It’s always the smallest of things that catch your attention. The way two people stand. The way they look at one another. They way their bodies move around when they’re together. Sometimes, as with Ellen and Will, there’s a comfort there. Not as in two bodies entangled and entwined, but something much simpler. More familiar and comfortable – elegant – which is one of the most beautiful things of all. When a couple is so familiar with the other’s presence, that they just naturally reach out and know the other as part of them. Makes for a perfect sort of Brooklyn day.

The groom is a very special measure of the wedding day. It’s a telling thing when it’s wall to wall smiles from start to finish. When it’s not just a first look or a ceremony, but it’s in each moment, in each time you see them together. And that was Ryan. That was Ryan around Kristen, herself so full of life and so present. And even though you really couldn’t ask for more, sometimes, you just get more – a perfect day in the open air finishing with a perfect night day in an open barn. That’s how you top things off. Brilliant.

Some days surf a razor thin crest. A trickle of rain, a hint of a cloud, starting on lush grounds, Christine and Rob’s day threaded the needle, but hit all the notes with perfect pitch. It was beautiful. It wasn’t a day that would be stopped by the rain – there wasn’t even a pause. It was rich and wonderful and joyous. The clouds parted, as if on command, right as they rolled into the venue with big smiles and that type of look you only get on a day surrounded by everyone you love. I couldn’t have been happier than being there to see it. This is what weddings are about.

When Carissa reached out to me, there was something very personal and intimate that caught my eye. I couldn’t say exactly what it was. Maybe it was the words or the story or the way they put it all together. But you learn about a couple – who they are, what they do, and why they do it – you learn a little about what makes them tick – that he’s a writer and she a designer, that they’re both artists, not just in title, but as a through line that compels their living – you give back and share of yourself as it all goes down, and it reminds you about the power not just of the image, but, really, of connection itself. Of being there with two people, who let you see them and know them – that’s what life is all about. Ryan shared a quote from Ubuntu philosophy during our time together: I am, because you are. And aren’t we all?