Photographing A Wedding 2 Times | Naomi & John ‘s Faith Filled Marriage
Photographing A Wedding 2 Times Sounds Like A Bad Thing, But That’s Not Usually The Case
What image does it conjure up if I say I was photographing a wedding twice? Does it sound like I made a mistake and had to redo the images? Or does it sound like there was a mistake at the recording office? In fact, with couples of faith, photographing a wedding twice happens often and is a very good thing. It means one ceremony for the law and one before God. Planning a religious wedding ceremony celebrates a symbolically and traditionally rich heritage for the couple and their family. Read further on how Naomi & John planned their Dutch wedding experience with two ceremonies.
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A Few Stipulations To Marrying in The Netherlands
First, in order to marry in the Netherlands, either you or your partner need to be a Dutch national or live in the Netherlands. That takes the Netherlands off the destination wedding location list if neither you or your partner are residents of the Netherlands.
Then, if you would like to have a religious marriage ceremony, you may do so. But this ceremony is only considered valid by the law after the civil marriage is completed. Civil marriages are conducted by a Registrar of Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Registered Partnerships who are called Ambtenaars.
A few key other stipulations to marrying in the Netherlands is not marrying a close family member, and filing a public notice of intention to marry with your chosen ambtenaar two weeks in advance. The advance notification is required by law, and can often be filed online with your municipal government.
Always check with your municipal government (called a gemeente) about possible wedding locations within the gemeente to avoid disappointment when planning your wedding ceremony.
You can read more about marriage in the Netherlands at the government’s website here.
Naomi and John’s First Dutch Ceremony in the Van Goghkerkje
The 17th day of September dawned gorgeously with little rain, and the heather all in bloom in the last truly wild places. I met Naomi and her family at her parents’ home to begin with. Naomi finished her final preparations and I photographed her family and dress.
Because John’s family travelled in from Canada, Naomi’s family coordinated their travel and brought them to the house before Aldrin, Naomi’s father, went to pick up John.
I photographed their first look moment with John bringing Naomi her bouquet of flowers by first placing them back to back at the door into the living room. They could hold hands but they could not see each other initially. Then, Naomi stepped back, her sister Noelle fixed Naomi’s exquisite gown, and John entered the room with the bouquet and a giant smile on his face.
After pinning corsages on, the family travelled to the Van Goghkerkje, a small wedding venue near me in Nuenen. This chapel is tiny in size but rich in history and boasts not only original stain glass windows and baptismal font, but is the location that Vincent Van Gogh’s father Theodoros van Gogh preached in when he was Protestant pastor in Nuenen.
Photographing in the Van Goghkerkje
Built in 1824 and 1825, the Van Goghkerkje is shaped a bit like an elongated hexagon. This can prove challenging during wedding photography because you want to keep the lines in the background straight. A wide angle lens is thus helpful because of the smaller size of the chapel, but also a hinderance due to the curvature of the lens in the corner of your images.
There is plenty of lovely ambient light through the large stained glass windows on both sides of the church. With wedding photography later in the year, the sun might shine directly through those windows on your subjects.
You are welcome to climb up to the organ and photograph from the choir seats as a wedding photographer but be wary of the narrow winding wooden steps. Dutch staircases are some of the steepest and narrowest I’ve ever seen.
With A Couples Portrait Session By the Oud Meer in Best
After reading their individual vows to each other in the Van Goghkerkje, Naomi and John left the church and family in light rain and we drove to Oud Meer, a natural heath and lake area near Best.
After walking sandy footpaths and crossing a bridge made of logs, we made our way to the lake to continue the wedding photography portrait time. Fortunately the highland cattle that graze in the area were not present because they can be a bit curious and friendly!
We had the weather on our side as the rain cleared and the sun shown on sand and heather, tree and grass. We made a number of portraits in the September afternoon sun whilst carefully carrying Naomi’s beautiful dress to keep it clean. Noelle, her sister, stayed on hand to help in this and was a great asset.
A Reception For Young & Old in Eindhoven
After the couples portrait session, we travelled to our chapel in Eindhoven for the family dinner and wedding reception. Naomi and her family had single handedly transformed the church’s hall into a beautiful venue with a hanging wisteria centrepiece above and a white fabric draped ceiling.
The dinner was catered Surinamese and it was delicious. I was particularly touched to see that Naomi and John planned on me eating with the family and had provided me with my own place at the table. They’d even planned place cards for Naomi’s tiny nephews & cousins.
During the dinner, we enjoyed speeches from Naomi’s dad and John’s sister. I loved hearing more about how John and Naomi met, and stories of them when they were little. The language of the day was English, and this held true for the speeches as well.
After the dinner, the tables were moved and the food was cleaned up as the room changed from family dinner to dance floor. The lights dimmed, the music played, and Naomi danced with her dad whilst John danced with his mom. Then the rest of the family joined in and more friends arrived, bringing well wishes and gifts. I continued my wedding photography into the night and enjoyed all the sweet interactions around me as family and friends celebrated Naomi and John’s marriage.
A Religious Wedding Ceremony Near The Hague
I consider The Hague Netherlands Temple in Zoetermeer another wedding venue near me as it is within a 90 minute drive from my home in the south of the Netherlands. It is also the location where Naomi and John held their religious wedding ceremony. Couples call a marriage in the temple a sealing as they view it as a way to stay married for eternity.
To be sealed, a couple needs to be in good standing in the church and be interviewed by their local church leaders for a temple recommend. Then they made an appointment for their sealing in the temple of their choice. Often this is the nearest temple, but couples can choose from any of 188 dedicated temples around the world.
Temples usually have temple sealers who marry couples. This can also be done by the temple presidency, a rotating group of volunteer leaders consisting of a president and two counselors who are called by the church leadership to serve for a three year period. Additional sealers can be called based on the temple size and volume of marriages performed. Sometimes couples can request specific temple presidency members or sealers to perform their temple sealing.
Wedding Photography at Temples of the Church of Jesus Christ
Temples for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are considered houses of God. Religious wedding ceremonies in temples themselves considered sacred, so there is no wedding photography of the ceremony itself. It is a simple ceremony where couples kneel at an altar and promise to remain true to each other and to the God they worship. They are often surrounded by family and friends and they choose two witnesses for their religious wedding ceremony.
After the ceremony, couples and their families can take portraits together on the temple grounds. This is where wedding photography can really shine because temples are always surrounded with beautiful seasonally attuned gardens and are architecturally unique. In fact, whilst church members need a temple recommend to enter temples, temple gardens are open to people of every faith.
And so that is the story of how I photographed a wedding twice – once in the Van Goghkerkje and once again with the sealing in the Hague Netherlands temple in Zoetermeer. I am happy to photograph religious and civil ceremonies, as well as anniversary celebrations from all walks of life. I find love and commitment the most beautiful story we write and I love witnessing those stories as I photograph.
I’m especially happy I was able to witness both ceremonies for Naomi and John. I wish them the very best and all the happiness in the world as they grow old together.
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