Chase and Hannah got married on a saturday in June in the backyard of her grandparents home. Her dress hung in the living room where all her bridesmaids got ready in the light of the window. Church friends directed cars to park on the lawn, and family members helped make homemade bruschetta appetizers in the kitchen.

Bustling: getting ready, sorting bouquets, preparing food for the reception. Joy: Hannah seeing her bridesmaids all ready for the first time. Excitement. Home: paintings and photos on the wall, family lingering in the living room.

The Intertwining of Lives and Memories

It felt like all that a wedding is meant to be – the joining of two families together; the intertwining of lives and stories on the very ground that held childhood memories.

The afternoon of the wedding day was a ceremony in the sun surrounded by family and friends. Hannah’s grandpa found the doors at a thrift shop and built them that week. People lingered long to celebrate and it didn’t feel like there was really anywhere to be other than right there at that moment. As the sun lowered over the trees and the chairs from the ceremony became chairs at the dinner table where guests drank their Italian sodas (from a soda bar of course) and shared a meal, we ran around the yard and took a whole bunch of photos I hope they show their grandkids.

Generational Gifts and Celebrations

Hannah’s grandparents gifted them a tandem bike that’s been passed down for generations (though we didn’t get to test ride it). They danced and sang and closed out the evening long after I left.