but like it's more of a thing now than I feel like it has been before. Brides come forward with a box already. And again, even a vision they're head of I these are for lay flat versus a few years ago. It was more of a, you know, on your end as a photographer, a checklist where you say, Hey, can you grab me a copy of your invite and can you grab me this? And you kind of had to bring the pieces together. I hope you're seeing, you know, more brides, you know, kind of show up and be like, here's your box, pick whatever you want, use whatever you can. This is all I actually. Yeah, I request the box now. Like, this is what I want from you. If you have it, keep it separated for me. Great. It wasn't always a popular thing. Now it's it's very popular. And I like it because it shows all again, it's a detailed shot of like all the different things that you worked hard for to put together.

Amanda: 28:17

Yeah. And for some of the detailed elements, it's the only time you really get to see them, like brooches for the bouquets of family members that have passed, or you know, I think one of my way plot photos had my shoes. Okay, it's the only time you're getting a picture of the shoes that actually I painstakingly took months to figure out what I wanted and how I wanted. And right, that actually means something to me because if I didn't have a picture of it, it's just gonna what? Live on my feet for the four hours ceremony and then never again. Like, no, I've got a picture. Those shoes, that's right.

Jocelyn: 28:52

Yep. So I had a bride that had like $1,500. What are they called? Like Louis Vuitton or Louis Vuitton or something. Yeah. But they were gorgeous, they were blue. I'll never forget them.

Amanda: 29:03

With the red heels, right?

Jocelyn: 29:05

The bottom was red, but they were like refurbished ones. So they were a little like, but they were they were fancy. And I remember getting like several specific shots with those shoes because I'm like, the shoes are the setupie for this wedding.

Amanda: 29:18

What is one thing you wish more couples knew or did on their wedding day?

Jocelyn: 29:24

Remember to spend time and enjoy themselves and not live up to the mother-in-law's, the Aunt Sally, you know, whoever else's expectations. I just feel like, you know, at a week at a wedding last weekend and they were so stressed out because of this happening, that happening, or that happening, and they didn't want to upset their mother-in-law, or didn't want to upset the mother of the bride, or whatever. And you could tell she was visibly upset. And then we actually missed the sunset photos. Like I went to her and I said, Hey, we got to do sunset soon. And the mother-in-law actually took them to do something else, and it ended up they missed it. And I and I said to the bride, I was like, Look, we got a million other great photos. I said, just remember to enjoy your wedding. Like you spent all this money, all this planning, enjoy it. Don't, don't be so stressed out about other people's expectations. At the end of the day, don't be afraid to be like, no, this is my wedding. I want to have fun.

Amanda: 30:18

This one is, it says, you know, what's one part of weddings that doesn't vibe with you? But instead, I'm gonna rephrase this because again, being a photographer and oftentimes being around for the early parts in receptions, you get to see the garter and bouquet toss, which I've seen less and less couples aim to do. What are your thoughts on that? Are you still like a yeah, it's fun with doing like, man, I've got cringy shots and I've got people just the cringe of the cringe, the guys go too hard, the girls don't want to do it. Like, what's your take on that?

Jocelyn: 30:48

I love me a good mix-up of garter tosses and garter and bouquet tosses. I have had some cringy ass shots, but like at the funnest weddings, I would say it just depends on the crowd. Like, me and my husband had that conversation. Like, I remember just specifically showing him a video of a TikTok of where the guy had one of the groomsmen or the bride had one of the groomsmen dress up with a dress, and the groomsman took the garter off of what he thought was the the bride because he was blindfolded and it ended up being Grimsman. My husband thought it was hysterical. And like I just gauged his like, you know, I just gauged like what he thought of it watching that video. So I ain't gonna lie to you. I had my best friend, ironically, my best friend's a dude. I had my best friend buy a black tull skirt and he put the garter up. And my husband pulled the garter off my male best friend's leg. And it was funny, it was hysterical, but I wouldn't recommend that to everybody because like some people get really angry about that. My husband, I knew he wouldn't. And like I said, like I was kind of like testing the waters and he thought it was hysterical. But there was a wedding I was at, they did the same thing, and the groom was so into it. He had, and the the the groom smith actually shaved his leg. Oh, that is dedication. He was all into it. He was taking the garter off with his teeth. His face had to be right next to his best friend's manhood. He gets the garter off. He is he is licking this man's foot and everything, gets the garter off, takes it. Obviously, sees his best friend. The whole wedding was roaring and it was such a great vibe. It was hysterical. It was just, and the picture is just like amazing when he found out the bride and the bride's father, like everybody was in on it. Again, she knew like she could do that with her husband. I think sometimes it can be tacky where you know, I've had where weddings where the person that caught it might have been like 16 or 17. So then you have like a 30-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl that caught the bouquet. But every wedding I've been at, they were like, Nope, not doing it, or they gave the bouquet to an older bridesmaid or something like that. Like, yeah.

Amanda: 33:01

So, like it's, I would say, as long as it's like age appropriate and not grotesque and not like that was a big factor in ours was the age composition and again the singleness of the guests, you know, 50% of my bridesmates had been pregnant in the last year. So they're all married, they're not going out for a bouquet talking. No, those that are single, you know, 32, 33, not really wanting to, and then older singles. Yeah, and then the guys were like Nick's friends. So we're talking 20s-ish, not not like a horrible difference, but it just it'd be like 20 guys on the floor and three girls. Yeah. Like just the composition wasn't gonna match up. And I had seen one previously where the child who caught the garter was like all of 15. Yeah. And the like one of the last remaining single bridesmaids was like 30. Yeah. And it was just awkward. And she's like, no, no, no. And you know, some of the guests were joking, like, oh, if you go on a date, his dad will have to drive you. Like, so people were trying to like amp it up and it just didn't work out well. The I give the DJ some credit. I honestly wish he would have just been like, oh no, haha, like let it be. But he was like, No, sit down, like made her sit in the chair. Yeah. And it they put it up her arm. Okay. And I'm like, like that. If you feel like you have to continue through with this, that's the way to do it. Yeah. But I honestly would have cut and run at that point and said, no, thank you.

Jocelyn: 34:31

Yeah. And like also, like, what if like the bridesmaids just uncomfortable with the person that caught it?

Amanda: 34:36

The engagement, yeah. That was Uncle Howard's original plan was that when I do my bouquet toss, yeah, Aunt Wendy will come up. And I'm like, that's putting a lot of eggs into one basket. One, you're assuming I'm doing it. Two, you're assuming that at her older age, she's going to feel comfortable or want to, knowing that there's so few women out in sport anyway. And like, how awkward does that look if we're pressuring her to get out there to do it? Yeah. She's going to know something's up. Like, so I mixed that and was like, let's talk on a different scenario for how this works out because it's just too many factors that we can't control. Yeah. Not me being a controlling bride. What? I didn't think you were that bad. No, I really wasn't. I think it's because I had four bottles of wine the night before. That's incredibly hungover. You don't have time to be super into everything when you just have to let go and let God and be like, yeah, I didn't get that done last night. I was drunk. Yeah. Yep.

Jocelyn: 35:28

Yep.

Amanda: 35:29

What is a pet peeve of yours when it comes to either weddings or working with couples?

Jocelyn: 35:35

I think the pet peeve as far as working with couples is somebody mansplating me how to do my job. No, I I've had it. No.

Amanda: 35:44

And like And is it more the men, or is it actually like brides? Is it the grandmothers-in-law? And it's Harry?

Jocelyn: 35:51

Honestly, the usually the mother-in-laws. Like it's always like the groom's mother or the the bride's mother. And I've I've knock on wood. I don't know if there's anyone around here. Oh, I think that's fake wood. Knock on wood. I have had great experiences with brides. I have not had like the whole bride. Like, I mean, I'm I'm well over a hundred weddings in into my career. I have not had a bridezilla yet. I lied. I had one, but she it wasn't directed towards me. So it's the mother-in-laws or the mothers. Like they're the ones that are the most difficult, like, oh, well, you should do this, and oh, well, you should do this. And don't get me wrong, I am not, I don't have, I I don't have enough like pride to be like, oh, she's telling me how to do this. Like, if someone suggests something that I don't see, like everybody has a different eye for something. So if I miss something and someone's like, hey, you should do this, great, no big deal, I'll do it. But when you're like rude to me, like don't like what what does that where does that get you? I'm literally taking pictures for your son or daughter, you know, be nice to me.

Amanda: 36:51

Well, I just did a wedding out at Hickory Run State Park. So it was myself, the couple, their kids, and the photographer. And again, like we're kind of all hands-on, you know, like the photographer was seeing things with placement of the ceremony that I wasn't quite seeing. So again, she's like, I'm moving them here. I'm like, great, I don't have to be in the middle. We're walking back through different streams and things, and I'm like, hey, that looks like a little shady area. Like, not telling you you need to go do that, but like if you're honestly, we all were just trying to watch our feet to make sure we didn't stumble and fall. Yeah. So we all miss things throughout. And I'm like, hey, maybe that.

Jocelyn: 37:28

She's like, oh my gosh, that's great. And it won't be and that's right. That's fine. I love that. And I love when vendors can work together. But then, like, you know, I'll give two examples. Um, a few months ago, I had a wedding and the bride was walking down the aisle, also huge pet peeve, and the bride's walking down the aisle. I don't know. She like, yeah, she threw her arm over to take a picture and she wasn't moving her arm. And I said, ma'am, can you please move your arm so I can get a picture? She gave me the nastiest look and then proceeded to complain about me the rest of the wedding, like loudly, so that I could hear. Like, did you hear that photographer tell me to move? Well, yeah, because you're the person you're there to see paid me two to three thousand dollars to be there to take pictures of her wedding. I'm not photoshopping a camera or a hand and a camera. I it wouldn't even be possible out of 50 pictures of the bride coming down the aisle because you're just being rude. So, so yeah, like that's a that's a huge pet peeve. Just like, you know, people being ignorant, people just, you know, just be nice. Just be nice to the vendors. Like it's stressful for us too.

Amanda: 38:32

Or it's like the, oh, they must not be talking to me. Like when I make an announcement at the beginning of like, yeah, this is a technology free ceremony, please join us and not. And I literally see like the ants in like the second row be like, they're not talking about me. I'm like, no. I'm trying to hide it. If I know your name, Aunt Linda, it's because that you are a reference. Yeah, I know about you. I was trying to be kind and not call you out directly, but I know exactly who you are. Yeah. Yeah. That's I that one gets me time too. And again, no matter how many times a couple might put up signage or have a statement on it, there's always going to be people that don't think it pertains to them, don't hear it, don't want to hear it, think that that photo for them on their camera lives so much more importantly than the professionally done printed Canvas picture the couple wants to have, right? Exactly. Exactly.

Jocelyn: 39:23

So oh my god, I could complain about this all day long.

Amanda: 39:27

What do you think is the most commonly forgot item or detail in your like your realm of work?

Jocelyn: 39:34

I would probably have to say some type of jewelry for the brides. It's always like the hair piece, the earrings, the necklace. Like, and that's why I always try to like I give a list. Um, I just started doing this. I give a list to my brides now of like things not to remember or things not to forget to remember the night before. You know, I would just say that I've never had only ones I have that they legitimately forgot the rings and had to drive back to the hotel to go get rings and delayed. The whole ceremony, another 35 minutes. Oh yeah, it was it was it's funny, but I had a groomsman once where again we were all the same location.

Amanda: 40:10

It's the difference between the courtyard here and like the rings were left in the mansion. Yeah. And the groom's like, oh so I like kick to the I like strolled down to the groomsman at the end. Still everyone's processing in, and I'm like, run, run, go get the rings, run. And he's kind of like, oh, but they're gonna miss me. I'm like, you're the groomsman at the end of the aisle, but they're not gonna miss you. Like you're at the end of the room. You go up the backside, go run and get the rings, come back down. You're not missing a lot. You'll be just fine. Yeah. Yeah.

Jocelyn: 40:39

Go get the damn rings.

Amanda: 40:40

Right. It's more important than that. So we're gonna have everyone tune in next week for Jocelyn's The Wedding Wear story and pick up on just a couple more things, insights on how to best work with photographers, or in her case, herself, and that will be more to come. Thank you for listening to The Wedding Wear with Officiating by Amanda. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and found some inspiration or insight for your own special day. This podcast is hosted on BuzzScrout and can be found on all major platforms. If you haven't already, please subscribe, like, comment, and share to help us reach even more listeners who might laugh a little at the wedding wear. For the links referenced in the show, visit Linktree at OfficiatingByAmanda. You can also follow the business on Facebook, WeddingWire, and the Not to stay up to date on everything going on. If you have a question you'd like me to answer on the podcast, just send an email to the WeddingWare Podcast at gmail.com. And if you're ready to inquire about officiating services for your own big day, you can reach me at officiatingbyamanda at gmail.com. Thank you so much for tuning in. And until next time, this has been Amanda.