Technically, my job description is the same as its title. I’m hired to photograph couples’ weddings. But I see my job as a lot more than that. I’m the bride’s timeline-organizer, her co-problem-solver, her idea-bouncer-offer, her friend-and-family-wrangler, her day-of-the-wedding-communications-director.

And once the wedding day rolls around, I get to remind her, over and over, how fabulously gorgeous she looks. Also, I’m the bride’s advocate. I have to be. Because all too often, well-meaning — or sometimes thoughtless or ignorant, or yes, even occasionally selfish or unkind — people co-opt a bride’s wedding day and turn it into something the bride never intended.

A quick aside here. People bring up bridezillas all the time, but let me share some simple numbers with you. The number of bridezillas I’ve seen at weddings, where I’ve been the photographer or a guest: Zero. Zilch. Nada. The number of people I’ve seen and heard of who have strong-armed . . . or gently coerced, or accidentally forced . . . brides to have weddings that didn’t unfold as they’d hoped: It’s approaching triple digits.

It’s not always my place to tell people they can’t do things a certain way. I can’t change venue policies, can’t make other people stick to the bride’s schedule, and I can’t force people to always be nice. But I feel like it is one of my most important jobs on the wedding day to stand up for what the bride wants, what the couple needs, and what will make that day the happiest for them that it can possibly be. So that’s what I try to do. I’ve got a camera in my hand pretty much at all times on the wedding day, so you might think I’m just there as the photographer. What you can’t see is the bushy coat of fur and the big paws that sprout at the first sign of trouble — I go into mama-bear mode on wedding days.

Thankfully, this isn’t necessary very often! Danny and I have been blessed to work with not only wonderful couples, but wonderful couples who have wonderful families and who hire wonderful professionals.

But I want my brides to know that if something goes wrong or someone tries to steer your wedding off course, I’ll be there to help get things back on track. I’ll be there to advocate for you. Because my job isn’t just to capture your great wedding memories — it’s to ensure you have the opportunity to make them.~ Laura