“Don’t worry, I’ll catch you”
How do I even begin to write about what these people, and these photos, mean to me in just a couple paragraphs? Since Melissa and Matt had to cancel their wedding due to Covid, I’m approaching this more as a toast than a normal blog. You’ll probably be able to tell that to me, my best friend Melissa finding happiness with such an incredible man is super emotional: I couldn’t have asked for more for her.
Melissa is the kind of friend you’re lucky if you meet once in life: a person who cares about you deeply, listens to your stories and remembers them all, can see your soul clearly, and whom you never have to worry about losing, because they’re cemented into your heart. I always knew she would find someone as kind, cool, handsome and smart as Matt… and I can’t remember the last time I was more excited for a wedding than the day Matt proposed to Melissa on the tailgate of their car at Cape Kiwanda. The plans Melissa and Matt made for their wedding day were going to be legendarily fun: Melissa’s family and friends would fly in from Australia and Matt’s from Virginia, and they would marry under the canopy of redwoods at the Hoyt Arboretum (an appropriate location, as Matt is an arborist). Afterward we would round it out at an all-night party at a mid-century lounge. I was going to make an almost unprecedented attempt to have a glass of wine or two while photographing the reception, at Melissa’s insistence. I was going to ugly cry but hide my face behind my camera and never tell anyone. Melissa chose the most amazing sequined gown, Matt a very sharp suit, and all the food and details were picked out…. but obviously, you know the story. Covid wrecked a lot of events this year, but none broke my heart more than the day Melissa told me that they had to call off the whole thing.
But if you know Melissa and Matt, you can understand that they weren’t about to be bested by a virus.
So, on a beautiful late September day, I met up with Matt and Melissa at the Sentinel hotel, where they got all dressed up just for one another. They had a first look. They both absolutely radiated joy. I may or may not have teared up in an elevator. There was no trace of sadness, or bitterness, or anger about the wedding they had lost, because they had what they really wanted. We made good on a long-standing inside joke and danced to Bruno Mars in the car on the way to the Arboretum for part two of our shoot, and we took our time jaunting through the forest together (a luxury missing from most normal wedding days.) When we arrived at Cape Kiwanda, I resisted the urge to post a thousand Instagram stories of Melissa and Matt walking barefoot through the mist and kissing on clifftop vistas and generally being the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen… but the shoot was a strict secret until the announcements arrived in Australia, so I had to wait. We shot in digital, 35mm film and Polaroid. And I know it’s a tired cliche for a wedding photographer to say this, but damn. This shoot was PERFECT.
If you’re reading this, you should click here and go buy Melissa and Matt a wedding gift. They will tell me to take this off the blog, and I will politely refuse. Shower them in West Elm glassware and Williams Sonoma cooking utensils, they deserve it.
Melissa and Matt, thank you for enriching my life. Thank you for keeping others safe with your sacrifice, and thank you for trusting me to capture this day for you. I love you.
x A
