I’ve mentioned it quietly here and there, but for those of you who haven’t heard, my second shooter this year (Ethan) also happens to be my big brother! He’d assisted me with a few weddings in the past and showed a real knack for it, so this year we decided to have him on for all of my weddings. It’s been AWESOME- he’s an amazingly quick learner and has a real gift for service, and he’s been a huge hit with my couples and bridal parties. This year’s wedding season has absolutely been better as a result of having Ethan with me. We work so well together! And because he’s my brother, there’s that level of familiarity that means I never need to overexplain or worry about hurting his feelings. We get along infinitely better as adults than we did as kids/teenagers, and spending wedding days with Ethan is something I’m grateful for as a professional AND a sister :).

I’ll preface this with the fact that Ethan has downright dapper taste in fashion- he’s always polished, ever the Southern gentleman. One source of amusement that’s unintentionally arisen this season is Ethan’s choice of trousers. He wore a pair of banana-yellow chinos to to our second wedding of the season together and I lost track of the number of compliments/remarks he received, and I encouraged him to wear a pair of slightly less bright pants to the next one.

See what I mean? BRIGHT!

So next he wore sky blue pants with a seersucker, pinstriped blazer. And then received just as many comments on how well-dressed he was. I casually mentioned how it would be fun if he wore a differently-colored pair of pants to every wedding of the season, and he rose to the challenge magnificently. Lavender, white, seersucker + a velvet blazer. He’s so fly.

Look at these embroidered ones! From left to right, they’re embroidered with the Brooks Brothers logo, turtles, and then bicycles. Someone actually took a photo of his rear end and posted it to Instagram when he wore the turtle pants… that was odd.

And then here’s his super awesome Storm-Trooper-in-a-suit tattoo. Always a fun conversation topic with groomsmen, kids, and anyone else who happens to like Star Wars.

I can’t wait to see what he wears throughout the rest of the season! I’ve got a folder marked “BTS + Ethan’s Pants” on my hard drive, so I’m really excited to put them all together for one big blog post at the end of the year!

In all honesty, I am SO grateful for a brother/second shooter who’s willing to put effort into dressing for my brand. I ditched the typical “all black” attire after my first year in business, but it can be tricky explaining the theory of WHY to someone who hasn’t spent the last six years attending and photographing weddings. Because Ethan takes the time to dress like a stylish professional, I’ve found we’re even more warmly received by other vendors, my couples, bridal parties, and guests. It’s a small change that really does make a difference come wedding day!