I first met Helena and Ryan two years ago at the wedding of their friends Meg and Jeff in Colorado. In the same town as the wedding that night, the band Widespread Panic was playing. So after the wedding, Nathan (who shot the wedding with me) and I went out on the town because the concert was over and the little mountain town was packed with people. Long story short, Nathan and I ended up in a house in the middle of the mountains that night with no way to get back to our hotel. So after waking up at around 7 a.m., I wandered outside to see if I could figure out where we were. A guy was taking out the trash, so I asked how I could get back to town. His reply: “Weren’t you the wedding photographer?”
That was Ryan.
I was embarrassed.
But two years later, I was shooting his wedding in Idaho. Needless to say, Helena and Ryan are very cool and very relaxed people. And also very, very in love. I have never seen a groom more excited to be married. Usually a groom will look at his new ring and say how strange it feels. Ryan looked at his ring like it was a newborn baby. He just glowed. It was a beautiful day.