Oregon Adventure Elopement: Sara & Emmanual's Mountainside Ceremony

June 2020 feels like a lifetime ago, right?

When I first met Sara & Emmanuel, we had dinner and drinks at a pub together, looking forward to a huge, weekend-long gathering of loved ones from across the globe. I was SO excited.

Sara & Emmanuel’s wedding ended up being incredibly intimate, with most immediate family members & guests unable to attend physically.

After more than a decade of wedding photography, Sara and Emmanuel’s wedding felt very much like a “first day” or a day of firsts, for me. It was beautiful and and heart wrenching and heart wrenchingly beautiful. Sara & Emmanuel are a TEAM, and the intimacy and slower pace of their day really gave me the opportunity to notice and appreciate the quiet care and thoughtfulness that they showed each other.

There were many events and invites that were foregone for the sake of the greater good. There were also these magical moments that happened, that just aren’t the types of moments that happen on large, organized event days. I have so much empathy for the nuanced decision making processes each couple went through this past year. The pandemic wedding season has been a crash course in nuance and difficult decisions. I imagine I’ll reflect on it for years to come.

Sara & Emmanuel - congratulations on your marriage, and thank you for including me on your wedding day. I sincerely hope there is a large family party possible in your not-too-distant future, and that I get the opportunity to stop by and check “our gigantic group photo” off of our goals list.

Carly & Luke's Adeline Farms Wedding

Let me be very up front about this. This is gonna be a looong post (as in I started out with 250 photos for blogging, and I worked real hard to narrow it down to this). Also, that’s not an apology. Not even a little bit.
I met Carly & Luke at Mercedes & Kyle’s wedding. At most weddings, I don’t get more than a few moments to chat with the wedding party in a non-photography manner, and, honestly, this wedding was no exception. But in that weird way that you sometimes just know you’re supposed to connect with people, I absolutely knew I wanted to see this whole crew of friends again (and again and again).
Although they were not engaged at the time, Carly & Luke were SO fun and so obviously in love, that I made a point to call “dibs” on being their wedding photographer (via the classic middle school style of informing their friends and not mentioning it to either one of them, because, let’s be honest, demanding to be someone’s wedding photographer when they’re not engaged yet might be a little weird.)
When you look at these pictures, take a moment to really look at the connections in these images. The parents of this couple are all so loving and supportive of their children and their marriage. I don’t have a poetic way to frame it, but it was just so cool to see such easy laughter and comradarie among all of the family members. They’ve clearly been ready for this official day for a bit. The un-scripted “first look” that Carly did with her dad (see photos) was just one of hundreds of examples that I noticed that day. And those truly happy smiles are plastered all over on Carly & Luke’s faces ALL. DAY.
And that feeling of casual, comfortable, intentional connectedness was a theme throughout the day. Luke’s Mom made his wedding tie. They opted to include Carmelo (their van) & their doggos in their first look, while loved ones peeked and quietly cheered them on. There are so many thoughtfully handmade decorations that weren’t merely used for wedding day, but also to decorate the couple’s new home. Even the venue they picked (Adeline Farms) embodied this feeling of intentional thoughtfulness. The owners, Jenny & Muriel (and their amazing team) were this amazing combination of “completely on top of everything” while being super kind, relaxed, and thoughtful. The whole day was really pretty great. But don’t take my word for it. Please check out the 178 photos that I decided best tells this story.

A Backyard Wedding in Citrus Country

High school sweethearts who grew into some of the best adults ever! ...And I can say that with some extra authority, because the handsome groom is my cousin! I can't officially speak for Sarah's family, but I know the Polito side of this love story had been eagerly awaiting this union for a LONG time. Tom & Sarah bring out the best in each other, and I was so excited and honored to get to be the lucky photographer who documented their wedding day. Not only did I get to see tons of my family members at their wedding, I got to spend several days with my awesome grandmother, and I got to photograph my awesome cousin and his beautiful bride at our family's Ranch, which is one of the most special places. Tom and Sarah - THANK YOU for entrusting me with your wedding day photography. You two are amazing and I look forward to many new chapters in your love story in the coming years!