When I saw the group of guys in shorts, mullet wigs, American flag wristbands and beer holsters around their waists crossing the parking lot toward me, I thought “this must be some kind of frat party or spring break thing. ” But no, this was our groom and his groomsmen, arriving to meet us (and the rest of the wedding party) at the marina for a sunset boat ride in Georgetown, S.C.
We cruised the harbor with cocktails, wine and beer on two boats captained by Sarah’s father’s best friends, and afterward hit up the very Southern-authentic Pawleys Island Tavern for more beers, bar food and a local live band. Needless to say, it wasn’t an early night. Yet the next morning I got a text from Sarah at 8 a.m. saying she was going to McDonald’s to pick up breakfast and did we need anything?
And thus the weekend began.
Sarah and Clint were married at Debordieu Colony, the very neighborhood where I grew up in South Carolina. It’s a beach community, comprising year-round residents, vacationers and summer-home owners. Sarah’s grandparents had a house here, so this place was always special to them. But Sarah and Clint found Ben and me completely independently of my having grown up here. Clint is a photographer himself, specializing in automotive commercial photography. And somehow they stumbled upon our work. Lucky for us.
I told Ben after their rehearsal dinner, “I’m going to have so much I want to say about these two on the blog, it’s going to be hard to edit it down!” And I’m finding that to be true. The main things you need to know though are, they waited to get serious until they felt that thing their mothers told them they would feel, where “you just know.” They are crazy in love, they are amazing partners, and man do they have fun together. They are also extremely thoughtful and loving people (their gifts to their wedding party were wine glasses and beer mugs with the recipient’s face painted on them – and they even had ones made for Ben and me, which blew us away. In fact I’m drinking out of my Erin-face wine glass as I type this!). Clint surprised Sarah the morning of the wedding with a video of some of his favorite moments with her, and had also somehow tracked down the actual page in the guest book from a bar that they had written in on their first date. From a bar that doesn’t even exist anymore. Sarah, who admits to being a major crier, cried for about two hours straight after that while her poor hair and makeup people were getting her ready for the wedding.
This wedding had lots of tears, lots of laughs, and some unique tidbits we will carry with us the rest of our lives. And I can say with confidence that these two special people are going to be part of our lives for a long, long time. Again, lucky for us.
(Side note from Ben: that last shot is for our friend and amazing photographer Jeff Newsom. Sarah and Clint really love Jeff’s work, so this was my attempt at the impossible – copying one of his nighttime light portraits. I will leave those to Jeff from now on. Using a tripod in the middle of the reception on a beach with glowsticks is too much for me to handle. But it was fun to try with Sarah and Clint!)