Chic, Blue China Wedding in Western new York
My initial love of photography was founded running around Wellsville with my dad’s beat up Kodak camera, dressing my best friend up to the nines and playing with light. Wellsville is a tiny blip of a town no one ever knows the name of, it being a curious thing if they do. It was and is the home of where my love of portraiture first began to eclipse every other art form. Over the last few years I’ve worked all over the East Coast but I often find myself traveling the back roads to my hometown in Western New York.
As I’m driving the backroads singing my heart out and thinking about how much has changed since those early years, I find myself profoundly aware of how ingrained my small town roots are in my business. For me, photography is all about connection and relationship. Growing up in a small community taught me seemingly endless amounts about both. When Sydney reached out to me about shooting her wedding in our hometown at the Country Club, it felt like a homecoming that honored every year of growth and progress that has brought me to where I am today.
It’s a wild, beautiful experience connecting with friendly faces you haven’t seen for years and even more lovely to see the impact each has had on another. I am always in awe of the seemingly simple nuances and details a wedding day brings but it always feels a little dearer when so close to home.
Celebrating with Sydney and Roland was pure joy. The excitement and anticipation surrounding their day was palpable and it all began with the most intimate and heartfelt rehearsal dinner at L’italia with their closest family and friends. We cried, we laughed and most of all we spent each moment together celebrating this new chapter of life.
The following morning began with the little details. Over the course of the last two years Lori, Sydney’s mom, had been collecting the most beautiful array of blue china which was the cornerstone of Sydney’s vision for the wedding. Each place setting was set with unique china and each table was adorned with white florals for a summer garden party feel.
I always adore the way the details of a wedding day express who the couple is and what they love. It was clear to see the intention behind many of the details for their day and even more apparent how many people banded together to bring it to life.
Love and life are untamed things that often find ways of surprising us with connections we’d never expect. For Sydney and Roland it was as if their whole lives they were making their way to one another. During their ceremony it was remarkable to hear the similarities between their vows to one another as the emotions flowed freely through their words. Cliches were invented for moments like these, moments where everything just clicks and two halves become whole.
I’ve never lost my wonder or let the immense honor of documenting someone’s wedding slip away. It’s a privilege and a joy to document lives, fresh chapters, families and love in this way, even more so having walked a part of life's path side by side with some.
