Backyard Wedding
Last minute wedding plan changes due to COVID-19, has definitely been a reoccurring theme in my blog posts over the last couple years. The hope, was that by 2021, this whole pandemic would be over. And while I do see a white light at the end of the tunnel, we’re still very much in the thick of it. Samah & Rene actually got engaged during the chaos of last year. And since they never had plans for a big wedding anyway, a simple backyard wedding worked just fine for them. COVID restrictions gave the perfect excuse to go small and elope. With outdoor gatherings limited to 25, they were able to invite some close family and have an intimate ceremony without ever leaving home.
Civil Ceremony
Their civil ceremony was done outdoors as a backyard wedding. Their officiant had married the groom’s brother a few years ago. So bringing him on for this event was a simple decision. It was expected to rain, but the weather held out just long enough.
Once the ceremony was complete, we did a few rounds of photos with their family around property grounds. Afterward, it was just the couple and me and Milliken Park. They were so cute together.
Every crazy idea we came up with, they said ok to. It’s very rare during a normal full day wedding that I would have so much freedom when it comes to the formal portraits. General there are restrictions with the dress, issues of getting the couple dirty, or even a simple lack of time. But aside from the ceremony and their portrait session, there was nothing else planned for the day. They only had me for two hours. But we got so many memories out of that time frame without needing to rush. And right as I was ready to get into my car to leave, it started to rain. Talk about good timing.