She sat in the bridal suite and reminded herself to breathe. To breathe in the day and to soak it all in. The minutes were passing faster now, and she knew that soon it would be time to go. So she adjusted the curls as they fell across her face, and watched the flowers being tied on. And when she felt like she was being placed too much at the center of attention, she thanked every single other person in the room. Twice. Just to make sure that we all felt welcome. That we all felt loved. Because that's the kind of girl Marie is.
He stood at the end of a long pier and squinted against the midday sun. And maybe, just maybe, just for a second he closed his eyes altogether. Just to be able to soak it all in. The minutes dragged on for what seemed like forever. So he adjusted his tie and the cufflinks she bought him. And when he felt like he couldn't wait another single second, he asked if she was behind him yet. Twice. Just to make sure he was the first one to tell her no one had ever been so beautiful. No one had ever been so loved. And that he was going to love her for the rest of his life. Because that's the kind of girl Marie is.
The kind that you love forever.
Married: Dennis & Marie
Dennis & Marie were married on an absolutely perfect day in the Mystic Seaport. Where the only thing more perfect than the light, was the way these two absolutely lit up when they saw each other. These guys first met at NYU when Dennis was just a film student, and now he's a big time director working on projects with just a few people you might have heard of (oh y'know, MJ, Mariah, Matchbox ....no biggie :) So they made sure to pay honor to that and plan the perfect day, complete with tables named after their favorite movies and directors clapboards on top of the cupcakes. D&M we cannot thank you enough for bringing us in as your photographers, but treating us like family. Between your friends, your family, your parents, the amazing team you put together and you guys, we have never been treated better. We are so honored to call you clients, and now so incredibly lucky to call you friends. Call me if you need someone to hold a fan on Rob Thomas! :)
Remember yesterday how I said that when we came downstairs for the Sunrise Shoot Out, we were met with some crazy exciting news? But I was going to go ahead and put a big ole' scripty bracket around all that until today? Well, now we get to go back and Bill & Ted ourselves. Y'know Dude, don't forget to bring your off camera light set up....and say hello to the princesses. Or like that movie Vantage Point (quality save the world film, by the way, if you're ever in need) where we get to rewind and show the story from a different viewpoint that suddenly makes it all make sense. Are you with me?
{Ok, so insert rewind button scene here. Picture me walking backwards across the lobby. Hair swaying in the reverse & opposite order. And, y'know, the Starbucks cup getting fuller.}
That's more like it. Now, here's what *really* happened.
When Liz, Ryan & I came downstairs, we saw all of the attendees just up ahead of us in the lobby. But before we could get there, Ray & Joyce from Still Motion and Jen Jar (the first time WPPI attendee from the Still Motion video and best friend/business partner of Ashley Barnett...don't worry it will all make sense) grabbed us and said they had something really important to talk to us about. I'm not going to lie, in that moment with as serious as they were all being and the looks on their faces, I thought someone had died. Legitimately. And I was getting really worried.
But then they said they had something to ask us.
See, the night before we had been hanging out with Jen, Patrick from Still Motion and Ashley & Jeremy (our Shoot Out couple from last year, who we've since become really good friends with). We tagged out early though to get some sleep for the shoot out. And it turns out that after we were gone, they were all sitting around talking....Ashley had gone to the bathroom, and Jeremy was saying how he'd really just love to propose. Where Patrick (being Patrick and the make things happen kind of guy that he is!) said "if you do & you get married out here, we'll shoot it." To which I'm told Jeremy responded something like, "Don't bluff. If you guys shoot the film & you can get Justin & Mary to agree to take the pictures....I'll do it." Patrick said he was pretty sure we would, and the next thing you know Jeremy is on bended knee in the middle of Wolfgang Puck's.
Where through tears & laughter, Ashley of course said yes.
Which brings us back to the lobby on Tuesday morning, where jaw on the ground, tears in my own eyes, I of course said we would shoot it. This was Tuesday morning at 6am. The wedding would take place on Wednesday at 6pm right after our platform talk. So for the next 36 hours. while we were busy preparing for a talk, Ashley & Jeremy and all of their closest friends they had with them out in Vegas were busy preparing for a wedding. There were bouquets to be made, shoes to be bought, vows to be written, and forever to be promised.
And they pulled it off with all the beauty, simplicity and heart that only two people holding on to one another as tight as they can & choosing to make a leap together, can do.
Married: Ashley & Jeremy
A&J, there are no words for how much I love your hearts. How much I love your love. And how unbelievably honored we were that you allowed us to be there with you as you made this leap. Let your love for each other always be the soft place that you land. I am so unbelievably inspired & encouraged by you. Thank you for allowing us to capture love in its purest form. Fifty years from now when you're old & wrinkly and still holding on to one another making big leaps together, we will look back and say....we got to be there at the start of it. We love you guys!
So, so, SOOOO much love,
J&M
**HUGE thanks to Emilia Schobeiri for coming along as our second shooter, rocking it out & keeping me sane during those first few seconds of whew, how are we going to do this.
She stood in a suite with curlers in her hair and quietly took it all in. The light, the day, the love. The friends & family who surrounded her. And she smiled a simple smile. She chatted about AJ and how they first met, while the final curls were pinned into place. And when it came time to put on her dress, when the nerves started to really set in, she leaned on the people she was closest to.
He stood at the front of the aisle alone in a room of forty and quietly took it all in. The warmth, the laughter, the love. The small group of their closest friends & family who surrounded him. And he smiled a simple smile. He waited to see her face, while the final guests were seated. And when it came time to open the doors, when the nerves really started to set in, he couldn't wait to lean on the one person in the whole world he is closest to.
Married: Angela & AJ
Angela & AJ marked our first wedding of 2012, and they kicked it off in style with an intimate brunch wedding at the Four Seasons Boston. Surrounded by their closest friends and family, they promised forever. They raised a glass with each guest. Hugged each one tightly. Got to tell them how much they mean to them. I'd say that's the way to start a life together. Angela & AJ, truly it was our honor to document your day and your love. Our wish for you is that you will love like this always.
On day number one, he knew he liked her. On day twenty-two, he got her to agree. It started in a dive bar, if we're really being honest. A place where the NYU undergrads liked to go and hang out. A pick-up scene for the over-studied, if you will. And neither of them really knew why they were there. I guess it was because it was her friend's turn to pick the place, he was helping out a buddy. And life brought them together. But right at that moment, right as the plan unfolded....there were a thousand other places they could think of they'd rather be, when this boy stood next to this girl.
Twenty-one days later, he was on a train bound for Boston. And, in his excitement that he'd gotten her to agree to see him again, he had forgotten to plan anything else. But a chance meeting with a generous stranger, and two hours later they found themselves with the kind of reservations that are the ungettable-get. As he sat across the table from the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, he knew exactly how that felt. The days turned into weeks, the weeks into months. And through laughter and loss they became inseparable. Despite the miles between them. So on a cold day in November, they decided to make it official. To take the next step just as it had started, with just the two of them. As life had brought them together. And right at that moment, right as the plan unfolded, they knew there was no place else either of them wanted to be....
when this boy stood next to this girl.
Married: Mel & Geoff
One week ago today, Justin & I drove into the City to photograph the wedding of Mel & Geoff. Not an unusual thing, except that,with the exception of the officiant, we would be the only other guests. Which meant that not only did we document the wedding, we were actually the witnesses to it as well and signed the marriage certificate & everything. That was definitely a first! A couple of days before the wedding, we had planned a Skype with Mel to go over some of the final details. And that's when she said to us "y'know since no one else is going to be there, your pictures are pretty much how everyone is going to live it." Noooooooo pressure, right?! But then it really hit me, what an incredible gesture of faith & trust it was that they put in our hands. All of our clients really. To trust that we can tell a story for the people who weren't there, and to preserve the history for the people who were. It's a gift. It really is. And as we closed out our season, it reminded me more than I have really understood in a while what an honor it is to do what we do. Mel & Geoff, there is no way we can ever thank you enough for that. We love you guys!
Today we are bringing you the absolutely gorgeous wedding of Katie & Mackey at Swift Level Farm down in West Virginia. Although Katie & I are both originally from WV, we actually didn't meet until the first day of law school in our Civil Procedure class. Where, being the only two people in our entire class (probably the whole school) from the mountain state, Katie came up to me and told me an (only ever-so-slightly) inappropriate joke about why West Virginians love Halloween. And just like that....I knew I was going to love her forever.
So when Katie contacted us a while back about coming back down to WV to shoot her wedding, I was all "Habeas Corpus! Of course I will." :) (Law humor...it's good stuff.) And given how much I adore Katie, I knew this groom of hers had a lot to live up to. But the second I met Mackey, I knew I was going to love him forever too.
And even more importantly to me....that he was going to love like that for Katie. For...forever.
So sit back, relax and enjoy the light and the love as Katie & Mackey are....
Married!
Photography: Justin & Mary
Venue: Swift Level Farm Blooms: Pam West
Baker: Gina Lang
**And a huge thanks to Nicole Arnett for helping us out on this one!
Weddings
