They say rain on your wedding day is good luck, but what about a full-blown thunderstorm? That’s what photographer Ashley Patton was faced with but she used the bad weather to make an incredible set of photos.
Patton tells PetaPixel that the day started out “super sunny, hot, human, and very windy.” But when it was time for Makayla and Trapper’s wedding reception, a storm rolled in bringing with it 80 miles an hour winds and ominous dark skies.
“I saw the clouds and told the couple to run to the empty highway and had Trapper’s older brother in a car behind them to backlight and do a burnout for a cool effect,” the photographer says. “It took little to no editing at all.”
Fortunately, the worst of the storm passed them by and the party only got sprinkled with a bit of rain. Kansas is known for getting more than its fair share of tornados and Patton says she has shot in storms before but “nothing quite like this.”
Being Ready for Anything, Including Going Viral
The spontaneous photos underlines the importance for a wedding photographer to always be on their toes as the environment constantly changes and shifts around them.
“Being a wedding photographer means making the best out of any situation and focusing on the couple since it’s their day and it’s just one day,” she adds.
The spectacular photos have garnered Patton attention across the United States and people from all over the world have messaged the photographer.
“Being a military wife, the stormy photos represent what challenges we will face as a couple, but we will have those because the day started out great, turned stormy, then cleared up and was a great night,” the happy bride Makayla tells Fox News.
“The only thing we’re really missing is a tornado in the background, [but], I mean, I’m kind of glad that didn’t happen.”
More of Patton’s work can be found on her website, Facebook, and Instagram.
Image credits: Photographs by Ashley Patton.