as i was driving home through the dark roads that night, my hair smelled like smoke and autumn leaves. every now and then a car would pass and it’s headlights would make patterns across my face. the night was quiet, but the air was humming with a sweet and excited energy. i’ll never forget the way i felt on that drive home. it was a pure feeling. it felt like a true exchange, an offering of one’s self to an experience. when i got home i texted carla and julie, my eyes filling with tears. i told them of the day i had experienced and the magic that was still swimming around me.
i’ve thought a lot about what i wanted to say about this day. so i could tell the story the day deserved. but words fall short. i wanted to talk about how genuinely caring and sweet Tess and Trevor are and when they look at each other you can’t help but get goose bumps. how their family welcomed us whole heartedly and how by the end of the day i was sad to leave. how their officiant, who was their college professor, gave one of the most heart-felt ceremonies i’ve heard. how at the end of the night’s dancing, as i was shooting, i was engulfed by ALL the wedding guests circling Tess and Trevor, giving them a giant ocean of a hug. how the love i witnessed between this couple and their guests had a weight, a color, an awareness all it’s own. all these things being true, there was still something more. something i couldn’t find a way to articulate. and then it dawned on me. it’s that unspoken feeling, as if you can suddenly speak a language you’ve never heard, but understand perfectly. this day felt like that. eerily familiar and yet other worldly.
i can truly say i was given much more than i gave this day. i am thankful for the sincerity of this couple. for their family and friends, and how each one gave a smile or a kind word. a love like theirs is a special love. come… you’ll feel (and see) what i mean.
congratulations Tess and Trevor! thank you for inviting us in.
