Jess looked in the mirror one last time, and one time again for good measure.  Her hair was perfectly styled, and her dress looked amazing, she reached her hands out to grab her bouquet and spun on her heel as she exited the room with the kind of grace and beauty that only a bride can command. She was moments away from seeing him, moments away from holding his hand and hugging him tight.
He had his back to her as she entered the room, nervous and exhilarated he turned around and they embraced, hugging one another so tight that I have to image their breath was taken away for that moment. Sure they had embraced one another hundreds if not thousands of times before, but never so tight as that first time they saw one another on their wedding day!
The fact that they saw each other before the wedding not only gave them the opportunity to have their first ‘moment’ alone on their day, but it also gave us some extra time to create some stunning imagery for them.
As a parent there are so many responsibilities and duties you are expected to conduct, and many rolls that you take on because you simply want to. But very few parents have the honor of officiating their children’s ceremony, and very few parents would be able to do it as well as Mike’s Dad did. The sentiment and personalized message that he was able to deliver for them was remarkable. I love the frames of him smiling at both Mike and Jess throughout the ceremony.
The personalization of the day was carried through to other aspects of the day as well, with Jess’ Mom making their wedding cake, and all the beautiful décor and flowers done by a family friend. I think Jess & Mike’s friends and family truly enjoyed the celebration they had put together.
Jess + Mike, I hope you have decades of happiness and many embraces and moments that take your breath away like this one did on your wedding day! I am so happy we were there to document it!  – April
p.s Blog Readers, this is just the first of many weddings we have to blog about, stay tuned for the weddings of Lanette + Tan, Mary + Chirantan, Gillian + Scott, Serena + Josh, Corie + Scott, and Alexis + Ben coming soon!