I told myself that I’d get caught up on blogging (I haven’t blogged since July….yikes) when things slowed down a little bit.  Well…things never really did slow down until the past few weeks.  Though I won’t be able to blog every wedding and shoot from this year, I thought I’d post this pretty one I shot at the end of August (with hopefully more posts to come!).

Emily and Joel got married in a pasture on her family’s farm–a short drive down the road from where I photographed her sister, Elisa’s wedding last year.  Their day was basically a huge beautiful garden party wedding among the trees.  So so dreamy.  Emily got ready in her sister’s house with the help of her three sisters, bridesmaids, and mother all while Joel patiently awaited their first look underneath a tree close by.  The said their vows underneath a sweeping white canopy woven throughout the tall trees planted many years ago.  Joel played the music Emily walked down the aisle to on his violin–something I really loved about their ceremony.  Firstly, how ROMANTIC, and secondly, how COOL.  They sang songs, gave thanks, prayed, and had their first kiss as husband and wife under an arch adorned with flowers they grew and put together with the help of family and friends.  All of the centerpieces and floral arrangements were harvested or found on family and friends’ property.  And the flowers were absolutely gorgeous. Their menu (which was delicious) was prepared by hand by more friends. How can anyone say “no” to a buffet of hand-made Italian food?  I know I can’t.  I snuck Emily and Joel off for a few minutes near golden hour to get a few portraits of them.  After their portraits, they cut the cake (yes…also homemade), and returned to the reception.  In lieu of a “traditional” reception where there are first dances and bouquet tosses and garter tosses, Emily and Joel welcomed friends and family up to perform on their stage, often the people on stage would toast to the new couple and congratulate on their new life together.

My favorite part of the evening, perhaps, is the family tradition at the end of the night…you’ll see what I mean.

Sorry I just talked so much.  There was an overflowing amount of beauty in this day.  Here are some photos to show some of it off.