Wow. Priest loses his mind during ceremony. I have run into my fair share of tough priests, but I have never seen someone this aggressive.
Sure, its about God, but it’s also about the couple no? They are after all the ones that hired the priest, the photographer, the videographer, and everyone else there on this day.
Over the top? Or high-five for the priest?
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This Post Has 22 Comments
This is very upsetting to me. The priest just ruined their ceremony. Everyone was having a wonderful time and no one would have ever talked about the photographer taking pictures however now everyone will talk about the priest interrupting the ceremony. The only thing that guests will now remember about that wedding is the outburst by the priest, not her dress, the food, the decorations, the band……only the shocking outburst by the priest.
If I was the bride I would have stopped the priest!
Total blame to the photographer for not doing his/her job before the ceremony.
How sad for the bride and groom. All parties, priest, photographer and videographer are at fault here. Could have easily have been avoided by discussing any boundaries before hand with the bride and groom and the officiant. What is unsettling for me is the lack of professionalism on the part of the photographer and the officiant by having a discussion about it during the ceremony. No do overs in wedding photography.
I always check with the couple and the minister before shooting any parts of the ceremony. But it is apparent that this ceremony had already start before the minister said anything. The minister should have said something before hand. It looked like he just wanted to make a point and didn’t really care about how he was disrupting the ceremony himself. The couple didn’t look upset until the minister went off on the photographer, and they looked more upset with the minister. Still the photographer should have just said ok and moved. Not a happy situation.
The poor couple looks mortified. I say no high fives for that guy.
I’m just kind of shocked this happened. It leaves me wondering if this was checked out beforehand by the photographer or if the Bride and Groom just assumed the photos could be taken anywhere. An unfortunate thing to have happened either way.
Those poor people! It IS a photography session, because the couple hired them to take PICTURES at the wedding. I feel so bad for them. They both are in shock and he ruined their ceremony for them.
This is a clear example of lack of communication. Photographer was “spray and praying”, which interrupted priests praying. Big lessons here
1. Chances are, this priest will keep on marring and performing his duties, photographer however may have to work harder to book a wedding
Priest/officiant still trumps the photographer – no matter how beautiful the image, it does not validate the marriage, but priest does
2. Communicate and find out policies – 30 images of priest praying are not necessary, and using right equipment helps
Rent a zoom, in the outside wedding, light is great, and priest doesn’t hear to hear clicking in his ear while he is blessing the couple
3. Dont forget, as photographers, we dont like if someone with an iphone jumps in front of us to take a shot. Respecting other person and event is just as important
4 And the BIG One- nothing is private, – control your temper
Unfortunately, anytime you choose to engage in any confrontation, right or wrong, you set yourself up to be judged by the world, since everyone has a camera now (in this case, camera right in front of you). And in most cases it wont do you any favors
We may say , that priest could have done better, maybe said ” now lets take a moment to pray that photographer finds a better spot to capture this sacred moment for couple to cherish”, lets remind ourselves, that we are accountable for half in every interaction, by our action, inaction or communication. And lets be kind to all involved, because in the end we never know who can film us at any time in a stressful moment and put it on youtube
IMPO, I high five the priest. You can clearly hear in the video the rapid firing of the shutter. So A) this tells me that it wasn’t a professional. No need to spray and pray if you know what your doing ….. B) If you were a professional, you wouldn’t be standing up front at the alter to begin with… C) Marriage is a sacred union before God. Have some respect.
Alot of people say “this should have been discussed prior to the wedding to know the expectations”…. you don’t know that this wasn’t already discussed and the photographer didn’t respect the priests wishes and just did what they wanted which put the priest in this position to say something.
Being a minister and a novice photographer, I always speak with the officiant for any restrictions when I am the photographer, and personally speak with the photographer when I am the officiant to get an idea of what they are needing or planning to do and any ceremony issues their location may cause. However, I would never interrupt a couples ceremony to voice my beliefs…for if the couple didn’t want the photographer/videographer there, they wouldn’t have hired them. But I do feel the couple should have asked the officiant if he/she would have issues with it as they could have set up in another location.
Where you are allowed to be during the ceremony should be on the checklist of things you need to know prior to starting a job. No matter who’s fault it is, in hindsight it is very unfortunate to have a ceremony stopped to have this type of dialogue happen.
I feel sorry for the couple. It’s unprofessional to make the couple feel bed. This is what this clown of a priest just did. He has to make his point clear beforehand to avoid any inconvenience for the couple and/or guests. Otherwise he just has to do his job and shut up. He blemished the wedding and should be ashamed of it.
Whoa! I think that gentleman was out of line. It wasn’t about God, it was about him and his annoyance at the noise of the shutters. The videographers and photogs were there for the COUPLE, as he should have been. He made it about him. The snappers, on the other hand, should have just moved… quietly, without fuss.
OY
It all comes down to communication BEFORE the wedding ceremony. Priest overstepped but the photographer should have known better than to park right behind the guy. Live and learn
Wow, I think he was more of a distraction to the “solemn” ceremony than the photogs. Didn’t he make the couple laugh just as the vid starts? As a rule, we always approach the officiant before the ceremony to tell them where we are going to photograph. A lot of churches have guidelines that they require of photographers, always a good idea to follow those; you never know when you’ll be back. But, outdoor ceremonies are fair game. I still think, as I’m sure most do, that you shouldn’t go closer than several feet to the couple. Who wants to be a destraction to the ceremony that everyone talks about later?
I think that he tended to do more to ruin it than the photographer. With that said, I think it is important for the photographer to talk frankly with whoever is officiating the service for any religious service to find out what might be considered permissible or not permissible. Sometimes issues like this can be solved by remotely triggered equipment too.
Nice sensationalist title by the way! Part of the problem is that people today forget that the sacrament of marriage is a covenant between the couple and God. If the photographer had not argued with the minister and just moved there wouldn’t have been an issue. On the other hand, if the minister had just told the photogs where they could and couldn’t be before hand, this wouldn’t have happened either. S blame all the way around.
I had this happen to me at a wedding. The groom and bride were just speechless and I left the platform. Earlier the minister gruffly asked for his money the minute he showed up. Not the best preacher for the job. So what did I learn from it? Check with the bride and groom before hand and OK it with them for the photographer to be in the mix at the alter, stage, whatever and make sure the minister or judge is there to hear their requests.
I feel multiple ways about it. FIrst, the videographer/photographer should have had a conversation with the bride and groom before the wedding date to make sure they discussed any photography restrictions with the venue and officiant before the wedding day. I always provide my clients with the questionnaire that specifically asks about any restrictions. Also, before every wedding, I try to introduce myself to the officiant and let them know who I am, and that I will be moving around the venue for the best shot. I then ask if there is anything that may distract them or is prohibited for religious reasons. If they say yes, I discuss this with the bride/groom before the ceremony starts to make sure we’re all on the same page.
I feel that the behavior of the priest was very rude and inappropriate, and definitely too aggressive, but I think this could have been completely avoided with better preparation and communication before the wedding date.
He ruined eveything about that ceremony for the couple.
Wow. Even the couples appear to be shocked!
yes they do. ๐