Trent waited quite some time for this day, to marry Emily Hennessy. The first time he asked her out was in high school, to be exact. The timing must not have been right because her answer was no. Years and years down the road, after high school, after college, the timing finally seemed to be right . . . until Emily put him in the friend zone. And he waited there for her, the “friend” who invited her to take swing dancing lessons with him, until she realized she loved that steady friend of hers. Really, really loved him.

Waiting, in the moment, is not fun. It’s just not. It may seem sweet when I talk about it on a wedding day blogpost, but the reality of waiting is not an enjoyable task. But some things are just worth that perseverance, right Trent? I love the look on his face in this first image as Emily looks up at him. He’s living his dream, walking hand in hand with Emily, on the day they got married.

It was a sweet, effortless day. Emily’s sister did her hair and make-up. The flower girls made up of Emily and Trent’s niece and cousins ran around the bridal suite in awe of all things bridal. Emily and Trent’s first look was flooded by the most beautiful, golden sunshine. Their outdoor ceremony was only minimally interrupted by rumbling thunder but the rain itself held off until all the guests had made their way inside after the pronouncement of husband and wife.

I particularly enjoy the sequence of the next two images — Emily looking up at the sky as the thunder rolled ominously during their outdoor ceremony followed by her looking over at her sisters all “Here we are. Let’s see what happens.”

It was here, knowing the rain would inevitably start falling soon and our original plan for sunset portraits after the family portraits would not be a possibility, that I rerouted Emily + Trent from our original gathering spot after the ceremony to that bridge just a short ways away. I wanted to pull them away even if for a single minute to allow them to soak in what just happened and give them some portraits together after they were married. What followed were some of my favorite bride-groom portraits of all time mostly because what was happening in front of me was so real. I didn’t have to say a word beyond guiding them to the bridge. They just held each other, the storm overhead growing increasingly dark. It couldn’t have been more than two minutes we were on that bridge. But every second of it was beautiful.

Because I was exposing for skin above it made the sky appear much brighter than it actually was but here are some reference photos for what it really looked like in those minutes directly following the ceremony. Then came the rain.

I’m so happy for y’all, Emily + Trent. So dang happy.