Laura and Jason @ River Plantation

Since the day I shot Laura and Jason's wedding at The River Plantation, I have been looking forward to telling their story visually here.

As a photojournalist, I could not ask for better subject as Laura and Jason allowed me in on some of the most emotional moments of their lives. It was an honor to be able to cover this time in their lives.

I dont think any amount of words can really sum up this story, and I also did not think that a normal blog posting would best tell this story as well. So this time, I opted to put together a multimedia slideshow to best communicate the stories told this day.

This story is a reminder that not all of our days are exactly as we always envisioned. But as Laura's brother who was the officiant for the wedding said, "but we'll take all this in stride as Gods will and perfect plan, knowing he works everything for our good. We love and we trust him."

-- UPDATE --

- We have had a lot of inquiries into this wedding and the story behind it, so with the permission of the Bride I am happy to provide a little more detail.

Jason and Laura contacted me back in March, and I was happy to meet with Laura and her wedding planners to discuss plans for her wedding.

Engaged at the beginning of the year, Laura and Jason originally planned on having a June 2010 wedding. However, about two weeks after her engagement, Laura’s father was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. Doctors did not suspect that he had more than 6-12 months left with us. Laura clearly has a strong bond with her father, and describes herself as a typical “Daddy’s girl.” So it would mean the world to Laura to have her father give her away at her wedding. As a result, they decided to push the wedding up to May, 2009.

Combining the stress of her father’s sickness with a demanding grad school schedule, and planning a wedding, Laura had narrowed her wedding date down to a two week time period while she had a brief break from school, May 29th would be the date. However, as the date approached her father’s condition continued to deteriorate.

On May 26th, just three days before the wedding, her father was admitted to the hospital. During the week of the wedding, Laura and her family had come up with numerous back-up plans, which I’m told included scooters and golf carts if need be to assist her father in walking Laura down the aisle on her wedding day. However, her father was subject to emergency surgery on May 27th, and the chances of any of the back-up plans coming together were fading.

If her father could not make it to her wedding, then she was going to bring the wedding to him! So they planned to have a ceremony in the hospital on Friday prior to the ceremony at River Plantation. But by Thursday her father’s condition was worsening. Laura and Jason were married Thursday by her brother in a private ceremony in her father’s hospital room.

Friday, the wedding continued as planned and is where my coverage begins. Kim and Morgan (the wedding planners), setup a web-cast that was viewable in the hospital room where Laura’s mother stayed with her husband.

By the end of the evening, Laura’s father had passed.

During my career as a photographer, I’ve been on the sidelines of history, stood right next to some of the most influential people in the world, and been able to capture many amazing stories and moments. But those all pale in comparison to being given the honor to cover a story like this.

This is the reason why I became a photographer in the first place. I thank Laura’s family for allowing me to cover the wedding, and my deepest sympathies go out to them.