This wonderful wedding took place back in October, but it took me a very long time to write about it because it was just so special to me. Allison and I met after we were paired up as pen pals in a facebook group we were both a part of. Though we only exchanged a handful of letters, it was obvious to me from the first few handwritten words I read from her that we were meant to be friends. We both loved hockey, dogs, and the same kind of music. I sent her little strawberry stickers and she excitedly informed me that she loved strawberries so much that she actually had one tattooed on her wrist! She gets pulled into the magic of Christmas like I do, and we sent each other packages of snow globes and ice skate ornaments. It was the kind of friendship that, though we had never met in person, felt destined. When getting to the post office for stamps or sitting down to write felt too hard, we slid easily into chatting online instead, talking about everything and anything.
I remember the night Allison first met Matthew, because she sent me a message right after their first date to tell me that as crazy as it sounded, she was sure she had just met the man she was going to marry. I could feel her excitement as if those little typed words were bouncing on the screen with it. If love at first sight exists then this was it, fearless and certain. Hundreds of miles away I grinned and grinned. Who doesn’t want a love like that? When Matthew proposed, I immediately offered to photograph their wedding. I didn’t care if it was an 8 hour drive, I wanted to be there. When Allison said yes, I jumped up and down in my bedroom. It wasn’t only a job for me, but a chance to finally meet one of my best friends for the first time.
The drive from Montreal to Philly was longer than expected, full of turnpike confusion and half a water bottle dumped in my lap which I frantically hoped would dry before meeting the people whose wedding I was about to be trusted with. As soon as I arrived though, to both of them outside in the dark waving to me with the dog in tow, I knew I had nothing to be nervous about. If Allison and I became friends easily through words, it was even easier in person. Their cozy apartment was all love and warmth and in a matter of minutes I had been ushered out of the cold and onto the couch with a dog in my lap, pizza in hand, and a hockey game on TV. I was instantly filled up with this thick emotion that nearly made me cry. It was a dizzying joy that after so many months of struggle and loneliness, here I was in a city I didn’t know just wrapped up in friendship. Working in the wedding industry is all about love all day every day, but we don’t always stop to talk about the powerful love of a friend. Allison was right in the middle of last minute preparations and still she welcomed me right into her life like we had always known each other. As we sat there, the three of us on the floor tying name tags onto tiny gold animals, I knew I was lucky enough to be a part of something truly precious.
I spent the whole day before the wedding with Allison and Matthew, in a whirlwind of sudden last minute changes at the venue, sunrise engagement photos by the water (yes you can totally take your engagement photos right before the wedding,) biscuits and gravy, and flower pickups. It’s not every day you can have your wedding photographer hang out with you for a full extra day, but I had so much fun!
I won’t describe every detail of Allison and Matthew’s wedding because this blog post is already turning into one of those epically long stories that food bloggers love to make you scroll through to get to their recipes and I don’t want you to get bored before you even see the photos! But let’s just say it was magical and sweet and causal and so unfettered by expectation. Some highlights for me where Allison’s soft pink dress, the look on Matthew’s face when he saw her, little brothers running outside for hugs, teary eyed moms, the huge old house where they all got ready, the tortoise who came to the reception…. ok I better stop before I just describe the whole wedding anyway. Long story short, if you’re getting married at the Philadelphia Zoo and are as sweet and fun and in love as Allison and Matthew please pick me to be your photographer because I’d relive this wedding any day! It was some of the most fun I’ve ever had in my life!
