Hilary & Joel's Wedding

The photo table

Exchanging rings

The Kiss

Hilary and her mom (our Aunt Cindy)

Father of the Bride (Uncle Tom)

This picture of Lily at the reception was just too funny to resist posting!

My mother-in-law, Uncle Tom, and a little guest

These last two pictures are my favorites!

Joe's cousin Hilary got married last weekend! The ceremony and reception were held at a beautiful apple orchard, the flowers and decorations were absolutly perfect, the ceremony was quite meaningful, Hilary and Joel were just beaming the entire afternoon and the food was delicious (I could have eaten a whole bowl of the incredible apple salad)! It was a beautiful coming together of two people who know and love the Lord.
Of course the day (like most) wasn't without its glitches. The ceremony was planned to be outside, but it was raining most of the day. The backup church nearbye was so muddy that they decided not to use it at the last minute, so the ceremony was held at the reception location (inside the barn of the apple orchard). Despite all of the changes and challenges it was a beautiful wedding.

It was also the first wedding I've photographed! Of course I wasn't "the photographer" as they hired a professional, but I still had the wonderful opportunity of being involved. And to be honest it was a challenging experience for me. I think I was a little too concerned about staying out of the way of the actual photographer and just staying out of the way in general. I've also been having some significant focus problems with my camera lens (which I sent to be fixed after the wedding), and given the rainy, cloudy day the lighting was a little challenging for me. I wasn't thrilled with how many of my pictures turned out, but more than anything it was a learning experience for me and for that I am grateful. And I definitely learned a lot even just by watching the professional photographer and how she moved around. I learned that I have a lot to learn! I really need to learn more about lighting, composition, and photography in general. I am excited to learn. So here are a few of my favorite photos from the day. Lily was having a hard time after dinner so we ended up having to leave pretty early (which is why I don't have many pictures from the reception). A beautiful couple and a good learning experience for me. Thanks Hilary and Joel for letting me be a part of your day!