I was in Alabama this week for a friend’s wedding. I’ve known her since middle school and nothing can describe the joy I feel for her as she found her match and begins this new chapter in her life. It was a really intimate venue, a covered outdoor space adorned with hand crated decorations that oozed the bubbly, warm personalities her and her partner have. A creek flowed by behind the wedding arch down the hill, the white noise of the insects of The South buzzing away in the trees and bushes to each side of the venue.

I get really sentimental at weddings. It’s incredible that we share this common thread of choosing to celebrate the love people want to share with each other. And not just celebrating their individual joy, but putting on events and gatherings that share that love and joy with others.

I was left breathless (and overstimulated) at the end of the night and just retreated into my thoughts as my drove back to my hotel: The love and happiness I feel for my friend and this moment in their life, the joy I experienced myself and was shared with everyone else who attended, and the fact that this exact group of people may never share another moment like this again.

There’s a strange melancholy to it, how fleeting the things we experience with others are. This reason is why I love photography to be a such a large part of the wedding process (in addition to it making art of such a beautiful day), and frankly any time people experience something that brings them joy. We want to hold onto that joy, remember the good days, and remember who was there to experience it with you. I wish I took more photos through the night, not just of the ceremony itself.

I feel really grateful to be part of such a special time in these people’s lives today. It always feels strange to have to return to normal day-to-day life after something like a wedding, something that feels elevated outside of the experience of just living and connect us to something greater,

nothing but overwhelming gratitude and joy.

I carry these feelings as I return to my home state of Florida for a week to take care of some family affairs. Maybe I’ll write about it in the future? Until next time.