Being more than a photographer

What can I say? I love a good wedding story.

Shelby and Kevin’s wedding was a celebration of love, of triumph, and of reassurance. Watching my family friend’s daughter and her lucky new husband celebrate their love watered my eyes more than once during the wedding. Now that things have calmed down for them, I finally get to reflect on how sentimental this wedding story was to not only Shelby and Kevin, but to me, and to everyone that ever formed a connection with the bride.

Of love.

Shelby and Kevin were wed under a magnificent wooden barn frame. More specifically, the wooden barn frame was built by Shelby’s father, providing them a sturdy, airy, and made-with-love personal touch to an outstanding ceremony. The rest of the night included heart-wrenching speeches, laughing, dancing, and smiling for the couple’s future.

Of triumph.

A couple years ago, Shelby was diagnosed with stage 4 Melanoma. The news took the air out of everyone who loved her. Most of all, it broke down Kevin, her soulmate, who had to hear about it overseas, as he was serving in the military elsewhere.

While everyone around her crumbled, Shelby had a future planned that was not coming to an end anytime soon. She did her research, stayed focused on her plan to survive, and didn’t pull any punches in searching for and identifying the best options for treatment.

As you can see in the wedding pictures, she made it. In a way, the marriage confirmed that Shelby (and Kevin) overcame cancer.

Of reassurance.

This wedding story was a unique one, with twists and tailspins around every corner. Before Kevin’s deployment, the two were married on paper, where shortly after, Shelby found out she was pregnant! After some months, her husband arrived home safely, but Shelby’s newly discovered cancer threatened their bright future together. Shelby clawed her way through it, and finally  went into remission. As soon as things settled down for everyone, they whipped together a wedding in three months’ time. The wedding signified that Shelby was O.K. She and her husband went from not knowing how much time they had left, to feeling confident that they would be together, with their friends, family, and baby for a long time to come.

Shelby assured me that I was hired for my skills, not my relationship with her and her family. However, I became much more than a photographer for her, knowing her story, understanding what makes her tick (and un-tick!), and watching her and Kevin’s story unfold.

These two will be the subject of more posts to come–Shelby has a mobile boutique and a family photo shoot that needs to be shown off–it would be a crime for me to hide those adorable pictures from the world. Tune in to the blog for more details on Shelby and Kevin’s love story to come!