Florida-based documentary wedding photographer Michael Freas was just about done photographing Casey and Mark’s ceremony when he and the wedding planner realized that the guests didn’t have the flower petals to throw during the recessional. “We rushed to get them in the guest’s hands,” he explains. Luckily, just as the bride and groom were officially pronounced husband and wife, Freas and the planner finished handing off the last bag of petals.

From there, it was a scramble to get into position to capture their first moments as newlyweds, Freas recalls. “I ran to the back of the guest seating area and quickly composed this shot. It shows real emotion, happiness and joy that words can not express. As a viewer, you can feel the joy that the couple was experiencing. This is why I love being a wedding shooter.”

(Captured using a Nikon D850 with a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens.)

Photo © Michael Freas

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