37 FramesThere are few phrases that cause as many simultaneous eye rolls and soul-deep sighs of relief as Trust the process.
It’s the kind of thing people say to you when you’re crying in a bathroom at 1:43 a.m. because the album export corrupted. Again. Or when you’re halfway through designing a three-day wedding with four cultural ceremonies, no translator, and three sets of in-laws… each with opinions and a group chat.
It’s what you mutter to yourself when the inbox is a monster, your Lightroom catalogue won’t sync, your feet are still sore from last week’s marathon wedding in Kyoto, and you haven’t had a moment alone with your partner since the cherry blossoms bloomed.
And yet… it’s also the phrase that keeps us going.
What Does It Really Mean to “Trust the Process”?
In a world that worships the end result… followers, features, awards, applause… trust the process is the quiet rebellion. It’s the reminder that the journey matters just as much, if not more, than the destination.
It’s trusting that the hundreds of hours you’ve poured into learning your craft, building your team, navigating visa renewals, registering businesses in several countries and multiple continents, managing logistics, and investing in your couples’ dreams… it all adds up to something. Even when the path is blurry. Especially when the path is blurry.
In the Destination Wedding World, the Process Is the Product
For us at 37 Frames, working across Japan and beyond, the process is everything. It’s:
- Knowing how long the sakura season really lasts
- Tracking the weather from four angles and still preparing for a typhoon
- Holding space for the nerves and the joy and the occasional mother-in-law meltdown
- Creating timelines in two and sometimes three languages
- Adjusting everything the night before because someone’s suitcase didn’t make it to Niseko
There is no shortcut. No magic filter. Just layer upon layer of trust… between us and our couples, us and our team, and most importantly, with ourselves.
Why Trusting the Process Is Actually a Power Move
When you trust the process, you give yourself permission to:
- Learn
- Be imperfect
- Show up messy but present
- Find beauty in the in-between
This isn’t passive surrender. This is active participation. This is being all-in. This is knowing that your future self will thank you for staying the course.
And frankly, it’s also the only thing that keeps us from losing our minds during the export queue or the two-hour wait for a local taxi in the middle of a rice terrace.
Humor + Patience = Survival
We’ve learned to laugh through the chaos.
Because trusting the process also means trusting that the tears on the timeline will turn into the tears your clients cry when they open the gallery.
That the stress of sourcing last-minute lanterns in Kyoto is worth it for the way they glow in the night sky, just as the couple shares their first kiss as a married couple.
That the mess is part of the magic.
The Process Makes Us Better
It has taught us patience. It has demanded grace. It has gifted us resilience.
And most unexpectedly of all… it has made us fall even more in love with what we do. Even after two decades of being on the front lines of the wedding industry.
Final Thoughts: Keep Trusting
So if you’re mid-mess, mid-muddle, mid-magic… this one’s for you. The emails will slow. The clarity will come. The vision will sharpen. The edits will finish. The art will speak.
You just have to keep showing up.
Trust the process.
And if you ever need a reminder… just look at your favorite photo. The one you almost didn’t take. That’s the process, too.
37 Frames
