Thomas + Monica // Hudsonville, MI
Yesterday we were supposed to be celebrating Cammie and Joe at their wedding in Grand Rapids. It is no surprise that their wedding is rescheduled and we were home for the day. I got a text in that morning from a past bride and now friend, Valerie asking for some pointers and best app to edit pictures which she would be taking on her phone of her friends wedding (yikes). Her life long friend who’s name turns out to be Monica, whom I did not get to meet (at a distance) until after the wedding, was planning on a big wedding april 4th for all of their friends and family but because of Covid – 19 that was obviously not going to be as planned. After scrambling looking for a park to get married in and fears of being kicked out Valerie and her husband Jordan offered their backyard as a space for Monica and Thomas to have their wedding with immediate family.
Not going to lie to you, I have been thriving in quarantine. March is always a slow month for us, so I have been caught up with editing and just starting about 100 projects around our house. So needless to say I had zero interest in leaving my house whatsoever. We have been strictly following the recommendations on self quarantine and social distancing so it was a hard decision to come to but I felt God pulling on my heart strings to head there with a camera and a zoom lens. I knew if I used only my zoom lens, and kept my distance. it would be better than any phone pictures lol.
I talked to Valerie 30 min before the ceremony was set to start and had a 25 minute drive to get there. I was able stand at a distance and catch one of the most beautiful ceremonies yet. Sure the setting was beautiful, but after working so hard, for so long to plan a beautiful wedding and as heart broken as I know they were to see all those plans fall apart….none of that mattered at the end of the day. All that did matter was that they be married and that is what made it so beautiful.
We love everything about weddings, people work so hard to have everything be exactly perfect, with perfect décor, food, flowers, guests, and the perfect timeline for the entire day. Then you hire the perfect photographer to capture every second that you want to remember. Yesterday these two did not care, not that they didn’t value photography because they do, but the #1 most important thing above all of the details and documenting them was, the two of them, their love, and their desire to spend the rest of their lives together.
One thing that Haylee and I preach religiously to our brides is that on their wedding day they be present. Not worrying about all the little things that could go wrong or everything they had worked so hard to plan falls into place as they imagined and prepped for it to do. At the end of the day NONE OF THE DETAILS MATTER!!! What matters is that they be married to the love of their life and best friend. Anything above and beyond that is simply bonus. Yesterday was the perfect example of this.
Haylee and I have had many conversations about what the world is enduring and how it fits into God’s plan. I have to believe that this has to be one of those reasons, we as a world and a society get so wrapped up into having everything in life be perfect all of the time, when all he wants is for us to see, appreciate, feel, and give the love that he freely gives us. He wanted his people and his world to stop, look around, and genuinely appreciate and love the real blessings that he gives us.
