I shoot a lot of weddings. They all usually have some sort of connection to a friend of a friend of a cousin’s brother’s boss whose groomsman’s wife’s bridesmaid’s wedding I shot randomly years ago.
This time was extra special. It was my sister. Not someone else’s. Mine. I shot my second sister’s wedding years and years ago and it was my very first. Years have passed and many “when is Jill getting married?” jokes have also passed until this weekend when she married Jake. I’ve never in anyone’s photos as the photographer in the family, and my sister was hesitant to even ask, but there was no way I wasn’t shooting it. I would find a way to get myself in there even if through my eyes.
I can’t really even get into how special my sisters are to me without getting gushy, but it was tough it was to edit these because well, I wanted them to be perfect, but moreover just an extension of me. These aren’t just photos from a job, but my family’s memories. The last wedding until all our kids grow up and get married. It’s reinforces the importance of what we do for our clients every weekend.
All of us descended onto the beautiful Highlands Lakes Inn & Resort in Flat Rock, North Carolina, for a beautiful weekend that took a turn for the crazy waking up to single digits weather and SNOW on the wedding day. It may not look cold, but I think I may have given my sister pneumonia forcing her down to the docks on the lake where her wedding was going to be until the storm rolled in. Alas, the snow melted, but we got some great light, fall colors, and an wonderful time with my crazy family that just got much bigger. Add in a bunch of DIY details my sister knocked out of the park, and a musician named Cory Chisel who wrote a freaking beautiful song for them, you have one really special day.
It’s a tough thing to separate yourself when the subjects of your photos are your sisters, parents, kids, etc., because I have a connection to all 6000 images I shot. It’s personal. It’s my family. But here’s a slice into what my 37 years on this earth has been like. Just pure fun, love, and a bit of crazy.
Congrats Jill – I love you so much – and Jake, welcome to the family brother.