It’s about the Marriage

Jun 3

I jumped on a call with a new bride this morning who was asking me a few questions about their venue. They’ve chosen the most beautiful location for their wedding based totally on a rendering because while it’s still under construction there’s not exactly a guarantee of what it will all look like when it’s finished. She asked me if I wanted to come see it as construction came together so I could start to envision the light and locations for her big day and I told her about this last weekend.

The most important thing is the marriage.

The couple has to come first. It’s a rule we’ve stuck to for years and it’s something we have in common with a lot of the wedding industry except for maybe one tiny switch. We believe they should come first months ahead of their big day. Getting the chance to serve and love on and get to know a couple doesn’t come from a questionnaire or a weird forced coffee date, it comes from genuinely caring about these people. I was operating on very little sleep when the tornado rolled through Bentonville, Arkansas last week. I had actually come in that day from another wedding and when I woke up on Sunday morning and saw just how much destruction our cool little town had taken on my mind immediately went to the couple for the next weekend.

Crystal Bridges is only partly about the art.

I get it, it’s an art museum but truthfully this place is as much about being the art as it is housing it. The grounds around it are honeycombed with art and walking trails and places to just sit and take in the silence of the Ozarks and this storm was anything but kind to the tall old trees around the downtown Bentonville area. I can only imagine the anxiety Ellen and Connor and their families must have felt hoping that a tree hadn’t crashed right through their wedding venue on the week of the big day. Fortunately for all of the things this museum did have to handle that wasn’t one of them. So I showed up a little early to make sure Ellen was calm and happy only to be greeted at the door with big hugs from both moms, smiles from an incredible group of bridesmaids who would help drive the energy and fun throughout the entire day, a makeup artist I love working with, a wedding planning staff that was buzzing all over this place already making it look and feel perfect and a museum staff who were keenly tuned into all of the needs. I walked into a literal symphony of joy and preparation and a few hours ahead of Jared joining me I got to do what I love most about this job.

I was the artist.

Over the next several hours it seemed like we just kept bumping into minor obstacles. This path closed, that entrance closed, this exit blocked, that balcony closed. The potential was absolutely there to start to feel a bit frustrated under a tight timeline with a whole lot of high heels following us around the museum but that potential was never elevated one bit. This bride, this groom, these families, and these friends doubled down on the purpose. For 8 years these two have dreamed up this day and it wasn’t going to be ruined by anything, especially anything out of our control. So we floated, wandered, created along the way and the story came to life filled with color and emotion and composition in a way we were just dreaming it would.

I’ve shot a lot of Crystal Bridges weddings over the last ten or so years. I’ve seen it done in so many different ways but I know one thing is absolutely certain when working at a venue like this with a clientele at this high of a caliber. Vendor’s don’t do their best work when it’s easy, they show just how talented they really are when things get tricky. By now you’ve seen the photos and I think you’ll agree with me, from the flowers to the cake, the lighting and design, the catering and ceremony and perhaps especially the bride and the groom in the middle of it all this wedding came together in a really special way.

Ellen + Connor, Mary Beth + Sean, Terri + Lance, Daniel, Cara Ann, Carly, Collier and all the other hundreds of incredible people who pitched in, participated, or just danced their feet off all night. THANK YOU for the chance to share in this special day with you all, it was absolutely remarkable.

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