Priorities

Since I began to shoot weddings eight or so years ago, I have always paid close attention to details that make up the day. Such care, preparation and diligence (mostly from the bride) goes into the elements of a wedding that they have been told are necessities. The dress, the caterer, the music, the flowers, the photographer, seem to consume the couple's minds, never mind their budget. Over the years, and especially now as I plan my own wedding, I have learned one very important thing: The "things" do not make a wedding.
The dress does not have to cost thousands- it doesn't even have to be white, or long or even a "wedding gown" at all. The food doesn't have to be formal, the music doesn't have to be a generic wedding playlist, or costly band and the flowers don't have to be arranged just so- flowers don't even have to be a part of your decor if they are not a part of who you are as couple.
The photography should only a part of your day if its important to you; and it should be shot in a way that reflects who you are as a couple. It doesn't need to include stuffy family portraits or hours of posing just right.
A wedding is about two people professing their love for each other. It may be that this is done in front of their family and friends, ten or two hundred and ten, or it may be in the privacy of their hearts, with a single witness. A wedding may or may not be "the most important day of your life." It is the relationships and moments in a life, that make it important. It is what you do with your talents, the difference that you make, the impression you leave.
A wedding may not be what your parents or grandparents envision. Your vision and priorities are what matters... What matters is that the person you lock eyes with while walking down that aisle is the light of your soul.