This emotionally stirring portrait of a bride on her wedding day was taken by Marlies Hartmann just a few minutes prior to the first look. “I like to show that weddings are so much more than just ‘happy’ or ‘perfect’ and that there is so much beauty in our tears,” says Hartmann. “Those tears are the culmination of all the planning and love and stress and exhaustion that goes into such an important and emotionally charged day.”

The wedding venue for this shoot, the Ebell in Long Beach, California, is one of Hartmann’s  favorites. “It has a gorgeous, vintage feel and sheer curtains on most of its windows, allowing for a stream of beautiful light to filter in.”

Adds Hartmann: “Earlier in the morning, someone had told the bride ‘don’t cry… don’t cry,’ and I could tell she was holding in all of the overwhelming emotions most couples feel on a wedding day. She had just gotten dressed and was trying hard to fight her nerves and emotions. I gently stepped in and reminded her that, ‘we don’t stop ourselves from laughing, so we shouldn’t stop ourselves from crying.’” I then reassured her how much her groom loved her. In that next moment, she allowed the tears to come, and I simply told her to keep breathing, relax and let go of any tension. She looked out the nearby window right as the first tear spilled, and I just kept shooting through the moment.”

(Shot with the Canon 5D Mark III and an 85mm f/1.4 IS at f/3.2, ISO 1600 and 1/2500 of a second. The only lighting was the window light coming in at camera right.)