Photo:Liz BrownMemories fade, but a photo lasts forever.WriterLiz Brownnever dreamed of her wedding day, but when she did eventually get married, and the photographer forgot to capture a portrait with her groom, Brown realized it was more important to her than she thought. A decade later, she set out to take the wedding photos she always wanted.“I felt like I’d missed out,” Brown wrote in apersonal essay forTODAY.com. “I saw how people did it now. I wanted a do-over. I was changing from a sweet, young and passive newlywed to a bitter, middle-aged, assertive adult with an 8x10 sized chip on my shoulder.”As a kid, Brown didn’t think much about getting married. “Growing up with a severe lazy eye, I was taunted about my looks for most of my childhood and adolescence. I couldn’t imagine someone who looked like me getting married, so I really never thought about it.“Liz BrownAt the time of her wedding, Brown and her husband had a small budget for their nuptials. A friend took the photos for free, while her friends volunteered to do her hair, makeup and nails.“When we got our wedding photos back 10 years earlier, we were thrilled the photographer had caught so many fun candid shots of our friends and family,” Brown wrote. “Less thrilling was the realization that he’d forgotten to take the one photo that mattered most: the traditional portrait of husband and wife as a newly married couple.”For 10 years, Brown tried to suppress her disappointment that she had no images of her and her husband on their wedding day, a feeling that grew larger when she fell into a depression and reflected on how different her life was than she expected the day she got married.“I told myself it was fine. I didn’t need the perfect wedding portrait. I was lucky to have gotten married at all,” Brown wrote.Liz BrownA month after her 10th wedding anniversary, Brown decided to take action. She set out to take a new set of wedding photos while on a trip to Vermont, where the couple had said “I do.”The plan was simple: “I would squeeze back into however much of my dress I could,” Brown explained. “He’d rent a tux. We’d stand on the hotel staircase and take the photo we should have taken all those years ago. Nobody would know it wasn’t real … and who would see it anyway, except us?”The idea was executed well, and a week later, the pair — who share one child together — finally got their wedding photos.Liz BrownNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“The photos we got still didn’t look professional,” Brown confessed. “They were awkward and fuzzy and candid and real and I loved them. I could never recapture the actual moment from our wedding day, but I think what we got was even better: a testament to how hard we’d worked for over a decade to hold our relationship together in spite of all the chaos.“She continued: “My favorite photo from that day lives in our bedroom. Whenever a guest happens to see it, they compliment how beautiful I looked on my wedding day. “Thank you,” I say, feeling like I’m pulling a perpetual prank. But mostly, the photo is just for me. It’s the picture that helps me get out of bed every morning and keep going, remembering that perfection is for fakers and real love is messy but full of tiny, joyful moments that are rarely caught on camera.”
Photo:Liz Brown
Liz Brown
Memories fade, but a photo lasts forever.WriterLiz Brownnever dreamed of her wedding day, but when she did eventually get married, and the photographer forgot to capture a portrait with her groom, Brown realized it was more important to her than she thought. A decade later, she set out to take the wedding photos she always wanted.“I felt like I’d missed out,” Brown wrote in apersonal essay forTODAY.com. “I saw how people did it now. I wanted a do-over. I was changing from a sweet, young and passive newlywed to a bitter, middle-aged, assertive adult with an 8x10 sized chip on my shoulder.”As a kid, Brown didn’t think much about getting married. “Growing up with a severe lazy eye, I was taunted about my looks for most of my childhood and adolescence. I couldn’t imagine someone who looked like me getting married, so I really never thought about it.“Liz BrownAt the time of her wedding, Brown and her husband had a small budget for their nuptials. A friend took the photos for free, while her friends volunteered to do her hair, makeup and nails.“When we got our wedding photos back 10 years earlier, we were thrilled the photographer had caught so many fun candid shots of our friends and family,” Brown wrote. “Less thrilling was the realization that he’d forgotten to take the one photo that mattered most: the traditional portrait of husband and wife as a newly married couple.”For 10 years, Brown tried to suppress her disappointment that she had no images of her and her husband on their wedding day, a feeling that grew larger when she fell into a depression and reflected on how different her life was than she expected the day she got married.“I told myself it was fine. I didn’t need the perfect wedding portrait. I was lucky to have gotten married at all,” Brown wrote.Liz BrownA month after her 10th wedding anniversary, Brown decided to take action. She set out to take a new set of wedding photos while on a trip to Vermont, where the couple had said “I do.”The plan was simple: “I would squeeze back into however much of my dress I could,” Brown explained. “He’d rent a tux. We’d stand on the hotel staircase and take the photo we should have taken all those years ago. Nobody would know it wasn’t real … and who would see it anyway, except us?”The idea was executed well, and a week later, the pair — who share one child together — finally got their wedding photos.Liz BrownNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“The photos we got still didn’t look professional,” Brown confessed. “They were awkward and fuzzy and candid and real and I loved them. I could never recapture the actual moment from our wedding day, but I think what we got was even better: a testament to how hard we’d worked for over a decade to hold our relationship together in spite of all the chaos.“She continued: “My favorite photo from that day lives in our bedroom. Whenever a guest happens to see it, they compliment how beautiful I looked on my wedding day. “Thank you,” I say, feeling like I’m pulling a perpetual prank. But mostly, the photo is just for me. It’s the picture that helps me get out of bed every morning and keep going, remembering that perfection is for fakers and real love is messy but full of tiny, joyful moments that are rarely caught on camera.”
Memories fade, but a photo lasts forever.
WriterLiz Brownnever dreamed of her wedding day, but when she did eventually get married, and the photographer forgot to capture a portrait with her groom, Brown realized it was more important to her than she thought. A decade later, she set out to take the wedding photos she always wanted.
“I felt like I’d missed out,” Brown wrote in apersonal essay forTODAY.com. “I saw how people did it now. I wanted a do-over. I was changing from a sweet, young and passive newlywed to a bitter, middle-aged, assertive adult with an 8x10 sized chip on my shoulder.”
As a kid, Brown didn’t think much about getting married. “Growing up with a severe lazy eye, I was taunted about my looks for most of my childhood and adolescence. I couldn’t imagine someone who looked like me getting married, so I really never thought about it.”
At the time of her wedding, Brown and her husband had a small budget for their nuptials. A friend took the photos for free, while her friends volunteered to do her hair, makeup and nails.
“When we got our wedding photos back 10 years earlier, we were thrilled the photographer had caught so many fun candid shots of our friends and family,” Brown wrote. “Less thrilling was the realization that he’d forgotten to take the one photo that mattered most: the traditional portrait of husband and wife as a newly married couple.”
For 10 years, Brown tried to suppress her disappointment that she had no images of her and her husband on their wedding day, a feeling that grew larger when she fell into a depression and reflected on how different her life was than she expected the day she got married.
“I told myself it was fine. I didn’t need the perfect wedding portrait. I was lucky to have gotten married at all,” Brown wrote.
A month after her 10th wedding anniversary, Brown decided to take action. She set out to take a new set of wedding photos while on a trip to Vermont, where the couple had said “I do.”
The plan was simple: “I would squeeze back into however much of my dress I could,” Brown explained. “He’d rent a tux. We’d stand on the hotel staircase and take the photo we should have taken all those years ago. Nobody would know it wasn’t real … and who would see it anyway, except us?”
The idea was executed well, and a week later, the pair — who share one child together — finally got their wedding photos.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“The photos we got still didn’t look professional,” Brown confessed. “They were awkward and fuzzy and candid and real and I loved them. I could never recapture the actual moment from our wedding day, but I think what we got was even better: a testament to how hard we’d worked for over a decade to hold our relationship together in spite of all the chaos.”
She continued: “My favorite photo from that day lives in our bedroom. Whenever a guest happens to see it, they compliment how beautiful I looked on my wedding day. “Thank you,” I say, feeling like I’m pulling a perpetual prank. But mostly, the photo is just for me. It’s the picture that helps me get out of bed every morning and keep going, remembering that perfection is for fakers and real love is messy but full of tiny, joyful moments that are rarely caught on camera.”
source: people.com
