Justin and Abigail were married two weeks ago on a perfectly sunny Saturday down in Lynchburg, Virginia at Heritage Baptist Church.  We took a family trip down, and on the way, I was reading through a wedding magazine with gorgeous pictures.  I was making a mental note which images were most likely to get published in a magazine–and I found that while there were beautiful images of the bride and groom, many of the highlighted weddings focused on the details.  Lots and lots of details.  I casually mentioned to James that it’s not often that we get a wedding with a ton of details.  Usually the basics are table settings, place cards, favors, programs and cake table.  Often, I think these things in themselves take a huge amount of effort, so most of the time, and in my own wedding as well, people normally stop at that.  There are so many other things to think about and put into place that it’s hard to think beyond decorating those traditional things.

But this wedding. . . wow.  Detail after detail after detail.  I’m not even sure I photographed everything–there was so much that at times I couldn’t remember which things I had already photographed and which things I hadn’t.  Justin and Abigail had an army of help decorating for their wedding. It was beyond amazing.  Gorgeous details everywhere.  Decorating for the reception was no small endeavor–at over 400 guests, there were a ton of tables.  Each table had its own unique centerpiece, made up of a collection of vintage and modern items. . . books, birdcages, scrabble letters, burlap, flowers, sheet music.  It was amazing.  And a photographer’s dream.

I also enjoyed the day because my second shooter was my sister-in-law, Rachelle, whom I love dearly.  She lives in New Hampshire, so obviously we don’t normally get the opportunity to shoot together.

Congratulations, Abigail and Justin!  May you live till you are one hundred, and all the while by each other’s sides.