So yesterday Vasili and I photographed an amazing wedding at the Danada House in Wheaton, IL.  All the weddings we photograph are beautiful in their own way, but this was by far the most emotional wedding that I’ve ever been to (no, literally I was crying through the whole ceremony).  As I listened to Laura & Roy say their own vows to each other it was very evident that they have such a mature love for one another, and the words they spoke to each other were so powerful that it’s as if that love was strong enough to break through the energy field around them, ripple outward and inside each and every person who was lucky enough to witness it.  It made us all want to hold each other, cry, and reflect upon our own relationships or marriages – how we are as an individual and as a partner, and how do we want to better ourselves and honor our loved ones in the ways that we should.  Vasili and I were talking about it on the car ride home and we’ve definitely noticed a common theme in the weddings we’ve shot – during the ceremony, someone almost always brings up the notion that two of the most integral parts to a healthy and successful marriage are (1) you should never try to change the other person, and (2) accepting the painful but liberating ability to let the other person go.  And by ‘letting go’ that doesn’t mean to leave the person, but being able to respect and love that person as an individual and letting them be free to live their own life outside of being your spouse.  Anyway, enough words. Here’s a little preview of Laura & Roy’s day and hopefully you can at least grasp a small sense of the beauty and emotion that I’m talking about (and for the record, I had a VERY difficult time choosing which photos to put in this preview – there were just so many awesome things going on so keep in mind that this is only a fraction of all my images).

Oh and at the end of the evening people gathered outside for a jam session since a few of the guests were incredibly talented musicians.  They were kind enough to let Vasili play with them, and it turned out to be a lot of fun for everyone!  So I guess the moral of the story is, if you provide us with instruments, we’ll provide you with entertainment AND great photos =)  (and as soon as I can figure out how to put video on my blog, I’ll make sure to upload some footage I got of my man playing with everyone – it was truly an awesome thing to see)