I’m so thrilled that I got the opportunity to meet Nicole & Will. I would never have had the chance to meet such genuinely thoughtful & enjoyable people, if  they hadn’t asked me to photograph their wedding.

Will is such an easy-going, happy guy; probably one of the most animated grooms I’ve worked with. From his personality, you’d never know that Will is a soldier, who was badly wounded last year by a buried bomb while on duty in Afghanistan.

One thing that was immediately evident to me about Will is that he doesn’t take anything for granted. It’s obvious that Will is completely devoted to his family, friends, his beautiful blue Oldsmobile Cutlass and, of course, Nicole.

Nicole is a bride who knows what she wants. This is not to say that Nicole was a “bride-zilla” by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, there were a few hiccups in the schedule over the course of the day, and Nicole didn’t seem the least bit upset or stressed about it.

By “she wasn’t upset” I didn’t mean that she didn’t cry. The photo above was the first time (of many) that I captured Nicole crying. She had just finished having her dress tied up and I had her mom & bridesmaids stand behind me while I took a couple photos. I couldn’t see behind me, but I can only assume that tears were flowing behind me to inspire this reaction from Nicole.

Nicole asked me to take a photo of her sentimental tattoo. I love how it turned out.

The limo ride to the ceremony was, for the most part, a dance party. But there was a moment of calm just before we arrived.

As per tradition, the bride arrived fashionably late. Will waited patiently at the alter, for his bride to show up.

Will wasn’t about to waste this kiss. Soon after, we jumped back in the limo to go take some photos, where the wedding party enjoyed a bottle of champagne.

I rarely make solid plans for wedding party photos. Winging it seems to always work out for the best. And this time, it definitely worked out.

This group was loads of fun to photograph. Everybody was super co-operative, but felt relaxed enough to joke around, which made for some great moments for me to capture.

Nicole could barely keep her eyes off her husband. The way these two look at each other is like nothing else.

During the dance-party limo ride back to the reception, it was as if Nicole & Will were completely alone, just enjoying each others’ company.

The reception was beautiful, the food was delicious and their cake was amazing. It had slanted tiers and the bride atop drags her groom up the slant.

After seeing these photos, Nicole emailed me to say:

Will and I absolutly LOVE the pictures!! They look amazing and only make us even more excited to see the rest of them!
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You were a great pleasure to work with! Very professional and fun and I have reccommended you to every one I know getting married :)

Spending the day with these two taught me a lot about how important it is to treasure the people you have around you. Nicole & Will are amazing people and like I said, I’m so happy to have met such a heroic couple.

Congrats, guys!