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Samuel and Presley | Elopement | Gatlinburg, Tennessee

May 18, 2017

I realize I have been quiet on my blog this last month. Wedding season is in full swing and I could not be happier. I am traveling out of state most weekends, so I am able to meet so many new people and see some really awesome places.
I was able to be a part of a sweet elopement last Thursday. Samuel and Presley were married by Ben Lawton on the deck of a cabin. The weather was perfect, the sun was about to set, and Ben and I were witnesses to the sweetest ceremony I have ever been a part of.
It was the perfect beginning to my crazy summer. Sam and Presley had been planning a large wedding but decided to elope instead. It was a beautiful reminder for me as I begin this wedding season. As a wedding photographer, I obviously love capturing the joy two people have for each other. But I am going to be honest, this industry is brutal. It is competitive. There are constantly wedding professionals in my newsfeed posting their beautiful photos from weddings they capture. It slowly becomes about how beautiful the penmanship is on the wedding invitations or how beautifully you can photograph a bouquet. I am not saying that beautiful wedding details do not make me happy, because they really do.
However, this ceremony was so simple and beautiful. There were ZERO distractions. There was NO stress. It was just simply two people, in love, joyful to get married. No one was freaking out about vendors running late or if there would be enough chairs in the reception.
I am not putting down weddings–quite the opposite actually. I love weddings with everything I am. But this was a beautiful reminder of what this job is really about: the people. It is not about the flowers, ring arrangements, or staging invitations. It is about the raw and vulnerability to stand in front of the love of your life and commit your lives to one another.
Friends, remember that the wedding details make your day beautiful, yes.

BUT
-flowers die
-cake is eaten
-decorations are sold/given away
-wedding dresses are boxed up and preserved
Your marriage is important. Your love important. Your spouse is important.
Sam and Presley, thank you for letting me be a witness to such a beautiful beginning. <3

LET'S BE INSTA-FRIENDS