Ellie + Sam

Ellie and Sam were married on Friday July 26th. We are so happy to have Sam as an official part of our family! I was grateful that they wanted me to take their bridal photos! I look forward to sharing more from their special day soon. Some things I want to remember from this time and occasion:

the patience, humor, flexibility and hard work that Sam + Ellie both put in to making their day a special and smooth one.

the many close friends and family that put in hours and hours of help

the family members and friends that took time to join us in our celebration

Sam + Ellie are blessed to be surrounded by so much love and support!

When I was feeling stressed about the undertaking of the big day, a good friend told me that her favorite thing about both of her daughters’ weddings was the overwhelming love and community she saw around them that day…it filled her up and made it all worth it. That was my focus-I tried to stay present, calm and take in every moment.

During the dinner Ellie and Sam asked Danny on the spot to open up the mic to those who wanted to give them advice. They were all so sweet and genuine. My eyes teared up over and over again. When I stood- I told them that I didn’t have any advice for them. I then told them what we have learned from them:

• a sense of humor goes a long way to lighten a stressful situation
• kindness and it’s power
• love and the power it has to gather

I finished (ugly crying through the whole thing) by thanking everyone who had shown up for them. I really couldn’t list one person because it was such a collaboration of love-it was everyone. We love them all like family.

What a beautiful thing to expand a family!

If you want to hear me crying-