Brie and Tim Veritas Vineyards Wedding Part 2

“You are exactly where you’re supposed to be.”

Said the beautiful Brie during our last phone chat after I teared up telling her this story:

Veritas Vineyards happens to be what my husband Carl and I lovingly refer to as our dreaming place.  It’s not only incredibly gorgeous, but it’s also so large that even on the most crowded of days, one can always find a private little spot of your own – to pretend you live there for a moment of course, and to also feel disconnected from the world and more connected to each other. While drinking delicious wine nonetheless.

So a few years ago, when I first began to shoot weddings, we went on a little day date to Veritas and began talking about my hopes for where that path would take me.  Naturally I said that documenting a wedding day at the very place we were sitting would be amazing.  And then we talked about how I’d just read an interview in which one of my favorite photographers said that he always aimed to work for couples who expressed needing just one epic shot from their day.  Which at first sounded crazy and a bit unbelievable that someone would say that. But then Carl and I talked about how, though we’re grateful to have had a photographer give us many wonderfully frozen moments from our own wedding day, there is one that will always stand in our mind as “the one.”  You know, the one that’s framed with a place of honor in our house that our great great grandchildren will one day hang in theirs.  So maybe it wasn’t so unbelievable that someone could express that sentiment.

Fast forward to Brie and Tim’s wedding day.  I had an instant connection with Brie the first time I met her on the phone, and meeting her and Tim in person just solidified the fact that we were going to be friends.  The sheer fact that this amazing couple was giving me the honor of documenting their wedding day made me grateful, but of course there was this beautiful bonus of getting to finally work at our dreaming spot.  A vision fulfilled.

So the day went on just as wonderfully as I would have imagined, filled with lots of beauty and joy and happy tears and heartfelt words and laughter – and epic moments that are best described in pictures.

And then the night came to a close.  The sparklers had been extinguished and the Chinese lantern released, so I was packing to leave and preparing to say my goodbyes…when Tim and Brie came up to me.  And, though I may get the exact quote wrong for the fact that I felt like I was dreaming,  Brie said something to the effect of “I was just telling Tim that I don’t even care if any of the pictures turn out. I mean, I know they’re going to. But we just had so much fun with you that at the end of the day we’d be okay with the memory of that.”

Which left me standing there dumbstruck, realizing the very exact conversation/dream building that’d taken place five years ago on the lawn of which we were standing had come full circle. In fact, Brie had one upped that vision by saying she didn’t need any pictures.  But I digress.

In that moment I actually couldn’t even process Brie’s words fast enough to tell her just why they were so special. So I did all I could do, which was to hug them both extra tightly and send up a prayer of thanks – while reminding myself that dreaming out loud is never a ridiculous thing to do.

Anyway, when I finally was able to articulate the story to Brie a few weeks later, her and her ever eloquent self said it best: it’s moments like that when you realize that you’re right where you need to be and who you need to be with.  Perfectly stated for exactly how that moment felt, and why I’ll forever be grateful that this beautiful couple and I were destined to meet.

So, without further ado, here is the second portion of Brie and Tim’s wedding day – starting with Brie’s change into her second look, and her second first look of the day.  The first being with her dad and the second one being with Tim…though he was a little too excited to wait with his back turned. So he created his own “pop out and try to scare bride” version of a first look – and it turned out to be a fun alternative.

 

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Dress: Elegance by Roya

Day of Coordinator:  Grace of Veritas Vineyards

Florals:  Hedge Fine Blooms

Cake:  Sweethaus

DJ Urban Cowboy