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thePeorian.com
W
eddings are about
gowns and flowers,
rings and receptions,
honeymoons and memories,
and helping make the memories
last is the job of wedding
photographers.
It’s a fun and frustrating, tense
and tender task, according to
two Peoria-area photographers,
one a 45-year-old now out of
the business and the other a
29-
year-old still busy with brides,
portraits and more.
Often, the most memorable
moments are unplanned, says
Christopher Cote.
“
After the ceremony, one bride
and groom suddenly decided
to go to the hospital to visit her
grandma, who’d been diagnosed
with cancer. I said, ‘Do you want
me to go with you’ and it was
really special. There wasn’t a
dry eye in the room. A couple
of weeks later she passed and it
turns out those photos were the
family’s last pictures of Grandma.
So that hit home. You never
know; you take it seriously,” he
said.
Cote learned photography
fundamentals as a teen, tutored
by his parents, Greg and Melinda
Cote of Edwards. He started as
a professional after a girlfriend
referred him to an opening at a
studio, where he was mentored
on the job, and now does
weddings in central and northern
Illinois, Chicago and mostly
Milwaukee, where he’s based.
FROM THE TRENCHES
Wedding photography can
be fun – and frustrating
by Bill Knight
