It’s all about the story

Twelve years ago I was a bride. A young bride by today’s standards, about to be married, leave her childhood home fully for the first time in her life, move to a new city, and start her first career…all within the course of one week. Oh, and her soon to be husband had just started grad school in said city, so her new teaching job would need to keep them both afloat for a few years.

Yep, life was about to get REAL.

So if my husband and are being honest, our wedding day was one where we both had a lot of anxiety. Not because we felt like we were making a bad decision to get married. Quite the opposite, given that I knew then what I believe even more now: we were a good team, and taking on life’s adventures and challenges would be done better together than apart.

But still, nerves abounded: and I don’t know about you, but true anxiety usually makes my brain shut down.

Explaining the reason this happened:

PINPINPINPIN

It all began with a little bump in my veil that just wouldn’t lay the right way. We tried a few different ways to fix the perceived flaw (one that in hindsight probably wasn’t even noticeable), but the clock was ticking, so I saw the steamer and thought “that’ll do the trick!”

I remember my mom suggesting I take the veil off before you know, applying scorching heat to it. But as I mentioned earlier, my brain wasn’t working and I didn’t want to be late for my walk down the aisle. So she did what most amazing moms do for their daughters on the wedding day: she did what I asked her to do.

Meaning that within 2 seconds my hair felt like it was burning off my head.

The best part about it? My photographer was there to capture it all. The pain on my face. The scramble to get ice. The crying laughter that broke up the tension and gave me a moment of relief from all that anxiety I’d been feeling.

Nope, none of the images from that moment feature me at my prettiest. But I’m so grateful we had a photographer who understood that there is beauty in the story.

So that now when our girls look through the story of the day their mom and dad’s marriage began, they actually see the events as they unfolded. Yes, there are special portraits mixed throughout to honor the family present and to remind ourselves of just how young we used to look. But ultimately it’s a collection of scenes that gives them a sense of what it was like to be there on that day – painful head burns and all.

Which leads us to today, where I’m now the one holding the camera, capturing moments that allow you and future generations to experience one of the best days of your life over and over again. It’s an honor and a privilege to do what I do, and I thank all of those who’ve allowed me to tell your story in an authentic way (and look forward to those I get to tell in 2018!).

(*Thank you to Casey Templeton for using your talent and eye to tell our story.)