Jen & Nick Wedding

Here is a giant lie about our Saturday mornings: Saturday at 7am we wake up to birds chirping, turn and look at each other like it's Christmas morning, smile and whisper to each other with whimsical glee, "we get to photograph a wedding today!" The coffee brews while we dance through our home to the latest indie vinyl record playing, getting our small behaved children ready for the babysitter with joy, and ironing clothes with precision. We hop in the car full of energy and excitement and go create beautiful pictures to be remembered for a life time of a happy couple. We live the dream. As much as we'd like to say that's true, it's not. We're not really morning people so there's no whimsical glee on the finest of wedding days. There's still motivation involved to show up, and do this and some times that motivation isn't there. On the last Saturday of June was one such morning. We had photographed more weddings in the past three months than any other three month stretch of our business. Getting two kids ready for the babysitter was hard. Bernadette was pregnant. We were exhausted that morning. Bernadette climbed out of my car to photograph the Bride getting ready with a certain degree of anxiety about the day ahead. I showed up to the hotel where the guys were getting ready and stepped out of my car to find a completely flat tire in the parking garage.

But then something awesome happened. This happens to us often. One of us walked into a house. One of us walked into a hotel. We met Nick and Jen. We started documenting their day. Fifteen minutes later I texted Bernadette to see how it was going and she texted me back that it was going amazing and that everyone she met was incredible. I texted her that the same thing was happening on my end. All of the exhaustion and anxiety went away. Instead we were swept up in the incredible, and I do mean incredible, love that was everywhere the day that Nick and Jen got married.

It wasn't just them, although I think we would have woken up Sunday and done it all again for just them. But it was bigger than that. The family. The bridal party. The friends. Everyone we met. Such good people.

It's likely we'll wake up again on a future Saturday and wonder why we aren't enjoying a lazy Saturday like all of our friends. We'll probably repeat that feeling time and time again, but that's okay because the reason why we do it is right here. It's in stories like Nick and Jen that have us drive home with hearts full, feeling blessed at what we do.

To Nick and Jen, to our other awesome couples, and to all of the friends and family we've met over the years that remind us of the goodness of humanity and the inspiration to our marriage: thank you.