[Photography has been on hold for me, but this was a special exception.]
Every wedding I get to be a part of is an honor, and it stays with me. Each marriage and couple is unique and beautiful. However, this particular wedding holds a special place in my heart. I have not shared this on my business pages yet - but in August of 2018, my husband and I lost our first baby, our daughter Harper Mei Lindelof. This is not the post to tell her story, but her life brought us to this beautiful, amazing couple. My husband and I met Emily and Rhyan in our support group in Portland, Oregon. They lost their precious baby boy, Harrison, in August as well - just a little over a week before Harper was stillborn. For those in the baby loss community, you become an instant family - nobody else can understand the immense impact of this loss, and the grief that is now a part of your life forever. We have grown very close with Emily and Rhyan and I was so honored when they asked us to photograph their wedding.
We all knew it would be an emotional day - most weddings are - but this one had a whole other layer to it.
This wonderful, fun-loving couple got married in front of their closest friends and family at the Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood in Oregon on a snowy day - and it was so incredibly beautiful. It was intimate, emotional, and overflowing with love. There were tears and there was laughter. There were moving words and awesome dance moves.
As I watched these two through my lens, I felt like I was seeing them through Harrison’s eyes - his amazing, courageous parents who despite experiencing the greatest loss found within them the love to come together and chose to walk this journey as husband and wife. Harrison brought these two awesome people together - he brought them here, to this moment. And though we all wished so much that he could be there as the little ring bearer he should’ve been - his presence was felt.
I loved that we could honor him with the precious moldings of his hands and feet, and that he was there between his parents at the alter. Also standing up there with them was Lenore, who Emily read stepmom-to-daughter vows to. Sweet Lenore also gave a moving toast that brought everyone to tears. I adore this precious family of four.
Em and Rhyan, thank you for allowing us to be a part of this special day, and for walking beside us on our own journey of loss. Your wedding was so very beautiful - and though it wasn’t exactly what it should’ve been, it was moving and a real testament to your love and the love that Harrison brought together.
(Harrison and Harper, thank you for bringing us together. We miss you. We wish you were here.)
xx Jamie
