We have a piece of advice for you today. A lot of brides and grooms can use this advice on their wedding day, but this advice is also applicable to life in general. 
We hear this almost every wedding day from at least one person: “I’m not going to let myself cry because I don’t want my makeup to run.” Or “Don’t even start, Mom. You’ll make everyone cry.” Or the ever-popular, “I am such an ugly crier. I can’t let it out today.”
I never thought I’d use “Let It Go” lyrics from the Disney movie Frozen in a blog post, but it’s like “Conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know.” (You’ve seen it and you’ve belted it out if you have nieces or nephews or kids. And, admit it, you love it). 😉 But, in all honesty, life is meant to be felt. Sometimes our culture discourages expressing emotion. On my own wedding day, I had two bridesmaids on “Don’t let Danielle cry” duty. I told them ahead of time that I wanted them to have funny stories or jokes ready to tell me if I started to get emotional. I even avoided reading letters from certain people that day because I knew they might make me cry. (I read them on the way to the airport the next day as we headed to our honeymoon). You see, I didn’t want to start ugly crying and not be able to stop. I’ve changed a lot since then & I allow myself to express emotion so much more freely now than I used to, but back then I held it back more often than not. The thing was, I wasn’t allowing myself to FEEL. And then when I finally did start to cry, it was like a dam broke & I couldn’t stop. I’d be heaving & sniveling & my emotions would be out of control. With all of that going on, I definitely didn’t want to allow myself to cry on my wedding day. I didn’t want all of those 270+ guests to see me cry. But why? 
Why do we hold back emotions that are completely natural? Why don’t we want to express exactly what we’re feeling when we’re feeling it? Makeup can always be touched up. Most of the time crying doesn’t even make your wedding day makeup move (those MUAs know what they’re doing!). But even if your makeup is all over the place because you allowed yourself to truly express exactly what you were feeling on your wedding day. . . isn’t that better than having a perfectly made up face? Isn’t truly living, being authentic, not holding back, being yourself, letting it goooooo, isn’t all of that the best way to live? 
It’s not just about letting yourself cry on your wedding day. The thing is, if you’re living life, you should LIVE.LIFE. Feel the feels. Emote. Cry. Feel deeply. Laugh big. Smile so huge your eyes disappear. 
Because living should be truly living. Life was meant to be lived big- feel the feels & don’t hold back.
Being a wedding photographer & getting to be involved in some of the biggest & most emotional moments of others’ lives has renewed my mindset when it comes to showing emotion. I’m really thankful that I’ve gotten to witness such true, genuine emotions. It has taught me a lot about life &, for that, I’m thankful. So, Dear Clients, thank you for letting those tears flow, for squeezing your loved ones with all of your might, for smiling so much on your wedding days that your cheeks hurt, for telling your loved ones how much you love them, and for laughing loudly & often. Being a part of your life & seeing you truly live it has definitely enriched mine.
Follow