Matthew + Amanda + Jack (Los Olivos)

Matthew and Amanda aren’t like most couples. Instead of a booking a huge venue and throwing a crazy expensive wedding, Matt + Amanda wanted to do something more ‘them’. They wanted an intimate ceremony with just their son, Jack, and their pastor in attendance. It was an incredible honor to be one of the few observers while they made heart-felt vows under the branches of a mighty oak tree in a cow pasture just outside of Los Olivos. I never thought in all my days of wedding photography that I would see a bride, in a full-on wedding dress, hopping a fence with a sign declaring ‘No Trespassing’ in order to walk down the aisle to her awaiting groom. The ceremony was so intimate that during the reading of their vows the pastor and photographers all backed off while they opened up their hearts and poured out tear soaked commitments to a lifetime spent loving each other and Jack. It was beautiful to watch Matthew bend down to Jack and commit to lovingly fathering him for the rest of his days. It was impossible to not be affected by the weight of their emotion.

After the ceremony the videographer and me were the only ones around to sign as witnesses on the marriage certificate. Again, what an honor! We spent a little time shooting portraits of them as the sun descending behind the horizon of golden hills dotted with specks of grazing cattle. How beautiful love and marriage can be; simplified, stripped down and yet overflowing!