Jennifer and Peter's wedding was not only a unique occasion, it was definitely one for the April K Photography history books! Let me break it down for you via text and then let your eyes be dazzled by the beautiful art we created. Jennifer and Peter started off their day with a first look, {always a great idea in my book}. This was followed by a small but very beautiful ceremony with their immediate families at Sonnenberg Gardens in Canandaigua, NY. The ceremony was very emotional and very heartfelt. Jennifer and Peter are rare couple in the world of weddings, which is refreshing for me to see. They didn't care about inviting everyone they know or following the wedding rule book… To them this wedding was solely about committing their lives to one another the best way they know how, with a little adventure! {I love me some crazy adventures}
When I asked Jennifer what provoked her to "trash her dress" she had some very thought provoking and inspiring words….
“What?!?! Why on earth would you want to trash your dress?”—yup, that’s a pretty good way to sum up most people’s response as they gasped in shock when they found out we were incorporating a “trash the dress” session into our big day. I even think our own parents thought we were a little crazy as first. However, nothing about our relationship was ordinary or without adventure—we first met on a bike ride that Peter organized through a local outdoors meet-up group on-line. Our first date wasn’t a movie and dinner at some romantic restaurant, but an afternoon at the Buffalo zoo. It was so us! Our first trip together wasn’t to the beach and we didn’t stay in a fancy hotel—we pitched a tent at a campground in the Thousand Islands and went white-water rafting. It was perfect and exhilarating, and even the river of rain that nearly washed our tent off the ground couldn’t dampen our mood. The best gift I ever got from Peter wasn’t some expensive piece of jewelry, but two tickets for the both of us to go sky-diving. Talk about the biggest rush of your life—it was the best birthday present ever.
Though I had always dreamed of finding that one guy I couldn’t live without and falling deep in love, I was never that girl that dreamed all my life of a fairy tale wedding. So, after falling in love and realizing that we wanted to spend forever together, Peter popped the question on a chilly fall day as we hiked by the base of Akron Falls (sense a theme yet!?). Of course, I said yes and after we were engaged it took us a while to envision our perfect day. Pretty early on, we decided we were throwing tradition out the window in many respects and just going to follow our hearts and do what felt right. Part of this was including a “trash the dress” session at Grimes Glen in Naples, NY into our wedding plans. In many ways I don’t really like the label “trash the dress”. We didn’t choose to hike the creek in our wedding attire and take pictures by the gorgeous waterfalls because we wanted to trash the dress, we did it because it was us—it was the perfect way to begin our married life together and trashing the dress was just a potential consequence. To me, the dress wasn’t something I was attached to; I was simply inspired to create unforgettable memories with my only true love on one of the most important days of our life and continue the adventure we had already started. It was truly an amazing once in a lifetime experience and it was during this portion of the day that we felt most relaxed, true to our self, and closest to one another. There was just something about being surrounded by nature in all of its beauty and hearing the sound of waterfalls surrounding us that allowed us to clear our minds, reflect on the love we share, and just be present in the moment together. It was really indescribable.
One last thing for anyone who might be wondering, my dress really didn’t get too dirty and I’d hardly consider it “trashed”. Though I haven’t decided if I will have it done, I’m almost positive it would clean up and preserve perfectly without anyone knowing what it went through. But to me, my wedding day was never about my dress and I don’t feel like I need to save it beautifully pressed in a box in my closet for years to come.
All I wanted from my wedding day was to make an everlasting commitment to the love of my life, while surrounded by family, and celebrate with something that would always remind us of the mutual sense of adventure that brought us together and helped spark the love that we now share. That is exactly what we did!
Refreshing, pure and true to what you believe is what it's all about. Lucky for me they couldn't have picked a better more willing person to photograph their day :) I was in heaven right along with them.
Jennifer + Peter I wish you loads of laughter and love on your crazy journey!
Peace, Love & Adventurous Marriages,
April K
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