My Father, who was the one that took all the pictures at all the family events and gatherings, had to hand-off that responsibility for my wedding (many decades ago). He entrusted the task of taking the candids to his friend and neighbor. His friend took his responsibility very much to heart and clicked away after the ceremony. He was there while the receiving line was in progress (which I've since learned is so "old school"...that's too bad as it's a very nice and thoughtful way to thank the couple's guests for attending the wedding) and the reception in the church's fellowship hall. Lots and lots of pix / slides!

Everyone was pleased and delighted with the friend's diligence.

Then, the slides were developed...

Everyone of the pix was a double / triple /quadruple exposure!

As we looked at them, instead of being disappointed, we were delighted with the serendipity. Looking at those slides in order was nearly like watching a video in slow motion.

Everyone (!) was in the pictures. You could almost hear the hubub of all the voices.

The very best one, however, is the one of my Father, standing in the receiving line, wearing a big smile, and having his hands clasped in front of him. He looks as if he's delighted with everything around him. The best thing, tho, is that he is in a perfect oval, framed by exposures of me, my Mom, my new husband, my paternal Grandma, and assorted other family members.

There stood Daddy, perfectly calm and composed, surrounded by everyone and the "chaos".

Yes, we had the "professional" photographer take the formal pix...and those are in an album...along with prints of the slides. Guess which ones are my favorites...

Oh, and why were there so many double-, triple-, and quadruple exposures? It wasn't a camera malfunction. Daddy had told his friend to advance the film after each shot and the friend did...but with only one push of the film advance lever after each shot. Daddy forgot to tell his friend to advance the film until the film wouldn't move. Daddy was a mechanical engineer.

Those are the best pictures of my wedding...44 years ago. Many of those attending have passed away, including both sets of parents and my sister, but I can still hear them laughing, talking, and yes, even singing. With all the exposures we got more than the 36 slides / roll...and memories that are priceless.

that is so neat..

Great picture

Neat picture.
Before the days of automatic cameras this was very easy to do. I wonder if it can be done with a digital camera.

can you believe people pay top $$ for effects like this today...

great pic

Wonderful story...brings tears to my eyes. I used to be a wedding coordinator and always told the couple to have several friends take candid pictures. You see the real wedding then. One of the best one I saw was a friend of mine got married, and both of her parents were very ill. I had the photographer keep a close eye on the bride and get as many shots of her with her parents. The best photo is one of her parents standing off to the side, arms wrapped around each other just watching their daughter dance with her new husband. Her dad passed away just weeks after the wedding. But when we saw the pictures a month later...it was so heartwarming to see.

It can't be done with the camera, but it CAN be done with Photoshop.

What a great photo! Thank you for sharing.

Neat picture! :)

Candids are my absolute favorite. I had disposable cameras at every table at my wedding, so everyone could take candid shots of whatever they wanted. I got many different perspectives of our celebration!

My husband's favorite photos of our children are candids that I took. The problem, in my opinion, with formal portraits is that they're "perfect" and have no personality. My best friend had portraits taken of her youngest son when he was about 4. In one of the photos, one strap of his overalls slipped down. The photographer almost didn't include that picture when he showed her the proofs because it wasn't perfect, but she absolutely LOVED it and that was the one she bought - because it showed his personality, the look on his face when the strap fell. That strap was ALWAYS falling down, and that photo captured him perfectly and made her laugh.