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How I Failed My Wedding Couple as a Photographer
- Olga Thomas
- Apr 8
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 8
Spoiler: I didn’t actually fail. But also… maybe I did?
There’s a moment, in every photographer's career, where you meet a couple that completely unravels everything you thought you knew. A couple that challenges your eye, your heart, and even your camera’s poor little shutter button. For me, that couple was Stephanie and Colten and their wedding at Greenhouse NO7 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Let me back up.
Now, I’m not new to this. I’ve been shooting weddings long enough to know where the magic happens—usually just before the tears fall or the laughter spills over. As a former photojournalist, I chase the real, the raw, the unscripted. So when I say I’ve seen it all... well, I thought I had.
But nothing—and I mean nothing—prepared me for the beautiful hurricane that was Stephanie and Colten’s wedding.
From the moment I walked into the bridal suite, there was a buzz. Not just the hairspray. Real energy. Stephanie was laughing—actually laughing, not the polite “I’m being photographed” giggle. The kind of laugh that comes from the belly, unapologetic and infectious. Her friends? Absolute powerhouses of joy. Colten? That man had a grin like he’d just won the lottery.
The day unfolded like a movie—but not the romantic kind where everything’s perfectly choreographed. No. This was raw, chaotic, loud, loving. Real. It was what every wedding should be. People cried. People danced like they’d invented rhythm. There were hugs that felt like reunions and vows that cracked open hearts. I’ve witnessed a lot behind the lens—but never quite like this.
So… how did I fail them?
Looking through their gallery afterwards, something gnawed at me. The photos were beautiful, yes. Technically, emotionally, narratively. But for the first time in my career, I stared at a finished collection and felt this strange ache.
Because somehow, despite everything I captured—despite the light, the framing, the moments caught in perfect flight—I couldn’t help but feel like I missed something. Their essence. Their gravity-defying joy. Their seismic impact on everyone in that room. It felt like no image, no matter how brilliant, could truly contain what they gave that day.
Stephanie and Colten didn’t just get married. They exploded into the moment and dragged everyone into the fire with them. It was messy and gorgeous and completely unfiltered.
And maybe that’s the point.
Maybe I didn’t fail them as a photographer—but I did fail the illusion that any lens can fully bottle up a love like that. Their wedding was a reminder that the best moments in life can’t be fully captured—they have to be felt. Experienced. Lived.
So thank you, Stephanie and Colten. For being a lesson in letting go. In showing me, once again, that the most important thing on a wedding day isn’t the decor, the posing, or the lighting, or even (gasp) the photos.
It’s the living.
The gallery is stunning but the real masterpiece was YOU.
Wedding venue: Greenhouse NO7, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Photography: Olga Thomas / Wedding Society
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