It's true. Ever since I hit the age where my friends were actually saying vows and committing their lives to each other I dreaded getting that invitation in the mail.
It wasn't that I was against marriage. Or that I didn't believe in it. It was simply because most of the weddings I had been to growing up felt fake and forced.
But I outgrew it. Or maybe that's the wrong word. I grew to understand what they stood for. Every little detail and tradition and ceremony had in common and apart was a testimony to a couple's love.
I've been to dozens of beautiful weddings. I've been to every kind you can think of. Giant small town midwest weddings where the people pack the local hotel ballroom and everyone knows each other even if there's 400 guests. Tiny intimate vow renewals on sandy beaches with only a handful of friends and family. Weddings in parks, on mountains, in the forests, and even the local community center. Let's just say, I know a thing or two about weddings.
But, I also know when a wedding is going to stay with me, when the very experience will be something that I remember.
I often find that I don't forget what people tell me. Maybe it's that I spent years as a journalist or that I just remember the moments that seem important. I remember when my Dad first told me that love is a dangerous but beautiful thing and you'll know it when you see it. I remember when my Grandfather told me that love is in the eyes, you'll always know when you look close enough. I remember my Grandmother telling me it was hard. And I remember all my friends ideas, hopes and dreams.
I remember these things when I take pictures. I want to capture that love.
My cousin, Rachelle (formerly known as Katie), and I have never lived very close to one another. There was a short period when we were kids that we shared a roof in Wyoming, but other than the long trips our mothers dragged us on, we've always been pretty far apart. That being said, it's not as if there wasn't a connection. I think some people are just tied to each other whether it be blood or something else all together. I've always felt that way about my cousin.
I didn't meet Jake until the day before. He didn't say much to me, but I'm not much of a talker unless I get a chance anyways. The next day while Rachelle was getting her hair done she told us all how they met. He was a bartender. He was cute, but too muscular. (She was always picky.) Then they started talking. He was smart too. They became friends. And, like many a good story that friendship grew. He moved to Idaho with her. But unlike a lot of stories they changed their names before they even got married. They created their own name of "Genthos". They wanted their own name, their own path; to grow together.
I think that's beautiful.
I've been asked to take a lot of pictures in my life. Often, I prefer it because in a way it's my way of creatively showing you through my eyes how it felt to me to be at your special event.
I can tell you what it was like to be there, from the warm Wyoming wind and the soft sunlight as dusk fell. I can tell you there were tears and laughter and smiles as big as the sky itself.
But, I'd rather show you.Because that's what I do. For more from this beautiful wedding go to the gallery: Click Here.
