I love what I do. I always have, I probably always will. You are witnessing love, intimacy and something so special it often makes me weep. I get caught up in the moment, in that teeny little time when it seems to the couple that everyone else has fallen away and that they’re the only two people on all of God’s green earth. The warp speed of a wedding day comes to a screeching halt and they share that moment together.

At least they had that. We all know they had that. I knew none of the circumstances of my Mt. Pleasant, Michigan wedding at Bucks Run Golf Course. I often don’t. I met the bride, hung out with her for a while capturing her getting ready for the wedding ceremony. No groom. Not yet. What I soon learned was that the groom - Brad - and Katie had decided to do what few couples have to decide to do. They wanted to make it official, to let the world know they were in love and devoted, ’til death do us part.

This wedding had every giddy, silly, spontaneous and teary-eyed moment most of the weddings I’m lucky enough to cover have. Love was in the air and all that. A GREAT time had by all. You never would have known but for a few, brief times when the groom needed a small break. This was one of the most intimate, fun and goofy weddings I’ve ever photographed. I’ve NEVER before been shot with a Nerf gun (by the bride’s mother, none the less) as I left at the end of the night. So much fun, so much love.

I’ve just learned, belatedly, that Brad lost his fight with Cystic Fibrosis while waiting on the transplant list for a set of suitable lungs that never materialized. Katie’s missing a huge chunk of her heart. But the couple lived, of that I’m sure. They took advantage of every possibility that came along, that I know. They didn’t take the easy way out and they embraced hope.

My heart and prayers are with Katie and their families as they try to find their new sense of what normal feels like without Brad. I feel incredibly lucky that I got to witness and document this wonderfully happy, loving day for them.

This is why I do what I do.