Family and friends

This is a picture of Kat and Tom, a delightful couple, taken by Diana Bezanski, a tremendous photographer. Kat and Tom's family and friends followed their lead to a playful, gorgeous wedding at the Fonthill Museum. During the ceremony, they stood with them, sang for them, encircled them and laughed & cried as the couple got married; here Kat and Tom are showered with joy as they recess.


Your family and friends are probably the most valuable element of your wedding. Even if, say, you elope, the telling of that story cements the moment in the world around you. To share the feelings of joy, or love, or maybe of slight trepidation - binds your life with those you gather around you. It's a huge gift you give, and receive back.

I always love meeting the family and friends of a couple I am marrying. Usually, I have gotten to know the two of them over a period of months, and, at the rehearsal, I see them anew with the people who mean so much to them. A parent may call one of them by a childhood name that I don't know; someone might tease them in a way that indicates longtime and intimate knowledge; or maybe a brother stands off to the side, quietly observing his sibling's big step. Every one of these tiny specifics adds to the story of the wedding of these two people. It's a rich narrative, and something to treasure.

My husband and I have a friend, Silvere, who advised us during our wedding reception to "gather up all the love" that was surrounding us that day, and keep it for whenever we needed it. We did, and we do.