Why “After The Smoke is Gone”?

People sometimes ask me where the name comes from. After The Smoke is Gone.
It sounds poetic. Maybe a little dramatic. And no — it has nothing to do with cigarettes.

For me, it’s a way of saying: When the dust settles.
It’s the moment after the big moment. When the music fades. When the last guest has gone home. When the suit is on the chair and the bouquet is half-forgotten in a vase. That quiet pause when it all sinks in.

I used to do theatre. After weeks of rehearsals and late nights and full houses, the curtain would fall — and just like that, it was over. There’s this strange, empty feeling that shows up in the silence after intensity. I never forgot that.

After The Smoke is Gone is a name that speaks to that space.
The space after the emotion. After the chaos. After the celebration.
That’s when the real stuff settles in. That’s when the memories take shape.

But it’s more than a poetic image.
It’s also a kind of promise — a quiet declaration of how I want to approach wedding photography.

I’m not here to capture the perfect pose or the prettiest light (though sometimes those things happen). I’m here for the real. For what lingers when everything else fades. The way your hand finds theirs when no one is looking. The tired eyes, the deep breath, the small laugh after the toast. The quiet.

This name reminds me to stay with the moment, even when it’s no longer loud.
To photograph not just the event — but the echo of it.
Not just the image — but the feeling.

So no, it’s not about smoke.
It’s about what’s left when everything else is gone.

That’s what I want to make space for.
That’s what I want to give back to you.