When I went to meet Brooke and Stephen for our pre-wedding chat, I immediately got excited about the prospects of documenting their day. Right away I was blown away by their backyard. It had a lot of wide open space as well as quite the scenic backdrop. People pay lots of money to get married at site with such natural beauty. Not only that, but across the street there was large barn made from wood that gave off a rustic charm. The meeting itself was extremely casual, so much so that it felt like I was just spending time with friends. There was no question that we were a good fit for each other.
The wedding day itself was perfect and it held a few pleasant surprises. It was a bright day, but with large billowing clouds that would intermittently block the sun, which in effect brought down a delightfully diffused light. Prior to the ceremony, I had fun splitting up my time between capturing a beautiful bride as she prepared herself, getting shots of children and dogs as they played, and catching candids of family and friends as they arrived. Stephen and his groomsmen highlighted his family’s British heritage by dressing in the style from the show Peaky Blinders, mustaches and all. Another delightful surprise came in the form of the transportation that ferried the guests between the ceremony and reception sites. It was a beautifully restored trolley converted into a bus. Upon seeing it for the first time, I instantly knew that I’d get plenty of fun pictures from that!
The ceremony was just as gorgeous as its backdrop. Just behind the bride and groom was a custom made doorway with two doors, one black and one white, each displaying the letter “C” (first letter of their last names) in the opposite color, giving it a ying-yang feel to it. The ceremony was full of emotion, as both the bride and groom had their own vows prepared, all the while some of the younger guests weaved in and out of the bridal party and groomsmen. The last of the surprises came just after Stephen and Brooke said their “I dos” in the form of a confetti run (or walk as it turned out). I knew then that one of those shots would turn into the frontpage of my website. All of that taken together made for quite the photogenic wedding!
The reception was held at an American Legion hall. It was a nice, fun-loving crowd so I never had to look too far to find laughter and smiles. The celebration raged on until the very end and seemed to peak when Toto’s “Africa” came on. That made for some fun pictures:)
Here is a slideshow that’ll tell the story of what I wrote above:
