Kiss + Tell... an ongoing series

My favorite movie growing up was The Sound of Music.  The main love story, (the one that made me hopeful in my own future romantic endeavors as a hard worker and skilled babysitter) was burned into my mind hundreds of times. Captain von Trapp has just decided that he really loves Maria, the plain novitiate who has brought music back into his home and love into the hearts of his (gulp) seven children. It’s a moonlit night and the Captain and Maria find themselves in the gazebo down by the river. You know the scene: dreamy Christopher Plummer and wholesome Julie Andrews in silhouette. They start singing:

Perhaps I had a wicked childhood
Perhaps I had a miserable youth
But somewhere in my wicked, miserable past
There must have been a moment of truth

For here you are, standing there, loving me
Whether or not you should
So somewhere in my youth or childhood
I must have done something good

Without fail, right before their lips would meet and things would be set right with the world again, my father would cover my eyes and say, “they’re just holding hands.” Every. Single. Time. 

I knew what they were doing. They were kissing. Like, really kissing. Like, kissing because they were in love and were going to spend their lives together. Rationally, I knew that a few minutes later Maria would make her way past the nuns singing a reprise of “How do you solve a problem like Maria” (which my father had charmingly changed to “How do you solve a problem like Alisa”) on her way to marry Captain von Trapp.  Knowing all of this however, didn’t take the sting out of missing their gazebo kiss or make it any less frustrating. 

Ok, so I admit it. There’s something kind of voyeuristic about it, and therefore me. I’m a big fan of PDAs. And as a fan, there’s something really satisfying about witnessing two people who genuinely love each other share a moment of tenderness, affection and connection. It gives me hope. 

As a Wedding Celebrant, I can’t think of a more socially acceptable time than at the end of a wedding ceremony when even the prudes want to see some good PDA. Unfortunately this is also the time that even the best of the make-out queens might feel a little distracted and thrown off their game. 

That’s why in the coming weeks, I will be featuring advice and inspiring images from some of my best photographer friends on how a couple might approach their "ceremony kiss" so that it conveys the feelings they wish, bursts the hearts of those watching and photographs well. 

In the meantime, you can check out my collection of inspired PDAs on my Smooches Pinterest Board