And to symbolize all the time spent talking on the phone while separated by a whole country….

When I received the email from Lauren and Tristan saying that they wanted to hire me to photograph their wedding, I was ecstatic! I was excited about the wonderful opportunity that I was chosen for. I was thrilled that it was at Lauren’s Parents’ lake house in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York.  Lauren and Tristan knew from the start that they didn’t want a traditional wedding ceremony.  They chose to begin the wedding with a slide show of pictures from their childhood as well as pictures from their experiences and journeys together as a couple, followed by a thoughtful and caring poem about the couple, read by Lauren’s best friend.  Next came some emotional stories and words of encouragement from their parents and siblings.  Then they each tied a knot at the ends of a rope to symbolize the strength of their relationship and the bond of their matrimony.   The ceremony concluded with the exchange of their vows and rings.  I had never photographed anything like it before! I was gushing with happiness and excitement.  Overwhelmed with joy.  If you want to know what truly makes a wedding celebration so beautiful and unique, it’s the people.  It’s all about the people.  I was fortunate enough to be able to spend a lot of time with Lauren, Tristan and their families in the days before the wedding as well as after the wedding.  It was during this time spent working closely with them that I noticed how much love they had for each other.  It was genuine.  It was honest.  It was apparent.  How did they develop such a love?  Where did it come from?  I knew where and how.  I saw it right away.  Family.  Both Tristan and Lauren have AMAZING parents and siblings.  Their the kind of people that you would want to adopt you, should you need adopting.   Remarkable individuals who helped shape a wonderful and special couple.  Here are their pictures.  I hope you like them.  Thanks to Eric for embarking on this awesome journey with me.

We started off with an engagement session type shoot the day I arrived

The day of….

Now on to the first look.  These are some of my favorite moments in a wedding.

Time for our first photo walk of the day.

And now the ceremony…

Photo walk # 2

And finally, the day after session.  We started at a late 19th century cobble stone chapel.

Eric and I stumbled upon a gem earlier that day.  We snuck into an abandoned winery and cellar.  Interestingly enough, we were caught by the owners, but they were nice enough to give us a brief tour and history of the place.  They also let us come back to do the session later that evening.