Last week I went to advertise my Catholic wedding photography business in a local mom’s group. One mom asked if I ONLY did Catholic Weddings. In honesty, I replied that it seems I was headed that direction. I gave reasons such as I know the liturgy, many couples look for a Catholic photographer that understands the Mass, and basically I wanted that to be my niche. I signed off hoping that any reasonable person would accept that answer. Apparently not. This individual called me a rather unflattering name, and basically said she hoped my business failed. Several people, some I know, and some I do not, immediately jumped in to defend me. Upon this, the attacking individual went on to insult my photography and insult me as a person.
I thought long and hard about this anonymous poster (I’m hazarding a guess that it is a woman, as this is a mom’s group), and was I mad? Yes, a bit. But in all honesty, I was truly amazed. Amazed that someone had enough anger and malice to go out of their way to disparage a business and individual they knew literally nothing about. But then, at the nagging of my conscience, I prayed for her. I thought that if she was truly that bitter and angry, it probably meant she was hurting in some way. She had railed that Christians were the absolute worst kind of people she had met, and every sentence indicated anger and pain.
Marriage to me is a sacrament, a sacrament that reflects the love that Christ had for his Church. If my job is to show that love, to capture photographs that brides and grooms will treasure for years to come, then the only answer is to pray for her.
I can go on and on about the myriad of reasons why I chose this niche (if trusted with someone’s big day I want to be able to anticipate the next moment, I have an obsession with stain glass windows, I feel this is a ministry of sorts, etc), but I do not need to justify my reasons to her, or to anyone.
So I will say this:
My name is Amy.
I am a Catholic wedding photographer.
And I am proud to be one.
