I knew when I got on the airplane to go shoot jon and courtney’s wedding that it would be a magnificent experience. I knew that I loved them, for they are dear friends, and we had already photographed them once before (remember their proposal?). I also knew that some of the people I loved dearest, one being my wonderful husband, were playing parts in the wedding as groomsmen, guests, and videographers. but I had no idea what else I would find in this little charming haven that is chagrin falls.
if you don’t know them, jon and courtney, our dear friends, are people who have a way with words. they love words, and they use them wisely. in fact, they are so committed to the art of pen to paper that they both, without knowing the other was doing it, wrote each other journals during their season as an engaged couple and delivered those journals to each other on the wedding day. which makes writing this synapsis both an amazing honor, and a feat I feel I can never fully do justice.
I don’t see the world in words.
I see the world in photographs.
but some of the best photographs I made at jon and courtney’s wedding should be accompanied by at least a hundred words. how can you tell from a photograph in the early morning on a wedding day, that courtney’s parents are sitting on their bed in their pajamas, praying for her, just like they have thousands of mornings before this one? or how can I explain the love and joy in little traditions a family has, like the saturday morning walk to the center of town to grab a coffee, followed by blueberry pancakes back at the house? how can I share the magical way a wedding day works, where whimsical surprises sneak up on you, like a lemonade stand on the way from the salon to home, on the day courtney is to get a new last name – lemmon?! how can a photograph explain the relationship between sisters and brothers, between a family and their family home? between a girl and her dad, that the emotions are too powerful, they have to stop hugging and fist bump instead? or the way jon’s brothers love him so dearly, and the way brothers can all still play together, even when they’ve all grown up. how can I tell you what it feels like to watch a grown man weep from the gratitude of watching his bride walk towards him for the first time? friends, this day we are about to share with you was so rich, and each time I clicked the shutter, I found myself capturing something with such meaning, such intimacy you almost had to be there in the room to appreciate the power of it. but, alas, we make photographs for that very reason. because not everyone can go into those rooms. and even jon, courtney, and their loved ones will one day grow a bit foggy on the details. and so, for them, and for you, I am honored to say we were invited into those moments, and now you are now invited into them as well.
by the parsons
show hide 37 comments
email a friend