I was originally going to start this blog post with the word "unfortunately." Unfortunately, a global pandemic hit us this year. Unfortunately, "social distancing" and "quarantine" became common words in our daily vocabulary. Unfortunately, Danielle & Brandon had to postpone their perfectly planned wedding day. However, Danielle & Brandon did have a perfect wedding day, just not the day they originally envisioned.
2020 was supposed to be a huge year for weddings, so many couples chose this particular year to get married because, well, how fun is being able to have 2020 as an anniversary year? I waited to have my wedding in 2020, so I completely understand wanting this year and I know how much stress & planning go into making sure your day comes together perfectly. As if planning a wedding isn't enough, COVID-19 stepped in and made the process so much worse. So many 2020 spring, summer, and now fall wedding couples had to make a lot of hard decisions about their wedding days without really being able to see or predict what was to come within the coming days, weeks, or even months. Danielle & Brandon found themselves in this situation as well. Their wedding was scheduled to happen in March before the worse of the virus really hit the USA, but they chose to let their 250 guests know that they would be postponing their wedding until August of this year instead.
Instead of letting this get them down, Danielle and Brandon decided that they still wanted to be married. Over the span of just a few days, they came up with a completely new plan to make this happen. They were going to have an intimate ceremony with just a few close family members in Brandon's grandma's backyard. Danielle got ready inside their house while Brandon got ready in his childhood home just across the street. As Danielle sat and did her own makeup, we chatted about how this was never how she imagined her wedding day would be, but she was so excited to finally be marrying her best friend. I couldn't agree with her more. Six months before my own wedding day, my now husband and I few across the country to elope on top of a mountain. Although I absolutely treasure how small and intimate our ceremony was, I could agree that getting yourself ready to marry the love of your life while alone was never how I imagined it to feel, either. I know that Danielle will treasure these memories as well, but I also know that she'll appreciate getting ready for her wedding day in August surrounded by all of her bridesmaids that much more!
Both Brandon and Danielle wrote letters for the other to read before the ceremony. They were both so incredibly sweet and caring and really reminded us all why they were going through with a wedding that neither of them ever imagined: love. Their love for one another is so strong that they didn't want to wait another day to be married. These two are high school sweethearts and have been together for the past seven years. Starting their marriage together just as a world wide pandemic was beginning just means that they'll be able to make it through absolutely anything as long as they're together.
Even though we had a thunder storm roll through on the morning of their wedding day, the sky cleared just in time for their ceremony to start . . . or so we thought. As they were exchanging rings, the rain came back and it poured for about thirty seconds before disappearing for the rest of the day. It gave everyone a laugh and truly felt magical. And rain is lucky on a wedding day, right??
And that takes us to my favorite part of every wedding day. The moment after walking back down the aisle together, hand in hand, full of bliss & happy smiles. The moment that no one else gets to see. As soon as Danielle & Brandon stepped back inside, finally alone, Brandon fully took in the beauty of his bride. The absolute perfection that was her dress and the fact that she was now his wife. The joy they shared was incredible and after spending a few moments together they went back outside to share their first dance together.
From there we went straight into taking a few portraits of the new Mr. & Mrs. Gober and this was the perfect ending to a beautiful afternoon. Although it was completely unexpected, this day come together flawlessly and I know these memories will be treasured by Danielle and Brandon and their families for years to come. I'm already looking forward to their next wedding day August and I just know that it'll be here before we know it! Danielle & Brandon, thank you so much for trusting me to capture these memories for you and document such a special day. I'm already so excited for the next one :)
And if anyone is curious, I did put together a little video of the day for these two. Just something special in the midst of all of the craziness :)