Lincoln Kingdom Hall Wedding

[Guest Kurt]

At the center of every wedding is a bride and groom. A couple in love, ready to start their lives together, excited about the future. And surrounding every couple is a family and a close circle of friends. And family and friends can be the difference between a strong and happy marriage and one that struggles. Family is important and weddings are as much about the joining of two families as they are about the couple who is getting married. Now don’t get me wrong, the couple IS the center of the day. I’m just saying that the circle is stronger with a good support system. Center, circles, rings…right?

As a photographer, I understand that capturing all the wonderful moments between a bride and groom is one of the most important things I do on a wedding day. BUT, it’s also important to capture all of the love from the family and friends surrounding them. Love is a big deal, and everyone who comes to your wedding is there to share in your joy (and hopefully there to support you in the times of strife as well).

And this family is no exception. They have seen seen two of their children married this year. Kelsey is Ryan’s little sister. I shot Ryan and Rachelle’s wedding this March (you can see that post here). And when I shoot families and friends of brides and grooms I’ve spent time with before, it makes the day even more special to me. Special because I’ve spent time with them already and it always feels like home to be around them again. Would you believe Ryan was more nervous to see his little sister get married than he was for his own wedding?

But back to the center of this post…Sam and Kelsey. They, like all couples, have their own unique story. These two have know each other since they were small children, we’re talking elementary school here. Not that they really ever paid attention to each other back then, but something special happened when they got a little older. They spent a significant amount of time together while doing missionary work for their church. After being in the presence of this beautiful, shy, doe-eyed girl for a time, Sam just knew she was the one. And when it came time for Kelsey to come back home, Sam didn’t want her to leave. And once Sam has his heart on something, well you can guess…this is a post about their wedding day after all!

And I can tell you without any doubt in my mind, this is all much to the happiness of both sets of parents as they have been long time friends since the kids were small. And so the family circle grows.

I hope you enjoy viewing these images every bit as much as I did capturing them.

source