October 21st is a special day for me. It’s my 1st wedding day. No, I’m not hiding any extra husbands in the closet…it’s just the day that Jared and I were intended to wed in an intimate beachfront wedding in Akumal, Mexico. But despite my willpower (albeit naive) and sheer tenacity to hold on to that dream of mine, hurricane Wilma squashed my hopes like a tiny bug  as she landed on my ‘would be’ alter.  Yep, a hurricane literally crashed my wedding.

Here’s near where we were supposed to have the ceremony (beginning of the storm):

Despite this, no electricity and being locked in our rooms for nearly 4 days straight, Jared and I chose on that day to wed in our room with some impromptu vows in the dark, God himself our only witness and a can of lukewarm DosXX  for a toast.

Our first wedding photo (notice the romantic ’emergency candle’-light)

But I like to think that besides being a good story it was a wedding gift in itself that God gave, showing us that there is literally nothing that will tear us apart as long as we honor him and invite him along.

This past October 21st proved to be another amazing day as one of my oldest/dearest friends Diena and my cousin Devin got married in an intimate ceremony in Estes Park.  They SO BRAVELY trusted me to be their wedding photographer.  I admittedly *love* photography and part of me wonders if someday I won’t pursue it on a more serious level, but this was a teensy bit daunting for me.  I know how much my wedding photos meant to me (thank you Jamee!!!) so I was equally elated and anxious.

Here’s what I now know:

#1 a good photographer is worth their weight in gold, I bow down to you all!

#2 I will be buying better lenses ASAP

#3 I need practice, lots

#4 I LOVED this, thank you thank you again D&D for trusting me!!

Ultimately, it’s hard to mess up when the couple is this in love and well…gorgeous.  Here are just a few (or more) of my favorites:

By the way, this is our friend Travis Kaker who sang at the wedding. Turns out his anniversary is ALSO Oct 21st and he just so happened to have written a song called…wait for it…Oct 21st, which he is pictured below singing:

Love you so much D & D, thank you for making me a part of your Oct. 21st. May God bless you two with as much love and adventure as Jared and I (oh, and kiddos too 😉

For pics of the reception visit this blog post on The Cupcake Tower website.