May 12th was the first wedding of the year for me, and it was a great one to do. Emily and Geoff were married in Bethany Beach, DE on a slightly overcast at times, hot day. I was working with Rob Nicholson of Humbled Eyes Photography, and it was a great way to get back into the swing of things.
In conversation, it was obvious that this couple had a real love for the beach, and it showed in the way that they planned out their special day.
The ceremony happened at about noon, on the sand. A circle of dried grasses and sea shells surrounded an altar where items special to the couple were placed. It was a very relaxed event, where the only suit was worn by the groom. Emily walked down the sand dune that blocked the beach from the rest of the gated community, and down the aisle made of the same dried grasses and sea shells as the circle, the guests parted and a simple but beautiful ceremony followed. The reception was held at a restaurant within walking distance from where the ceremony took place.
But that sounds like an official summary. I had plenty of reasons to be excited, and not just because this was a beautiful wedding of a really fun couple. Firstly, this was the first wedding I was doing with Rob. It’s always very exciting to work with someone new, but it can also be hectic, depending on the person. I work hard at each and every wedding, but my interactions with the people I work with and for is very laid back. I am an easy going guy, and it was great to find that Rob was just as easy going. Things started to click almost immediately, and it certainly showed in the photos.
I had lived in Kansas City for three years before moving back to the east coast. Outside of my own honeymoon a little over two years ago at the time, this was the first time I had seen the ocean and stood on a real beach. Yes. There are “beaches” in Kansas. They are very small and gravely, usually on the shores of smallish man-made lakes. Having grown up in New Jersey, and having been to the Jersey Shore many more times than I can count as I was growing up… they somehow did not count. Ah, it was glorious. I had not realized how much I had missed the sound and smell of the ocean before I wound up in a land-locked state. It just goes to show that you really never appreciate the things that are so readily abundant until you find yourself deprived. It’s just like some mothers tell their children “You should eat your vegetables because there are starving children in some far-away place”. You should enjoy the beach as much as you can if you are close to it, because there are poor land-locked children somewhere in the Midwest that have no idea what a real beach is.
