McKenna + Nathaniel :: Wedding Photography, Columbus, Ohio

I told him to tell her a secret. It must have been a good one.

I don't know if you're the kind of person to scroll all the way through blog posts, so I've made sure to cater to you all who, like me, have a very short attention span. 

The first three photos.

All it takes to get a glimpse of the sacred day that was McKenna and Nathaniel's wedding day is to behold the ineffable contentment and joy on their faces in these photos. Even just in the tiny sliver of it that you see in the first one there.

But the photos, as they never truly do, don't totally do it justice. The day was wonderful in that it was one completely centered on the sacramental. It was centered on what was happening on the altar, not on the dance floor (though they made it hard to tell while they were sweating to the big-band!!)

Three uniquely special tidbits from this day:

1. The flower girls told me early on in the day that they "looove taking pictures!", so I had delightful shadows the whole day, making for excellent photos of these very cute, soon-to-be photogs.
2. The bride asked me if she'd be in the way if she said a prayer in front of the statue of St. Joseph, which happened to be right behind where I was taking a photo of her groom. I told her, no, definitely not.
3. For reasons related entirely to lighting, I hardly ever get excited about posting photos in the church, during the ceremony, and certainly not as the ones that tell the beauty of the day, but alas, I couldn't help myself.

Onward, McKenna and Nathaniel! Onward to a life held in sacred holiness, imitating the day you began it together.

Enjoy,

Rachel

Carol + Ethan :: Wedding Photography, Columbus, Ohio

The snow makes everything still.

It was a phrase that came to us mid-Advent, I think, as we were bustling to tie ribbons and check items off lists. We wanted to slow down, because waiting is what that season of anticipation is, after all. But slowness requires quiet, and quiet, stillness. And stillness in a world of movement and deals and bang-for-your-buck is just hard sometimes. So, we put it in big-lettered boldness on our mantle:

J O Y   I N   T H E   S T I L L N E S S

And we kept finding it, not only tucked away in the fire-lit evenings of cold December, but also on the altar on the day before Christmas Eve.

As the white snow fell down in big, fluffy flakes outside the stained-glass windows, the church where Carol and Ethan were committing their lives to the hardship and bliss of marriage was full of all the joy in the world. And all of the stillness. 

It was a beautiful sight to witness, these two very young ones, surrounded by their friends - souls brimming with courageous faith - who were defying all the hustle and bustle of the world by sitting in silence, waiting for their life to begin together.

It was an honor to witness your day through the lens, Carol and Ethan, and may the joy continue to be tucked in the stillness of your freshly married hearts.

Enjoy,

Rachel

Zach + Nina :: Wedding Photography Columbus, Ohio

Spice.

That's mainly what I have to say in regards to this wedding. It was most definitely the spiciest wedding I've ever photographed, and possibly ever been to. 

I met Zach a long time ago through other weddings I'd shot. (In fact, I discovered a couple days before the wedding that our moms knew one another years and years ago...#catholictiesrundeep). I met Nina, though, for the first time when shooting their engagement photos earlier this year. Nina is from Venezuela and, apart from being so much fun to photograph, was also gracious in allowing me to exercise my love for speaking (altogether stumbling) in Español.

One of my favorite things about Z + N was witnessing how their personalities and cultures so harmoniously blended into one. The proof lies in my favorite moments of the reception, where both Zach's family from the US and Nina's family straight from Venezuela filled the room: a giant beer mug (GIANT) passed around to everyone, bilingual toasts, something called "crazy hour" where everyone danced to music from all over the world and wore costumes...but most, most, 

most of all...

the spicy dancing.

It's always a bittersweet moment when it's time for us to leave a wedding. We are sad and happy to wrap up a full day of good photo taking, and then also filled with excitement to go and pick up Edith and squeeze her. When it came time for Tim and I to leave this reception, we simply didn't want to. I was filled with strong desires to keep watching all the amazing latin dancing, but also with visions of me having one ounce of the rythm and coordination to imitate what was happening around me. I kept mentally running through scenes from the movie "Dance With Me" (one word: Cheyenne) and told Tim we were renting it stat when we got home. We did.

Enjoy,

Rachel