Family weddings have their advantages and disadvantages.The best part is knowing everyone. The worst part is knowing everyone. When Jamie, my wife (and George’s) cousin, asked me to shoot her wedding, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. She reminds me so much of my sister, it’s scary. Jamie has dated Cole since the 10th grade and although I’ve only been with the two of them a handful of times, it is pretty obvious that they were made for each other. They would be married on mine and Dorothy’s 11th anniversary – July 11, 2009. Yes, Dorothy has put up with me for that long.

We decided to plan our family vacation around Jamie and Cole’s wedding since both Dorothy and I have family in Virginia. The wedding would be smack dab in the middle. Since we arrived two days before the wedding, I shot an "engagement" session with Jamie and Cole one evening. We had a lot of fun wandering the countryside finding unique places to shoot. My favorite spot was an old metal storage building in the middle of a cow pasture.

We also attended the rehearsal dinner on Friday night. It was held at a country retreat out in the middle of nowhere. It was beautiful and perfect. I think everyone in attendance fell in love with the place. The highlight of the evening was a slide show of images from Jamie and Cole’s lives.

The wedding day started early. The ladies were heading to the salon. The guys were heading to the golf course. George rode along with the guys and I hung out at the salon with the ladies. We would all meet later that afternoon at Sundara for the wedding ceremony and reception.

The weather had been iffy most of the day with the forecast calling for afternoon thunderstorms, right about the time the outdoor ceremony was supposed to start. Everyone was praying hard they wouldn’t come. As I followed Jamie’s dad Dana to the venue to set up, the clouds and rain rolled in. It poured. Buckets. The traffic on the highway was practically at a standstill. Dana called me from his car – "No rain at Sundara yet!" was the report.

We arrived as the DJ was setting up. The tent was just about ready for the reception and the chairs were set up on the back lawn facing the mountains for the ceremony. Everything looked beautiful!

The ladies soon arrived and headed to the bridal suite to finish getting ready. The guys arrived soon after. And so did the rain. I think in total, there were three separate downpours before the ceremony. Jamie was adamant that she did not want to get married in a tent. Casey, Jamie’s sister-in-law, was coordinating the wedding and was doing everything she could to keep the guests dry, the bride happy and everything on schedule. This was not a position I envied.

The rain stopped about 15 minutes after the ceremony was supposed to start. The decision was made to get the guests in their seats quickly and attempt to sneak in the ceremony between storms. Umbrellas were at the ready in case it started raining. The ceremony began.

Dana escorted his beautiful daughter down the grassy aisle. Cole held back the tears as he watched the pair move forward. Fog settled on the mountain. A doe ate some grass in the field on the other side of the stream. The weeping willow stood beautifully in the corner. The rain never came.

The ceremony finished. We started the formals. Still no rain. We finished the formals. Still no rain. The reception began. Everyone cheered as the wedding party was introduced. Jamie and Cole had their first dance, followed by several toasts from the wedding party and Jamie’s dad Dana. He asked me the day before, "What’s one of the biggest mistakes you see at weddings?" I responded, "Dads taking too long with their toasts." His toast was about as perfect as they come. Short, emotion-filled, and well spoken. Nice job Dana!

The rest of the evening was filled with a whole lot of dancing, lots of celebrating, an awesome sparkler-lined farewell tunnel, and not a drop of rain.

Because this was a family event, I do want to give some kudos to a few particular people:

Casey – you handled the stress that Mother Nature (and others) threw your way like a pro! Thanks for all the work you did to make the day a success!

Dana and Sue – Thanks for your hospitality on one of the most stressful weekends of your lives!

Dorothy – thanks for taking care of our Lily so I could do what I love to do!

Jamie & Cole – thank you for allowing me to be a part of your wedding. I’m so glad I could be there!

 

Venue:  Sundara –  Boons Mill, VA

 

To see more pictures from Jamie and  Cole’s wedding, just click here.

 

Here are some pictures from the engagement session:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now the wedding:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

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