Every wedding season challenges and grows me as a human, but this season in particular had a hero, and his name is Gary Shortt. He’s the father of a dear friend, who I had the distinct honor and pleasure of getting to know on just a couple of occasions over the years, both involving me photographing his family in some capacity. This was no easy feat either, as he was a lover of photography himself and the desire I had to impress him was fierce. I met his Casey when we both worked as photographers at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago in our 20’s, and I fell in love with her the exact same way I fell in love with her family, instantly.

When she called me this summer to tell me they were moving their wedding up a year because her dad had fallen suddenly terminally ill— it changed me without any warning. Now, I’m sitting here all these months later, thinking about how the majority of my season happened after he was gone, and how I thought of him, and felt him with me at every wedding and shoot. How I feel his spirit with me right now because that’s the kind of impact people like him have on others. The sudden loss of his life brought to the forefront for me this season, a timely reminder of one of the things I’m here on this earth to do, which is to be part of helping people savor every bit of these big and small moments that happen in your lives, so that someday when you find yourself longing for someone or some place, or some moment in time, you might have genuine memories to help quell that yearning…

To all of the couples who invited me to be along for the ride with them, THANK YOU for your trust, your authenticity and your unwavering patience, love + support!

Enjoy!