After a hiatus of a decade or so (just how long, I don’t want to say as that will tell just how old I am getting) I have am very excited to announce that I have decided to start taking wedding pictures again! This decision has me thinking more and more about weddings. I so love everything about them; the magic of the day and the beauty that fills it.
I have also been thinking about marriage in general and of what happens afterwards. There seems to be so much pressure on young people today and I often wonder if this new generation will have the ability to make a marriage endure. After the fairytale wedding has ended and the obstacles and problems of daily life occur what will happen? This is the age of the disposable, a time when people change jobs and houses every couple years, and sought after cell phones become obsolete after just a few months. Can a young couple who grew up in this ever-changing environment have a chance of having a marriage that lasts a lifetime?
I am honoured to be taking this lovely couple’s wedding pictures next month in Miramichi. We had been trying to arrange an engagement session over the summer months, but living in different provinces (they live near St. John, and I, just outside Halifax) proved nearly impossible to find a date to take the pictures. Last month we happened to be Miramichi on the same evening. I was on vacation and they were coming into town for a wedding. A very hectic day filled with everything going wrong resulted in them arriving later than planned (and by the look of them when they got out of the car, it hadn’t been a pleasant drive either). When I saw the tense looks on their faces and realized the sun was already setting, I didn’t have much hope of engagement pictures.
But I was happily mistaken. They took a breath and after the fastest wardrobe change ever, we hurried outside to a field just outside the house where he grew up (we didn’t have time to go anywhere else). I got them to stand together and look each other, and when they did the stress of the day instantly disappeared, only to be replaced with a love that was impossible not to see. It was obvious that when it really mattered, the little things were pushed aside and the true relationship emerged. It was the fastest photo shoot I have ever taken. In an instant the light was gone, but in those few minutes I saw between them a love that had a depth and strength that was unwavering. We managed to get some beautiful images that they will have forever as a remembrance of this part of their life journey together. As I drove away that evening I had a smile on my face. I realized my fears of the disposable had melted with the setting sun. That while life seems to be ever changing there are still some things that are timeless. And this makes me so very happy.
