I can honestly say that Venice is a city unlike any other I’ve ever seen. The entire city is submerged in water. There are no cars in the city. From the moment we arrived at the train station, we were already surrounded by water. The only way out of the station, was via water taxi, which functions like buses in a regular city. We hopped on, and got off at a stop closest to where we were staying, and walked the rest of the way, because there is no other mode of transportation, once you’re in Venice! It really is quite amazing! Thanks to the GPS on my phone, we were able to make our way around the winding alleys that define Venice. We never saw another vehicle until AFTER we left Italy and arrived back in Chicago! I loved the “chill factor” about Venice – unhurried, relaxed, old, and just plain, comforting. I loved it. If I did nothing but sit by the water and watch the sun set everyday, I’d be a very happy girl!

Taxi stand!

No pigeons were hurt in the process of taking this photograph…although the both of us might have gotten hurt by the pigeons, which seem to enjoy landing on people’s heads!

You see, I got into wedding photography – among all the different kinds of photography out there – because I have this love for capturing moments. Yes, yes, it sounds totally cheesy and lame. But HONESTLY, that is the ONLY thing that drove me to photographing weddings – and really, you have to have gone through YOUR OWN wedding, and be the bride or groom, in order to understand how important those moments are, and suddenly, the idea of “capturing moments” doesn’t sound so cheesy anymore.

I had been interested in photography for many years before I got into weddings. For years, I photographed casually, did alot of travel photography, lots of landscape, flowers, animals, etc and I was always reading photography books, and looking up photography resources on the web. So much so, I started taking university level courses. One of the things they made us do in art school was to find a niche – that field of photography that interests you, where you will specialize, and perhaps build a career around. I, never found my niche during my time in school.

But then, in 2007, I got married. Then I got my wedding photos. Then I cried. Not because it was bad, but because I saw people I loved in those photographs – people I didn’t even know I loved that much, until I saw them celebrating my wedding with me in those photographs. Those photos reminded me of how much I love and miss them, now that I’ve grown up and moved to the U.S to start a life of my own. My cousin, who read me bedtime stories and taught me English as a little girl; my favorite uncle who shared cookies and milk with me every night, my favorite aunt who took care of me since I was a baby, my mom, dad, brothers, whom I see only once every 1-2 years, all my best friends from high school who parted ways once we graduated. I miss them all. And I’m so grateful to have them in these photographs.

And from there, my journey down wedding photography started because I wanted to be able to to give the gift of beautiful and meaningful photography to others.

My favorite thing to shoot is a wedding ceremony and reception speeches – especially emotional ones (I’m such a sucker for tear-jerkers). I like photographing when no one is looking. I like catching moments/things/people that others may not notice. I like freezing a reaction during a speech. And with that, I end with some of my images of these moments. Enjoy!

~ Wen ~

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