Micah + Laura Leigh’s wedding is one that I will never forget. They planned an absolutely beautiful outdoor wedding at a really amazing venue in Lufkin, Texas. The Mansion at Sawmill Lake is definitely a place I would love to shoot at again. When I arrived, I found the bride and groom completely giddy about how the day would unfold, and the sun was shining in the sky. They had their First Look and we did all of their photos before the ceremony in amazing light, and just as we were finishing up with the last of the family formals, we heard rumblings.
Calls started coming in from guests that were on their way to the wedding that there was a major storm close by. Suddenly, it became apparent that the wedding they had planned for would look a lot different than they had imagined. If one thing was for sure, they were definitely going to be officially married by the end of the night… that was non-negotiable!
The final plan was for the wedding to take place inside of the beautiful mansion that was on the property. They would fit as many people as they could inside and the on the porch, and would just make it work.
As plans were changing, emotions were setting in, and water drops began to fall, I realized that my job needed to change as well. This was no time to sit around and think about how I was going to make this work or be bummed that the wedding would be indoors. Their wedding story was evolving and changing before my eyes, and there were tons of moments that they weren’t seeing happen behind the scenes that I was determined to capture so that they would be able to look back on their day and see how amazingly unique it was. Half their guests were helping bring decorations and food indoors so that it wouldn’t get rained on… people were chipping in to pull this wedding off because they all loved this couple. It was really cool!
When the ceremony rolled around and tons of people were packed into that small living room awaiting the bride, the emotion in the room was thick. As Laura Leigh made her way down the staircase to meet her groom, we all broke out in applause. It was happening. And the only thing that mattered in that moment was that Micah and Laura Leigh were standing there next to each other smiling ear to ear.
Their ceremony was so rich with emotion and a beautiful reflection of who they are and of the God they serve. I admit that I had to hold back a tear or two as I was capturing it all.
I was so blown away by the grace that this couple handled their wedding with. They came to understand that what would make their wedding more special than anything was that the plans would completely change and they would realize what aspects were most important. It ended up being such a fun night to be part of, and one that no one will forget about for a long time.