I knew I’d struck gold when Nora told me she’d found me through a piece I’d written about my backyard wedding on A Practical Wedding. Normally, that’s no big deal, but she too was having a family-focused backyard wedding in the home where she grew up. It wasn’t enough that I simply *had* to book them because they were both so damn funny and cool and loving and perfect, but their story of planning their backyard wedding hit home super hard. I knew these were my people.
And were they ever. Getting to know these two leading up to their wedding was one of the highlights of my wedding season. Without fail, their friends and family were just as awesome.
It had all the perfect, unpredictable quirks that only home-cooked weddings can offer: lots of last-second string-pulling, changes, and fixes. She penned her vows in her childhood bedroom. Their first look was photobombed by a neighborhood dog (why yes, it was the best moment of my life, why do you ask). They wed under a hawthorn tree. Their reception, held nearby, had speeches that left everyone in tears and a night of dancing for the ages (apparently, ‘Come On Eileen’ was this reception’s pop-off jam). Oh, and my favorite little ring bearers ever.
I feel incredibly honored to have been invited into such a beautiful home, where everywhere you turned, there were signs of love, family, and growth – constant reminders that we are not just who we are now, but who we’ve been. So glad I get to call these two friends for life.
