Read a little more about Nichole’s life as she shares her own wedding
Its been 5 and a half years since Craig and I got married. Time goes by so fast! I just wanted to share a little more about my own life and thought Craig and I’s wedding would be a good way to do that. This was definitely a DIY wedding and I loved every minute of it, even if it made me tired and a little crazy. We also thought it would be a good time to buy a house in the same week, so we were feeling a little overwhelmed. But everything came together and it was an awesome day!
Before I became a wedding photographer
We got married right before I decided to start this business. At the time I was taking a break from shooting and was working as a marketing manager for a local camera shop. We got married in California because that’s where most of our family are. We both grew up there. I grew up an hour north of San Diego, and Craig grew up just north of San Francisco. So we decided to take a couple weeks off work and make this wedding a long road trip.
As we drove out to California we talked a lot about the future and where we were heading. I told Craig about my desire to start my own photography business. I really missed shooting at the time and it was starting to wear on me. Craig was super supportive about that goal. He always has been supportive about so many things in my life. That’s one of the many reasons why I love him so much.
DIY Goodness and an Eclectic mix
We made so many things for this wedding. We also had an eclectic mix of traditions which was super fun. Craig is a pretty handy guy. He’s a good one to keep around ;). He used those skills to build a wooden archway for us during the ceremony. Since we were driving to California from Colorado, he engineered it so it could break down in pieces to travel well. I decided I wanted to sew a wedding dress. I don’t know what I was thinking?! “Something simple and fun shouldn’t be too hard, right?”, I thought to myself. It did end up being hard. I went through a ton of revisions, and ended up with a dress that was funky and fun, but it was a dress! Family and friends helped us do the flowers. I really wanted sweet peas, because they smell so good! We created heart garland with twine and paper hearts.
Strangely enough we both have family in Hawaii. Part of Craig’s family from there brought us leis and his cousin did a hula dance for us as well wishes for our marriage. We ended up with a rustic mountain, Hawaiian eclectic mix. We got married in Bishop because it was a central place for our families and one of our favorite places. Climbing is what brought us together and is a grounding force in our lives. Bishop is a climbing mecca with a ton of world class climbing routes. It was a super fitting spot for us.
Adventures Together
I carved into the inside of Craig’s wedding ring the words “adventures together”. In part because I wanted to remind us to go explore the world and have adventures that would feed our souls and make us better partners for each other. But also because I wanted to remind us to make our relationship an adventure, what ever that might entail. It could be buying a house, starting a business or having a child. I was excited to start a new part of our lives together and adventure into the future as a married couple.
The flash mob could have been planned better
During this time for some reason flash mobs were really funny to me. I thought it would be a silly fun idea to surprise Craig with one. It totally could have been planned better, but it was still fun. I enlisted some friends and family to help. At the end of the ceremony before our kiss I had our friend who married us initiate a song. This started a dance with the wedding party around the chairs and back down the aisle to the front. Some people in the chairs stood up and danced as well. It was kind of chaotic and ridiculous, and made me laugh. Craig just jumped in step with all of us. He gave me a little bit of hard time but was cracking up while doing so. That’s the effect I was looking for.
Thanks for reading
This wedding filled me with so many different emotions, from stress to excitement, to joy. I wouldn’t change anything about it. Thanks for letting me share and for taking the time to get to know me a little better.
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