It all began in New Orleans eight years ago, when these two met on Dorian’s front porch during a party. They felt that thing, that thing that no one can ever really pin down. It’s a newness and a familiarity all at once, a knowing feeling that this is it.
“In that moment, I knew you were the one,” Dorian said to Maggie in his vows.
We have known Maggie and Dorian for six years now. Maggie is a photographer, and Dorian is a filmmaker. They often work together, Dorian as her second shooter, and Maggie as his second camera when they’re doing video. They are a team in every aspect of their lives, and somehow they are still just as enamored with one another as they were that night back in 2007.
Travel is a big part of their lives, and once they saw Villa del Balbianello, during a trip with friends around Italy, they knew this is where they would someday marry. Words cannot describe the beauty of this place, but I’ll try – majestic, stately, historic, peaceful, otherworldly, and … is this even real? We were a group of about 50, staying in a small hotel across the lake from Balbianello. Together we sipped prosecco and red wine, choked down limoncellos, ate way too much pasta, wiped incessant tears watching these two become husband and wife, danced into the night, and on the last day bravely leapt (well, I eased) into the frigid water and swam to a far-off landing, where we defrosted our icy skin in the sun (which remains one of my favorite memories of my life).
But the beauty and adventure of a wedding location doesn’t really mean anything, in the end. In fact, as photographers, we had a hard time getting to high-enough angles to adequately show the true expanse and impact of Villa del Balbianello.
What it’s always about, is the two people standing at the front of the aisle, remembering that feeling from the porch, and knowing that as great as that was, it was nothing compared to this right now.