There wasn't a dry eye in the crowd when Christian saw Natalie...

Natalie and I have known each other for years. We met back in middle school and have been sort of distant friends for years. I had seen her relationship with Christian on social media as well as their beautiful daughter, Gia, and always thought they made a cute couple. So when Natalie contacted me about photographing their wedding, I was super excited that she'd ask me to capture such an important day in her life. 

Throughout the planning process, I worked primarily with Natalie. I actually didn't even get the chance to meet Christian until their wedding day, so I thank him for trusting me to capture such an important day without even meeting me!

Natalie and Christian had their entire wedding at the Signature of Solon, which is a beautiful venue in a gated community with a golf course at the center. When I arrived, Christian and the groomsmen hadn't arrived yet, so after a quick walk around the venue, I headed up to the bridal suite to check in with Natalie and her bridesmaids. Natalie was just about to start her make up, so we started out with some candid photos of her and her bridesmaids getting ready followed by some dress and detail photos. Once she was finished, all the girls got together for some cute robe photos.

When Christian arrived, my second shooter, Tyler, met up with him and the guys to get photos of them getting ready and hanging out before pre-formal photos started. 

Tyler and I headed outside to scout out an area for pre-formal portraits. One side of the grounds was taken up by the ceremony area, so we walked to the other side and found a shady spot with a beautiful view of the golf course and the fountain pond. Christian was up first, so once he, his groomsmen, and family made their way outside we got right to work. We waited a few minutes for some family to arrive, but this allowed us some time to get in additional photos we hand't planned for. That's why I always plan for a little extra time during photos. Just incase someone is running behind, or the bride and groom want to squeeze in a couple photos we hadn't planned for. We wrapped things up with Christian and he headed back inside. 

We headed up stairs to get a couple final detail shots of Natalie getting into her dress and then headed downstairs with her and her bridesmaids. The red dresses her bridesmaids wore matched so well with their flowers and really helped to make Natalie's pre-formal photos pop. Gia made her photo appearance during Natalie's pre-formal portraits, and her cute smile had everyone else smiling too! Natalie headed back inside to cool off before the ceremony, so Tyler and I grabbed our gear and began to set up for the reception. 

As the bridal party walked down the aisle, I stood the end of the aisle, I could tell Christian was beginning to well up with emotion. As Gia made her way down the aisle in her wagon, I looked around and could see both families were becoming emotional. Natalie and her dad began their walk down the aisle, and Christian could no longer contain his emotion. He looked at his soon to be wife with tears in his eyes as he saw her for the first time that day. Quickly looking around, I saw Christians mom beginning to cry and the sight of her son seeing his bride and Natalie's mom full of pride as she saw her beautiful daughter walking down the aisle toward her husband. There wasn't a dry eye in the crowd when Christian saw Natalie. The rest of the ceremony was gorgeous. The sun was beginning to set as a beautiful golden color over took the sky and background of their ceremony. 

After the ceremony, we took some time for family photos at the ceremony spot and from there moved on to bridal party photos. The grounds of the Signature of Solon are absolutely beautiful. Combine that with golden hour, and the beautiful red bridal party colors and we have some incredible photos. There were two request photos that Natalie and Christian asked for. The first was a photo of the groomsmen revealing their super hero undershirts, and the second was Christian and his best man bumping fists and Natalie and her maid of honor holding hands. 

After some couples photos on the nearby bridge and the edge of the golf course, it was time for Natalie and Christian to enter the party! They kicked things off with tons of energy that radiated through the room. As the DJ, Celebration in Sound, started the music, their first dance was full of laughs and smiles as their families watched from their seats. As they took their seats, Natalies dad got up to give a toast and said something that really stuck with me. I'll be paraphrasing here because I don't remember the exact words he used, but it was something to the effect of...

Natalie and Christian have come together today to not bring together two families, but to make one big family. In todays world, there is so much hate and negativity and the world needs more people like Natalie and Christian. The world could learn a thing or two from their love. The world needs more love like theirs. 

I hear a lot of toasts each year, but his really stuck with me. After spending a large part of such an important day with both Natalie and Christian, I knew exactly what he was talking about. Their love knows no limits. This truly was a coming together of two families to make one big family. Throughout the rest of the night, Natalie and Christian's families came together on the dance floor as one big family, carrying what Natalie's dad said close to their hearts.

As the night began to wrap up for me, I could feel a warmness inside of me. I walked out to my car remembering why I love shooting weddings: seeing two people who love each other as much as Natalie and Christian come together as one and being a part of such a special moment in their lives. There's nothing quite like it.