A Bride and Her Groom, Jumping the Broom

While Shredded Elements Photography is indeed based in Las Vegas, I could not be more excited to be expanding my services and making myself available to couples across the globe, and as I’ve been combing through the Shredded Elements Photography wedding archives, I’ve been reminiscing on the various traditions and ceremonies specific to the various heritages, cultures, races, religions, spiritual beliefs and other unique characteristics of my brides and grooms that I’ve been lucky enough and honored to be able to capture through my lens over the years.

One of my most memorable weddings I’ve shot was that of dear Billy and Kellee Blackmon. This was the very first wedding I’ve photographed that incorporated the “jumping the broom” tradition into the ceremony, and Mr. and Mrs. Blackmon made sure to emphasize that aside from the first kiss, this was the one part of their special day that I absolutely could not miss.

Albert Einstein once said, “When you stop learning, you start dying,” and I could not agree more with that statement. The rich history behind the specific tradition of “jumping the broom” is both a fascinating and complicated one, and I’ve come to learn throughout my research and all the deep diving I’ve been doing on the Internet on the subject ever since the Blackmon wedding, that it holds different meanings for various groups of people across the world.

The journey of understanding its significance and importance to black people in particular, most notably African Americans, is thought-provoking in many ways, and the meaning it holds for those who choose to incorporate it into their wedding ceremony today is not to be taken lightly.

I am nowhere near an expert on the subject, nor will I ever pretend to be, but I do encourage those of you who are curious about doing your own deep diving and research, to absolutely do so. There’s a lot to learn, and a lot of incredibly knowledgeable people to learn it from, who not only have personal and ancestral ties to the tradition, but some of whom have based their life’s work becoming experts on it and sharing their findings with others who are less informed.

The depth of the subjects covered in the textbooks we are assigned to read in school only goes so far, and information written in textbooks about various cultures and the histories behind traditions that hold meaning to them is not always written about by those who are personally tied to that culture. I feel it is our duty as citizens of this world to make the effort to dive deeper beyond a laid-out curriculum and teach ourselves as much as we can on our own time about those who walk the earth alongside us.

As far as weddings are concerned, whether you are the professional photographer or a guest of the bride and groom, taking time to learn on your own about traditions specific to those whose love you are coming to honor and support that day will only help you enjoy and appreciate their unique celebration even more. And as I enter the global destination wedding photography world, I could not be more excited about continuing to share my journey with others, and celebrate the beautiful couples and their unique love stories from around the world I have the privilege of photographing with you all.