7.15.17

I am still pinching myself about the fact that I just wrote “New York Wedding” in the title of this post. New York! That’s right! We traveled to NY to photograph two of the sweetest people coming together as one. Kaitlyn and Eric were married and Poughkeepsie, New York and asked us to join them! The feeling of this wedding being in the past now is a bittersweet feeling. Bitter because we have been so very excited for their wedding for over a year now and loved planning and waiting excitedly for it, and now it's over. Sweet because we are SO happy that these two get to now experience the wonderful gift of marriage!!

We met Kaitlyn and Eric in early Spring of 2016 in Atlanta for their engagement photos near Ponce City Market. During their session I was so excited for them when I heard they were planning their wedding in New York for the following year. After delivering their photos, Kaitlyn asked if we join them on their wedding day in NY. I did not hesitate one second to say YES! We absolutely loved working with them and I knew their wedding day was going to be incredible.

Fast forward to July of this year and before we knew it, Charlie and I were up at 2:30am heading to the airport to catch the first flight out to NY. We wanted to not only make sure we were in town plenty of time before the big day, but also wanted to have a day to explore NYC together since Charlie had never been! That day is one I will cherish forever, and one I will forever be grateful to Kaitlyn and Eric for giving to us. It was a perfect day seeing the city:) (We walked 14 miles in the one day, so we SAW the city!;)

The day before their wedding, we headed to Connecticut for a long-overdue visit to see my grandparents and spend the day and night with them. It was so fun to show Charlie around places I visited as a child that he had only heard stories of. It was a sweet day!

Then at last, it was wedding day for Kaitlyn and Eric! We drove to Poughkeepsie early that morning to tour the venue and get settled. The campus of Marist College is breathtaking. It sits along the Hudson River on a hill. It has quaint old buildings with ivy growing up the bricks and plenty of groundhogs running around to make you want to take one home as a pet. Really, they’re like as normal to see around there as squirrels are here in Georgia. It was hilarious to just see them running around everywhere. We even had them photobomb our Bridal Party portraits at one point (see below;).

We were just in awe of the setting Kaitlyn and Eric had chosen for their wedding day and we couldn’t wait to get started shooting. When we met up with Kaitlyn, she was almost ready and totally calm. I really never witnessed anyone show any kind of stress all day long, and that just set the mood for the whole day. Joyful, calm, relaxed, and fun. SO fun! This was an 11 hour day for us but felt like maybe 5 hours. It flew by because we just had such a great time with everyone all day. We fell in love with their families and the hospitality they showed us. Everyone was so kind and caring, it was the best wedding atmosphere for Kaitlyn and Eric to have.

What also made the day fun was seeing how much their family and friends knew how to PARTY! The dancing started as soon as Kaitlyn and Eric entered. They couldn’t wait till after they ate, no, they needed to DANCE! It was a blast to witness. And we can’t forget to talk about the napkin dance. Kaitlyn let me know that at some point during the reception I would hear “We are Family” play and that as soon as it did, everyone was going to put napkins and silverware on their heads and do a conga line around the room. It happened and it was awesome!! Again, so much joy. The napkin dance was just another fun example and tradition that shows just how great this family is.

I wrote in a previous post about the moment I ended up crying a bit during the end of the reception. If you know me though, you know that’s totally normal for me to be tearing up at the weirdest times. It was a sweet moment! The Dj announced that the last song was coming up and asked for everyone to gather around Kaitlyn and Eric. They did so and suddenly “New York, New York” by Frank Sinatra filled the room. ("New York, New York" you should just go listen to this to get the most out of your reading experience ;) Kaitlyn and Eric sang along as Eric spun Kaitlyn around the dance floor one last time. Their parents came in to join them, share some hugs and kisses, and sing along with them. Then everyone linked arms and started kicking their legs up in the air like the Rockettes. Everyone was singing along and the whole setting was just pure joy. It was beautiful and I of course couldn’t help but cry. They were happy tears! Happy to be where I was and what Kaitlyn and Eric gave us. Happy they were married at last and were so clearly loved by everyone in the room. Happy to know that this is my job. Happy tears to be so thankful to the Lord for giving Charlie and I these moments and opportunities.

It was beautiful. So beautiful. Kaitlyn and Eric’s day is one we will never forget. We are excited for these new friends we have gotten from this whole experience and we are so excited to see where their marriage goes from here! We wish them the happiest marriage and pray they never forget this day and the love they had for each other.

I can't say enough good things about this day and this couple. Enjoy looking through their incredible day:)