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I first met Darcy & Ivy over drinks and tacos to talk about their wedding. We chatted about what they were excited about for their big day… the moments they wanted captured… the vibe they envisioned for the wedding… and they also shared with me some of the disappointments they experienced so far in wedding planning. The told of wedding vendors who were mysteriously “no longer available on that date” or who just flat out ghosted them when they realized that those were indeed two female names. This was my first same-sex couple to work with after shooting weddings for over 10 years… completely new territory for me.
To be honest, I’ve spent the past several years personally wrestling through this topic. I do business deep in the heart of Texas… the South. There are a lot of strong opinions about whether wedding vendors should “endorse” same-sex marriage. I’ve always felt a bit uneasy about making such a clear cut line. I’ve never felt like my work had to be an endorsement at all… I’m simply providing a service to another human.
But, the more that I’ve settled in to what my role is as a photographer on a wedding day and what I offer to a couple, I’ve realized that my responsibility is to simply tell honest stories for my clients. I strongly believe that all humans… regardless of race, religion, or sexual preferences… have the right to have their life documented and remembered.
I thought about the many times that same-sex couples hear “no” throughout their wedding planning process. They get excited about a certain vendor or venue… they find a photographer who is perfect for their style, and then simply hear “no”… Time after time. Regardless of where you land on the politics of the issue, the human side is just a different story. Where I “land” on this issue is that I want to document the diversity of the human experience and to serve all of my clients with all I’ve got… because we all deserve to have life’s moments remembered.
So, I proudly said yes to Darcy & Ivy.
I’m so thankful that they trusted me to tell their story and invite me in to their sacred space.
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Venue: Messina Hof Winery, Bryan, TX
