This post is Part 1 of a 3-part series. Read Part 1 – Read Part 2 – Read Part 3

Here’s a tip for you, if you ever plan to attend a wedding at Joullian Vineyards: don’t use Google Maps to get there. Follow the directions given by the extremely personable owner, Ridge Watson, and you’ll find the place with no trouble. We’re not sure where the route recommended by Google Maps would have taken us. Probably off-planet. At one point we were prompted to levitate above a herd of cows while holding our breath and visualizing world peace. Had we the time to follow these unorthodox suggestions, we would certainly have returned to Earth with a strange tale to tell.

But this is not a tale of intergalactic explorations. It is the story of Gladys and Ed getting married.

As you probably guessed from looking at the photos in our previous post about their engagement session, Gladys and Ed are delightful people, the kind of clients who make you feel like you’re not really working while you take their pictures. In this post you can see the men getting ready in the winery’s offices while the women are putting on their finery in the conference room. Yes, those are real bugs in that jar; the three youngest bridesmaids were very interested in bugs.

This post is Part 2 of a 2-part series. Read Part 1 – Read Part 2

You know you want to read a poem right now.

At Amber and Sam’s wedding reception, everyone was crammed inside because of the rain and the rooms were all full of laughter and dancing. I’m not sure exactly why this Rilke poem seems to me to fit so well with my memory of that day. I think it’s because of the invocation of the divine in the ceremony, followed by the exuberance and intimacy of the reception. They chose bright colors for their wedding and they didn’t care if it rained and the toasts were funny and honest. I don’t know, maybe you had to be there but in any case this poem is great and it will give you something to think about while these photos load.

God Speaks to Each of Us

Rainer Maria Rilke

God speaks to each of us before we are,
Before he’s formed us — then, in cloudy speech,
But only then, he speaks these words to each
And silently walks with us from the dark:

Give me your hand.