They sat on the couch across from me, occupying such a small space of nearness I envisioned them as a singular person instead of two. They stared deeply and warmly into each other eyes as they told me their story...how they met while working in the engineering lab at Cornell, brushed elbows in lab coats many times, shared small kindnesses and the kind of quirky, endearing humor that two engineers can truly appreciate in each other.  But it wasn't until Ben went overseas to work in a lab with several of Christine's former co-workers that he really started to learn just who this Christine girl is and how very perfectly matched they are for one another.  Once he returned to Cornell to continue his Ph.D. journey along with Christine...they began dating immediately and the rest, as they say...is history.  They giggled and held hands as they poured over the wedding books I showed them, excitedly sharing their feelings about their own upcoming marriage...it was as if they couldn't believe that in all the world they were brought together so fortuitously, and now that they had found such a perfect mate in one another...they were not going to let go, ever.

Christine's dress was handmade by an incredibly talented gown maker in Singapore. After Christine showed Ben her gown, he gave her this jewelry as a gift (which he picked out himself). It was the most perfect jewelry to compliment her gown. 

I adore the tradition of the bride's mother putting on her daughter's veil. It's such a significant event and a quiet passage of so much hope and love from a knowing mother to her daughter.

Christine and Ben asked their pastor from the church they attend at Cornell to preside over their ceremony.  Not a dry eye in the house...including me.

After this romantic, ever so sweet Rolls Royce ride from the church to the reception...I'm convinced that every couple should have a little alone time on their wedding day. So amazing!!

My absolute favorite image of the day...

A sneak peek of Christine and Ben's wedding!  More to come this week...

A few posts back, I wrote about how Debra and Brian invited me to New York City to document their engagement session.  Since my hubby and I had never been to NYC and rarely get to take vacations during wedding season, we decided to make a weekend of it.  Normally, when we visit new cities, we try with all our might to avoid looking like tourists, to look like we belong.  But as our giant airport shuttle drove us into the heart of Manhattan, my face pressed expectantly against the tinted window taking in the mass amounts of people, gritty streets, ornate architecture, street festivals, sidewalk vendors, endless, endless, endless buildings forever disappearing into the horizon...I knew that I was going to be one of those open-mouth, looking-up, camera-around-the-neck tourists. Meh, c'est la vie.

We spent three days wandering, eating and sightseeing our way through Little Italy, Soho, Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Midtown, Murray Hill, Times Square and Central Park.  I thought I would create a million images.  I thought my camera would be permanently affixed to my face.  But it turns out I was so mesmerized by the city, by the stunning architecture, iconic movie locations, the subway, the sidewalks, the shopping, the people, the heat, the Empire State Building, the food, oh sweet baby Jesus...the food, the heart-wrenching artwork at MoMA, the Brooklyn Bridge, the tops of buildings disappearing into tiny specks in the sky, the sprawling, historic, endlessness of it all...my mind couldn't process it fast enough. 

I was sure that I would be taken by the glamour of the city, you know...bright lights, big city.  But what resonated with me was the sense of personal history, the thought of thousands of hands that touched thousands of bricks, the raising up of buildings, families, careers, hope, and the comforting connectedness of a past that left grounded, physical evidence of it's existence.  I'm certain on my next visit, I'll have some much needed perspective and will create lots more imagery. But for now...this is a tiny handful of what was in my heart that weekend.