All weddings are special, but this particular one was unique for me. I wasn’t only photographing a couple, but a beautiful family.
Kori and Chester had been friends for around 10 years before they reconnected in the Bay Area and admitted to always having had crushes on one another over the years. They began dating, and it quickly turned into an intense, devoted relationship. They became inseparable, and started envisioning a day in the distant future when they might make it official as husband and wife. They attended a slew of their friends’ weddings, and began picturing themselves in those roles. But they always saw that time as way down the road. Even though they had been friends for a decade, they had only been dating one year.
Then one weekend, as the two spent a day hiking and dining together, something seemed off with Kori. She was abnormally fatigued and bothered by certain smells during their meal. They knew what this could possibly mean, and took her to the doctor the next day. Yep, Kori was pregnant! After the initial shock, Kori and Chester sat down for a long discussion about their relationship, their devotion, and the future each had envisioned. They both felt 100% sure about what they wanted – they wanted to be by each other’s side for life. So after telling their parents’ the news of the pregnancy, Chester officially proposed, and they decided to get married. But we’re not talking about a quick courthouse wedding. They wanted a big, normal celebration with all their friends and family, before the arrival of their little one.
That meant planning a 300-guest ballroom wedding in just over two months. Guests were made fully aware of the reason for the short timeframe, and their friends and family embraced the news with love, support and anticipation. A wedding is fun enough as it is, but when you combine it with the celebration of a new baby, it brings things to a whole new level of excitement.
During my initial meeting with Kori and Chester I could see the passion and tenderness with which Chester treated Kori and the special sweetness and radiance emanating from a future mother.
Their Bently Reserve wedding was full of family joy and friendship – you could see that each person present was an important part of the couple’s lives. It was during the celebration that Kori and Chester found out and revealed to their guests the gender of their baby. It was such a momentous event, and I felt incredibly lucky to witness it.
Their little boy, Truman, was born in July, four months after the wedding. It makes me so happy knowing Truman will someday sift through his parents’ wedding photos and see the love and excitement that filled his life before he was even born. This is one wedding day that will always be special to my heart.
See our Charleston weddings here.