Ending one chapter and beginning another never felt quite so poignant as it did this New Years’ Eve for Zach and Brooke’s wedding day…

In an open air chapel, their dearest family and friends kept warm under fur coats and fleece blankets, sitting close together on pews decked aisle-side by florals and candlelight. The mellow strumming of a guitar filled the spaces between hushed conversation as guests waited for the ceremony to begin… until, with a quiet air of unexpected magic, two flowerinas reined in everyone’s attention, dancing their way gently to the front of the chapel. With each light and fragile step, they seemed to usher in the sort of sentiment that seems to be reserved specially for wedding days… that sense that you are witnessing a series of once-in-a-lifetime events, each as fleeting, but each as meaningful as the last.

With grace and poise, the bride and groom closed the chapter on their lives apart, exchanging vows; exchanging rings. And then as the hours passed and ceremony turned to dinner and speeches and cake, formal dances and surprise dances… the night seemed to get younger with each passing hour, not older. The celebration crescendoed into whole-hearted grasping of any and all time remaining before the clock turned to midnight… until, with one final farewell to the year closing, the room exploded with a confetti of joy and tears to welcome in the new.

They say all good things must come to an end… but while I’ve packed my camera bags and we’ve each returned to our own homes, new good things are beginning, too. Zach and Brooke, as you start off into your own new beginning as husband and wife, may you see rhythms of grace throughout all your days together and find synergy dancing through the seasons of life. I am beyond privileged and pleased to have witnessed the beginning of this one…

Venue: The Cornealius Properties

Florals: Brooke’s Fresh Cut Flower Farm

Videographer: Freehand Films

Hair: Karen Barefoot at Salon 29:11

Makeup: Ana K. Moore Beauty

Band: The Band Punch

Catering: Under The Oak Catering

Cake: HannahCakes Bakery

Live Painting: Wildflower Artistry

Click here to see Zach & Brooke’s engagement session!