Sarah & Jack’s Charleston, WV Wedding

This introduction is going to be a lot longer than usual, so grab a beverage and get comfortable.

On December 21, Bobby and I were out running errands and we came back to two incredible inquiries in our email inbox.

At 12:44pm, this was sent to us:

Hi Emily!

We just got engaged and are beginning the planning process. We would love it if you were able to photograph our wedding day because your pictures on your page look amazing! We know other brides that have used you and were very pleased. We are finalizing our dates, but before we do, we would like to see if you were available. Are you available on July 22nd for a Charleston, WV wedding? Please let us know!

Fingers crossed!
Megan and Ben

Then, at 3:39pm, this came through:

Emily,

I just first want to tell you that I love love love (!!!) your work. You and Bobby are artists that so perfectly capture the smallest details of people’s wedding days that otherwise would be glanced over. I absolutely adore the work you two do.

I have been hoping to get you to capture my wedding for a very long time, and have been talking so much about how much I love your work, my little sister Megan contacted you today about shooting her wedding also.

It has been a big few days for our family, Megan and Ben got engaged 2 days before Jack and I did. Jack and I are both dental students at WVU and will be graduating in May. We are moving to Buffalo, NY in June… and are planning to wed on Friday, May 25th 2012 in Charleston, WV.

I really hope that we can work with you to capture these special times and memories.

Please contact me as soon as possible with information. I look forward to hearing from you, and hopefully getting to know you guys over the next few months!

Sincerely,
Sarah

They had us at, “We are finalizing our dates, but before we do, we would like to see if you were available.” Both emails sounded amazing, and I loved the idea of getting to know a family so well over the course of one wedding season- two weddings 8 weeks apart!

My favorite part of being a wedding photographer is working with so many wonderful families every year. Wedding days are filled with memories that families will retell for generations.  It’s an amazing thing to experience those moments from (even just as an outsider) every weekend. So when we got both Sarah & Megan’s inquiries, I perked up.

The very next day, we met for pizza & beer at Pies & Pints and chatted some more. (Aside – I’m almost positive that this was the only time we’ve ever had a consultation with anyone less than 24 hours after they first got in touch.)

We shot Sarah & Jack’s engagement session in February in Morgantown, and we shot Megan & Ben’s engagement session in April in Charleston (their shoot is getting blogged later this week!).

Sarah & Jack got married in May, and Megan and Ben are getting married in just a few days.

This is the story of Sarah & Jack’s wedding day.

I loved so many moments on their wedding day– the guys braving the heat to watch the Appalachian Power play from box seats, Jack’s mother’s reaction to seeing Sarah in her dress for the first time, their exit from the church, Sarah’s pre-family formals “whiskey face”, the speeches, the flower girl emerging from the photobooth.

Stay tuned for Megan & Ben’s engagement photos later this week, and then sneak peeks from their wedding next week.

Megan’s wedding is on Friday – we are so pumped to see Sarah & Megan’s family again and meet Ben’s family.

Thank you for reading and scrolling through!