The Power of Photos:: Jen & Jeremy

Love this moment of them laughing during their ceremony.

My friend Jeremy called me the other day. I photographed his wedding this fall, but our friendship goes back to our Ithaca College days. He wanted to tell me about his recent visit with his grandmother. She's in a nursing home, and from what I understand, she is mostly unresponsive during their visits. This time was different.

Woot! Officially Married.

How cute are they?

They showed her photos from the wedding, the family event she was unable to attend, and watched her become more alert and responsive. The simple act of looking at photos brought a smile to her face and made her interact more with her family. He told me it was probably the best visit he's had with her.

The hair.

The dress.

The last minute phone calls.

Hair officially approved.

The delicate task of getting everything on the dress done right.

"I thought you would like knowing that," he told me. His voice was charged with happiness and excitement.

And he was right. I did like, DO like, actually LOVE to know those things. These kinds of stories are plentiful, and are always nice to hear. [Read my post below for some more thoughts on how important family photos are.] His grandmother may not have been well enough to go to his wedding, but the the simple act of looking through photos of her loved ones brought her to a place she hadn't been in a long time. This is the power photography has: a power to bring joy and happiness in the most surprising ways at often the simplest of times.

Fun, simple, and pretty table decorations.

Love.

Flip through pages of photographs, and relive old memories or create new ones. Pretty amazing stuff, isn't it? Yeah, I think so, too. I'm so glad he took the time to call me and share this. It's a good reminder for all of us that those albums full of photos don't need to collect dust. Take them out for you, your family, your friends, your new neighbors. Share and laugh in each other's moments, old and new.


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