I met Sloane and her mother several months before her wedding, and Sloane beamed as she told me about her fiancé, Matt, and all about their plans for their May 2014 wedding. They were going to say "I do" at a big, antique church downtown with glorious stained-glass windows and beautiful cascading front steps, and the reception was to be held at the newly opened Discovery Park of America in the Dinosaur Hall-- which is such a classy place for a reception. She told me about the dresses and flowers, about color choices and the limo they would be taking everywhere. They were already thinking of fun pictures we could take and sentimental details they wanted me to capture, and I was so excited that they chose us to photograph such a special day for them! Capturing weddings sometimes makes me feel like I'm a fly on the wall, in the very best of ways. I got to be in the room when Sloane's father saw her for the first time in her wedding dress, and when his face lit up and they hugged each other, I saw her mother wiping away tears in the background and realized what a big day this was for everyone. We got to capture the bridesmaids' reactions as well, when they saw Sloane in her wedding dress, and heard squeals of excitement and the sniffling of noses as they celebrated their friend becoming a bride. And when Matt saw Sloane for the first time, I had to blink back a few tears as he smiled so big, and they hugged, exchanged gifts and then sat on the steps and prayed together. What a wonderful way to start a marriage. Witnessing moments like these is one of my favorite parts of being a photographer, and it's such a beautiful responsibility to capture these little happenings throughout the most important day of their lives.
When we arrived at the salon the morning of the wedding, I asked Sloane how she was, and she said, "I woke up today so excited, because I thought, 'I'm getting married today!'' I hope Sloane and Matt wake up every morning and think of how wonderful it is to be married to each other, and that they carry a bit of that excitement through the rest of their marriage. :)
Thank you so much, Sloane and Matt, for choosing us to be your photographers! We hope you love your pictures as much as we loved taking them. Thanks so much to Nicka Smith for being my lovely and super talented second photographer for this wedding. And thanks to Susanne Marsidi and her team for helping everyone get where they were supposed to be, when they were supposed to be there, and for your flawless taste and expertise! Sloane's hair and makeup were done by the talented Camille Piatt at Styles On Broadway in Martin, and the other stylists took care of the rest of the bridal party.
