guys, this is a good one.

not good in the perfect details sense. or in the exquisitely matched dresses and flowers and desserts and whatever else sense.

this is the wedding the bride lovingly described to me as “borderline janky,” which the dictionary (because i weirdly love definitions) defines as “of extremely poor or unreliable quality.” it made me laugh, and i was very intrigued.

it was clear to me from the beginning that this wedding was all about relationships. their venue was selected because it was the perfect location to house and host all of their dearly loved guests. besides the catering staff, i was the only “vendor” present that day. even the flowers that lined the aisle were grown in their own front yard. the bride literally wore her grandmother’s wedding dress.

i don’t often do a lot of directing during weddings. i prefer to let the day unfold and document what i see. this day was no exception. i am constantly blown away by the subtle beauty that can be found in the ordinary. but this day i developed a newfound appreciation for a wedding focused on the important things. i was a literal pool of tears during the vows these guys wrote for each other. it absolutely ruined my eye makeup and i made sure to chastise them for making me cry so much.

they hung sentimental photos of each guest on their bedroom doors. i mean….

this is the bride who found ants dying as a little girl and SET UP A CLINIC TO SAVE THE ANTS. she saves young human lives these days. and she is keenly, alarmingly aware of every one in her presence. a small child who might be ignored by anyone else on their wedding day, she seeks these people out. she gets down on their level and they let her into their world. a little lady guest was watching us take their formals photos and she invited her into the photo so she wouldn’t feel left out. she makes everyone in her presence feel like they’re the most important person on the planet.