As a photographer, I have documented many walks down the aisle and otherwise have walked back up “the aisle” twice in my lifetime. When I found out last year that my own Daughter was going to be getting married, my first thought was, “Wow, my Daughter’s getting married… I’m WAY too young for that to be happening!” Turns out I guess I’m not. Besides not having seen Lindsey a ton the past 2 or 3 years due to her increasingly hectic life, the wedding was a long way off. So while I knew it was coming, it wasn’t hugely impactful. Yet. What I did finally realize, about 2 weeks out, was that the day had been coming for me, all along. Like an unstoppable zombie army, marching unceasingly toward its inevitable mission, it was coming. So, being the emotional guy that I am (I got teary-eyed during Toy Story III, I’m not kidding) I started to worry about my duties. Not worried if I could competently perform them or not, but rather, could I competently perform them without melting into a gelatinous puddle of blubber on the floor. Ah yes, the Father-Daughter dance, the FOB (Father-Of-the-Bride) speech, and yes, the most important Fatherly duty of all, walking my little girl down the aisle. Now it was finally hitting me… “WOW, MY DAUGHTER’S GETTING MARRIED!!!!!”

So the next thing I know, I find myself at the rehearsal. It’s at the gorgeous Moody Mountain Farm on the Wolfeboro/Ossipee, NH town line. We’re standing inside what I’m guessing was once a livestock corral—you can supply your own jokes about being led to the slaughter—the fencing being a 3 foot thick stone wall probably dating back to the 1800’s. It’s now lined with yellow lilies along with other various wild flowers in full bloom and is where the ceremony will take place. I’m watching my little girl… <ahem> Lindsey, listening to Jalum (her Fiancé) and their officiant, Jason, discuss some final details and it happens. You know that commercial, the one where the father is talking to his daughter, sitting in the car, about all the safety precautions she needs to take whilst taking his car out for a drive? Yep, that one. They show the Father’s view of his Daughter and she looks to be about 6 years old…even though she’s really 16 or 17. I studied my Daughter there, saw her furrowed brow squinting out the sunlight, the quizzical look on her face, wondering what would be said next… I was sucked back in time and saw, not a 20+ year old woman standing there, no, it was my 6 year old little Lindsey. And you know what? Her facial expressions were exactly the same!

Two days later, still worried about not losing it during my duties, I walked into the farmhouse where my girl was waiting for me to take her on the walk of her life. Nothing could’ve prepared me for what I was about to encounter. I knew she would be beautiful, but my oh my, she was STUNNING! As soon as I entered the room there was the most amazing atmospheric transformation. The air was replaced with pure emotion. Lindsey, sitting in a pudgy living room chair, started frantically waving her hands and chanting, “Oh, no…no,no!” in an effort to will away the anticipated tears threatening her make up. I looked at her…I tried, I really tried. But that was it. Lost it. There she was, my little girl, looking SO amazingly beautiful. I had no choice but to lose it. A milestone. A moment in time I will never forget. It’s quite sobering. It’s like standing in the surf, watching a wave come towards you….your grandparents, your parents, you. The wave buoys you up, only for a moment, then continues on without you….your children, your grandchildren. It’s part of life though, so what else to do but embrace it? Relish it. The payoff of course, besides the memories, is an ever-expanding family and love. Lots of love. Welcome to my Family Jalum 🙂

The rest of the day was cake (pun intended). The trepidation of scattered showers dissipated into glorious sun and blue sky. As Jason gave his finest wedding talk, I just took it all in. To all you parents and parents-to-be out there yet to experience the wedding day of a child, I’ll repeat the advice I received from the MOB from one of the weddings we photographed last season. She said, “Just take it all in…it will be glorious!” She was right. The warm summer breezes stroking the fields of wild flowers, the mountains, the diving swallows, a soaring red-tailed hawk. Perfection. Lindsey was truly giddy with happiness and love as she repeated her vows. We ate, we laughed, we danced. It was a good day.

Of course, this was just my perspective that I’m offering you here on our blog. There are many others. We are so grateful to our dear friends, Kevin & Heidi (Kevin is Lindsey’s cousin) of Sweet Pea Photography for coming up from Pennsylvania to photograph and be a part of Lindsey & Jalum’s wedding, allowing me to just be “Dad” (you’ll ‘meet’ them in the second-to-last photo). They’re the ones to blame for Taylor and I becoming wedding photographers 😉 and we can’t wait to see their perspective! (we’ll keep ya posted on that) The love of my life, Taylor, looked SO gorgeous this day and I terribly regret not taking a photo of her (K&H are you listening? 🙂 but I thank her for taking most of the lovely images you’ll see below. We begin however, with a series of images I snapped with just my girl and I—no one else in the room (did I mention she was giddy?)—just before our walk down the aisle…

And lastly (above), the hard core crew (AZ representin’!) that stayed till the end. What great time we all had! Thanks to everyone that had a hand in making this an amazing event. And the wave rides on…

View Lindsey & Jalum’s Boston engagement session (with Tay and I at the helm) here. Oh, and thanks to the amazing vintage clothing store, Bobby From Boston for supplying my killer vintage seersucker suit!