Kate and Celeste - Styled Winter Elopement
On Tuesday I shared the beautiful boudoir images of bride Kate and today I am SO thrilled to be sharing their styled elopement! This day is one of my favorites of my whole 7+ year career and that's because I got to give back to one of the sweetest couples I know by doing for them what was in part done for me when Jordan and I got married. We planned our wedding in matter of weeks, relying on the woman who married us and a few friends to make our day special and when I look back at that day, I am reminded of how loved I felt and how much I wanted to pay that feeling forward.
When Kate mentioned to me that she and Celeste were eloping prior to Trump taking office, I knew I had to be apart. I had planned to photograph whatever their ceremony looked like but as I listened more and more, I knew that I had the resources, friends and skills to give her more than just images but an actual wedding day too. I asked if they would be willing to somewhat blindly trust me to plan a styled shoot around them and then let them use all the pretty to get married as well and to my surprise, they said yes.
These two decided to get married because of the looming inauguration of Donald Trump and the fear of what the next four years might bring. They are both activists, passionate about our world and making it a better place, no matter how cold and hopeless things might feel right now. Their love was what would carry them through the next four years and whatever came after that and that served as my inspiration for the day I planned for them. That love could keep us warm.
With a red, white and blue color scheme, the help of some seriously amazing (and incredibly generous!!) vendor friends, a studio rented from another photographer and a whole lot of pressure to make this right...Kate and Celeste said I do in the single most emotional ceremony I have ever been apart of. It was political, beautiful, and so charged with raw emotion that several times I found myself leaning into Jordan, not successfully holding back tears, grateful for all that came together to make that possible for them.
On Monday I will be sharing some behind the scenes photos from this day as well as some serious shoutouts to the people that partnered with me (scroll to the bottom to find links to their profiles though!) to make this possible + some words from bride Celeste, but today I wanted to just say to say I am truly blessed to have such giving friendors! Oh, and one last thing before I share all of my favorite images! Kate and Celeste...thank YOU for trusting me. In a community and world where people are quick to judge you and put you down and not care about each other, you two reminded me that choosing kindness is always the right choice. Thank you for allowing me the insane honor of doing this for you and for trusting my vision. You two were stunning brides and I am so excited for this next chapter in your lives!!! Know you will always be on of my favorite couples.
