Jess & Tim

You know one sure way to know if a couple are in love? When they lay eyes on one another, and one giggles while the other begins to cry, uncontrollably :). That's right, when they have so much emotion for eachother that it just comes spilling out.

It was a pleasure to capture that for Jess & Tim. It made the day so much more interesting to see the way they were so completely engulfed in, well, hope.
Hope for what the day would bring. Hope for sharing the rest of their lives together, even, as we would soon learn, hope for the sun to shine again, for a future.

The day was one to remember, as during the reception, Jess had to announce to everyone that a tornado was bearing down on our little town and it was time to head for the church basement. Some walked slowly, some a little more frantic in their pace, but everywhere, emotions bursting. Some were crying, some were excited, and some just wanted to see the show. :)
I was so locked onto the bride that I stayed in the shelter with her and the wedding party just a few minutes too long, until I just couldn't contain myself and went running for the door. A tornado, right here, on her wedding day! I couldn't help it. I had to get just one shot...But, I was too late and only caught the tail end of the storm as it went speeding by. Got really wet and windblown too.
But no matter what my camera captured, the day was classic. See, it's a perfect snapshot of what marriage is really all about, isn't it?
Sunny and easy-breezy one minute, storming like crazy the next.
Basking in the glow of love, God's gift bestowed, and finally huddling under the storm shelter of his protection, like the way a small child flocks to her daddy's legs in troubling moments. Some kind of home base, safe, mentality.
A marriage, in my 12 years, is about weathering the sunny days, and even the tornadic days, together, with His Grace as our shelter...
Sorry, but no camera can really capture that, because it takes a lifetime to see that masterpiece.