Celebrating a Happy Little Family… Jill & Matt 7.31.2010

 

I must admit, I do love the non-traditional weddings best of all- you know the ones, where the bride and groom step outside of the box and choose to celebrate their wedding day in a way that truly expresses who they are as a couple, and in this case, as a family.  From the group creation of the lavender  bridal bouquet and the whole family as bridal party to their beautifully heartfelt vows and the surrounding spiral of loved ones bearing witness, this was easily one of my favorite weddings I’ve had the pleasure of documenting!

Jill and Matt were married at Hovander Homestead in Ferndale on July 31st, 2010. What started as a bit of a damp, gloomy day ended with the warmth of the sun and some good old fashioned square dancing. With so many people obviously having such a great time (not to mention the couple’s cute baby Merit to flirt with) this was an event I had a very hard time leaving!

I love any bride willing to get dressed for her wedding in a tent!

     

Each guest selected a sprig of lavender upon arrival at the ceremony… Jill and Matt and their parents collected them on their way to the altar. Together their individual bunches of lavender created Jill’s bridal bouquet!

   

Many tears were shed before the ceremony even began : )

  Joining forces!

Shooting this wedding provided a new challenge. With the bride and groom in the center of a spiral, I had no choice but to be in someone’s view! I did my best at keeping a low profile. At least until they got to their vows and I started to cry! I had a couple of guests tell me they were doing okay until they saw me in tears and then lost it themselves.  It couldn’t be helped!

I love the look in Jill’s eyes in the above photo.  Admiration, love, contentedness… so many emotions shown here!

Fourteen month old Merit joined Mom & Dad for their ceremonial walk as husband and wife. What a gorgeous little family!

The yard of Hovander House and the barn in the distance offered up a breathtaking backdrop for family photos. I only wished we’d had time to get to these photos before the sun started to show as the lighting was absolutely perfect earlier in the day!

  

Like most people, Jill doesn’t feel super comfortable posing for the camera. Thankfully she found this guy Matt who likes to ham it up… he definitely helped take the pressure off : )

      

First dance as husband and wife…

  

       

and then the party was ON!

      

Congratulations, Jill, Matt and Merit! Thank you so much for inviting me to be part of your beautiful wedding day : )

An additional note… Jill is a Licensed Massage Therapist and paid for half of her wedding photography with a services trade! I’m *always* open to considering trades for services so if you’ve got a great skill and need some great photography, please do not hesitate to contact me for more information!