Ben + Cassi

Yesterday, I was extremely blessed to photograph my dear friends' wedding. I've been friends with Ben for nearly 5 years thanks to Raylene & Scott. We've gone on many road trips and gotten in many arguments over board games. (I hate so much to admit this, but usually, he was the right one.) Cassi and I connected in high school. She was in my squad in marching band, and we re-connected a little over 2 years ago through church. In the mean time, we've all been friends spending many nights eating dinner at my house, playing a ton of volleyball, and of course, more board games. Last summer, Ben decided to take his friendship with Cassi to another level. Yesterday, they made the ultimate commitment, and I got to photograph the entire thing.

First, let's talk about Cassi's dress. Her sister made the whole thing! The lace came from her grandma's dress. She also made all 6 bridesmaids dresses. So much talent!

Let's talk about the ring. One day in September, my friend Raylene and I were babysitting together. Afterward, we were at lunch when Ben called her, and said we could go see the ring he was thinking about buying Cassi. Ray and I can't say no when it comes to anything dealing with weddings, so we hopped in the car to go meet them. It was such a fun day, and we could tell that Ben was head over heels for Cassi at that point. 

This photo was taken while ring shopping. Scott is standing in for Cassi, so Ben can practice.

 Cassi picked out the wrap to go around the three stone ring Ben picked, and I absolutely love it. It's so unique and classic.

Hands down my favorite part of photographing the wedding day is getting to witness the first look. It's such a wonderful and real moment for the bride and groom. 

The bridal party was fantastic. They put up with me taking them out in chilly weather just to have some natural-light photos. The boys moved benches for me. The girls didn't complain too much about the wind. The bride and groom even trekked over to some train tracks for me. It was great.

A great thing about photographing friends weddings is you get to spend time with friends all day. And yesterday was extra-awesome because Bryce came in from Hawaii to stand by Ben. These two have been friends for ages, and they can make me laugh like no one else. Aren't they so handsome? 

Plus I get to spend the entire day with my fabulous second-shooter, Cherish, who happens to be Bryce's sister. One day I'll blog about how Cherish and I connected because it's a pretty good story. We've been through so many weddings together, and now she's getting married in September.

A few more of my favorite shots from the day...

 

Cherish had a cool vantage point for the communion. I wish I had room to show you all of her shots.

I am so thankful that I got to be part of this day. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the flowers, and the dresses, and the location. We forget that a wedding day is so much more than that. It's the start of a new family. It's a huge commitment to love and living life together, and I'm so lucky that I get to photograph that. 

Here's the video montage if you want to see more photos:

:j