i have a confession to make. i laid my camera aside a couple times during mirla and bryan’s wedding day. yeah, i know. shame on me, right? a photographer at work should never be found without his camera. but you know what? i would do it again — in a heartbeat!

now wait a second! before you slam your laptop in disgust, or rend your garments and scream to the heavens is there no honor among photographers?, just hear me out. you may remember from their engagement session that tita dawn.. err, that is, mirla.. is much more than a client to us. she’s our, well… tita (something like “aunt” in filipino culture). and this wedding of theirs has been in the works for quite a while. she and bryan asked us to photograph their wedding back when we still had very little previous work to show. we were honored. they clearly trusted us a lot! (either that, or they’re just insane. which is a real possibility.) 😉

as their wedding day neared, mirla and bryan fell in love with athens’ beautiful botanical gardens, which meant quite an upgrade from their previously envisioned backyard wedding. to make it work, they decided to make their wedding a 100-percent do-it-yourself affair. translation: get ready to work your butt off. i mean, mirla and bryan are both extremely hard workers anyway. i’ve seen mirla juggle a thousand tasks at a time, orchestrate huge productions for uga’s drama department during the day, and then run off to perform in professional theatre during the night. but i think all of it paled in comparison to the gauntlet that was last-minute wedding preparations.

that’s why my camera got placed aside — just once or twice. family and friends were scrambling like ants to set up tables, construct centerpieces, deliver food, arrange flowers, test sound equipment, and replace malfunctioning coffee makers. (huge props to starbucks for coming to the rescue on that last one. it pays to have connections with good people in the coffee trade!) so how could i just look on while everybody else had all the fun!? i at least had to put out a few chairs to avoid feeling guilt, you know? especially considering that mirla did 90 percent of everything herself. hey, if she could do all that while, at the same time, getting married and looking gorgeous, i had to pitch in a little. really, the whole process was such a great experience: everyone pitching in together for a common goal, making wonderful memories and tangibly showing their love for the couple at the same time. (disclaimer: the resulting warm fuzzies may not outweigh the incredible stress level placed on the bride and groom. consult your doctor — and maybe your shrink — before attempting your own do-it-yourself wedding.)

yet everything panned out perfectly. what it all comes down to: together, mirla and bryan can seemingly achieve anything. and what’s more, they make it a pleasure to work — and play — right alongside them.

if something seems out of order here, it’s not. mirla actually threw herself together for photographs earlier in the day, then stripped down to her grungies to haul tables and decorate the venue before the ceremony. she jumped back into her dress just moments before walking down the aisle — and clarified the order of music on a laptop while being buttoned up.

something else entirely unique that i loved about this wedding: mirla and bryan went beyond writing their own vows. in a very cool conversational style, they actually explained to their guests — as well as to each other — just what the other’s love has meant in their lives. bryan even used a visual: a lengthy list of the reasons he loves mirla, which rolled right off the stage and down the aisle to everyone’s surprise. one of the many fun and humorous details that made the day unforgettable.

the eskimo kiss. a mirla and bryan trademark.

check this out. i love the card depicting bryan as he unfurls his scroll at the altar. a very cool conceptual “guest book” — guests used crayons at their tables to color messages for the bride and groom.

as you can see, this group really knows how to party, too. almost every guest was either a performer or a filipino (which is practically the same thing). which made for the most astounding karaoke i have ever witnessed. yeah, you heard me right. karaoke. the evening’s entertainment was provided exclusively by the guests. normally, that would not be such a good thing. (maybe a drunk uncle who won’t give up the mic into which he’s slurring unintelligibly.) but not here. every singer was jaw-droppingly, freakishly talented. i felt like i was in a musical — random people bursting into dramatic dance and song. they should have sold tickets!

congrats, you two! we love you!

All images © 2010 Blume Photography. It’s unlawful to copy or reproduce our work in any form without our express written permission. It just ain’t right! Thanks for respecting us and our art. If in doubt about federal copyright law, please ask us. We’re happy to answer your questions.