Virginia Destination Wedding – Sally and Rich 10.31.19

Sometimes I wonder why I spend so much time on wedding detail shots…why do I love them so much? Every hour and moment of a wedding day seems to tick by so fast, and I wonder if I’m using my time wisely. But after yesterday’s very special wedding, I came to some clarity on this point. It occurred to me, that all the beautiful things people create and make, and buy and bring to their wedding celebration, are sort of tangible representations of all the hopes and dreams and love that goes into the wedding day. They represent the things you can’t see..the long distance phone calls and love letters. The overnight shipping and special orders. The quiet moments spent dreaming about what the wedding day will be like. And so that is perhaps why I love the details so much…they seem to tell the story behind the story. All the weddings we host are special to us, but yesterday’s had the added bonus of being for some of our own dear family members. It was also a destination wedding of sorts, as our gorgeous bride Sally traveled from all the way from Britain, and her lovely groom Rich lives in NYC. The mountains put on a spectacular show yesterday…not just a wild display of autumn color, but rolling mists and heavy rains, and gusty winds, intermingled with warm temperatures and moments of calm…there was even a tornado warning in the mix. Not perfect for trick or treating, but certainly an unforgettable backdrop for a wedding day! As mentioned above, the details for this particular wedding were simply exquisite. My cousin Sally is incredibly talented and clever with handmade things – she knows how to use a loom, and makes the most incredible fiber creations, and created a gorgeous russet colored shawl for her wedding day by hand. She also made all the flowers for her wedding day, a task that took countless hours. I’m not sure if a photograph can convey the time and attention to detail, the love and thoughtfulness that went into these creations, but they were truly beautiful! And there were even hidden meanings included in these flowers – Rich’s boutonniere (or “buttonhole” as the Brits call it) was made from comic book pages, a nod to his career as a comic book illustrator. And Sally’s daughter carried a bouquet made from the pages of Pride and Prejudice (the brides favorite book, and coincidentally, mine too!). And the wedding bouquet was made from a combination of comic book pages, and Pride and Prejudice pages, an artistic embodiment of the intertwining of two lives. Sally and Rich love to have fun, and be silly together -life is never boring or dull for them! So of course their wedding included a sweets station, and a batman mask, a custom lego cake topper that looked just like the real life couple, and a little bit of dancing in the rain 🙂 There were so many wonderful moments during this celebration and I just can’t wait to share a few favorites with you…