The Lore
Your love story has one. Every couple I’ve ever photographed has one. And as a Washington Wedding Photographer, it’s the first thing I want to know.
Every great story has a beginning that feels, in hindsight, like it was inevitable.
The meet-cute that almost didn’t happen. The friend who almost didn’t make
the introduction. The app you almost deleted, the coffee shop you almost didn’t walk into, the night out you almost cancelled because you were tired, and it had been a long week and honestly you could have just stayed home.
But you didn’t. And there they were.
In storytelling, this is called the lore. The origin myth. The foundational story that everything else is built on, that explains, in some quiet way, why all the details of the present make sense.
Mine started with a motorcycle.
I went through a phase where I was convinced I needed to ride one. I have
no real explanation for it, it was just an idea in my head I got one day and romanticized.
But that’s how I met him, my person of fifteen years now. He had a motorcycle in my exact favorite color, which felt like a sign to me. Plus he looked *REALLY* good in that motorcycle gear 🥵 (iykyk)
I didn’t know that silly little phase would lead me to my forever person.
That’s how lore works. It rarely announces itself. It just shows up disguised as a whim.
Why it Matters
Before I photograph a wedding, I ask couples to tell me how they met. I’ve been doing this for nearly a decade, As a Washington Wedding Photographer, photographing weddings across the PNW, and it’s the one question I never skip.
Not because it changes my camera settings or my approach to lighting.
Because it changes how I see them. When I know the story, I start to understand the language between two people. The particular way they move toward each other. What makes them laugh. What makes one of them reach for the other’s hand without thinking. The gesture during the vows that looks simple from the outside has a whole history behind it.
I want to know that history before I raise my camera. I’ve photographed couples who spent years only getting each other in concentrated bursts; long weekends, airport reunions, countdowns on a
phone screen. And there’s something you start to notice about those couples on their wedding day. They don’t take proximity for granted. They find each other in a room without trying. One of them will reach out mid-conversation with someone else, not even looking, just making sure the other is still there. It’s not dramatic. It’s just a habit built from all those years of distance. I wouldn’t know to look for it if I didn’t know the story first.
That’s what lore does. It teaches you where to pay attention
What Your Lore Looks Like
Your origin myth doesn’t have to be cinematic to matter.
Some couples have the kind of story that sounds like the opening chapter of a novel; the electric first meeting, the slow burn, the moment one of them just knew.
Those stories are beautiful, and I love hearing them.
But some of the most powerful lore I’ve encountered is quieter than that.
It’s the bride that survived cancer and months of chemo, and was tearful over the fact she had long hair again on her wedding day. You better believe every time her partner touches her hair, I’m hitting that shutter button.
It’s the couple whose entire love story started because she ordered pizza from a place she didn’t usually order from.
A little pricier than she’d normally spend, good reviews, locally owned.
The delivery driver was cute. So she made Wednesday nights, pizza night.
At their wedding, they served pizza.
Most guests probably thought it was just a fun choice. But for everyone who knew it was the whole story on a plate.
The small, slightly brave decision that changed everything.
The lore isn’t about how impressive the story sounds. It’s about what it reveals about who the two of you are together.
How it Shows Up in your Photos
There are some things that are obvious to me, even without a backstory. Within a few minutes it becomes clear; how you look at each other, the dynamic between the two of you, your energy level, how often you seek contact with one another, and how comfortable you are showing affection in front of others.
Some couples visibly burn with the love they hold for each other, and others are more subtle. I adore photographing both. One will have a gallery that has more kissing, and loud displays of affections, and the other will have more acts of love depicted, tucking hair back, a soft hand on your low back, adoring glances.
But to make the story completely yours, I need the story. I need to know that the pizza is important, that you met through your maid of honor, that you have a sneaky homage to your fur baby – your first child together. That’s not something I can read about in a posing guide. That’s why your story matters.
This is the first post in a four-part series on what makes a wedding day feel like yours — and how I photograph it. My hope is that you use this to bring more depth to your wedding galleries, and that it can act as inspiration during your planning process.
I’m a Washington Wedding Photographer, working with couples across the PNW who want their day to feel like an escape. If you found yourself nodding along, I think we might be the right fit. I’d love to hear your story.
-Chelsea
