Andrew & Lauren

From the big chapel, to the little chapel in the woods.

Like most weddings in 2020, things didn’t quite go as planned.

Way back in 2019, we met for coffee and anticipated an elegant church wedding where they would say their vows. Andrew & Lauren danced through the motions of planning a guest count and table placements, while I envisioned beautiful light filtering through steeple windows and soft moments in a larger crowd.

But within a few months of our thoughts turning to action, the full force of 2020 was at our doorstep. A pandemic, wildfires, political and social unrest, emotional turmoil. It was unimaginable, it still is. But through it all, love persists.

Most of the pieces turned to water. Constantly moving, difficult to contain. But one message to me turned the tide from unrest, to hope. “What do you think of this little chapel in the woods?”

On the morning of, a sweet low fog hovered above the roads. Typical Washington weather that wasn’t quite rain and wasn’t quite mist greeted me as I greeted Andrew & Lauren on their wedding day. Their first look was blessed with the day’s first rain, and the little chapel in the woods was the perfect home to honor their vows.