Over my time behind a camera I have come to appreciate each piece of the overall story throughout a wedding day more and more. No couple are alike. I feel the art behind photographing a wedding is the human element coming to life in each photo. Love is a universal feeling yet no two love the same. That is beautiful.

I find it amazing how so many find different ways to pronounce their vows and each new union symbolizes the same word "Love". I suppose there is no verb for love so expressing it with symbols and actions helps define it best on this special day.

After packing up when a long day of celebration has come to the end, I go home and go talk over each detail from that day with my husband and share all my favorites.

Examples:

A) Blue shoes - who knew? I'm over here dying of jealousy and Amanda here is rocking her wedding day like the coolest bride I know.

B) The set of wine glasses - SO TRUE, thank you Amanda and Nate for setting the stage for real life in the Ever After days to come!

If I may speak out to those who are now married - Those who remember feeling a year or more worth of effort planning suddenly going by so quickly, and all that hard work having passed by in less than 8 hours. By the end of the day surely having felt it had been a blur and often now wonder if everyone soaked in all that hard work... we did. I certainly do.

When I miss my church service on a Sunday because I am with an amazing couple, I do not feel left out at home. I take home some really great life lessons at a wedding and I ALWAYS leave a wedding having learned something invaluable. Then I go home and share these invaluable life tips, into my own marriage. That is often what I look forward to most. And I am so thankful to all the couples who don't realize how much they are giving at their own ceremony.

One officiant said "it was by no coincidence we were all gathered together this day" to witness two people marry each other. This couple sat down and took the time to pick the people who impacted them the most, who supported them, who believed in their marriage and their journey they were stepping into and wanted them their to share this love that is so strong.

I love hearing personally written vows. I once saw a diary a bride shared for photos, that began with her and her fiancé's first date and she had wrote entires up to that morning on their wedding day and presented it as a gift to her groom before they walked down the aisle. Seeing his tears and her tears, that moment of surprise and thankfulness from each other....That reaction was worth every photo.

The friends and family who gather always share stories throughout the day of how the two brought everyone together that day. I am ALWAYS impressed.

This couple - Amanda and Nate Nguyen apparently were brought together by Nick (Amanda's dad) and hot motorcycles. - I think I speak correctly when I say it was the common make & model of Yamaha...and the cute guy on it.

What Amanda probably is realizing right now, what a great story her dad shared with everyone on this lovely evening that I am now so generously sharing with you all!

Amanda saw this cute guy on the nice motorcycle. She told her dad about the cute guy on the motorcycle. Amanda and her dad enjoyed their time together and by that evening Amanda told her dad something very exciting - She found the hot yamaha guy they saw earlier on FB!

Some joked about Amanda's ways of finding Nate, but I'm like Amanda. My family also calls me a "stalker" when we tell how Zack (my husband) and I met. I think we are just women who know what we want when we find it. And lucky for us - they were great guys we said "Yes" to after THEY proposed.