I spend a lot of time behind a camera and I truly love all the photos I capture and am able to look at over and over again. 

 

But last week, I put my camera in someone else's hands and purposely left my iPhone behind. The occasion was the wedding of our youngest daughter Brittany. I had decided that I was just going to live in the moment, take in the sights with the lens of my eyes and the depths of my heart. 

 

Both my husband and I were honored to walk our beautiful daughter to the outdoor "countryesce" wedding spot. I took her left arm and Jeff took her right. Her long blonde hair fell in curls upon her short lacy dress. She wore a string of her late great-grandmother's pearls and a pair of rugged, yet stylish cowboy boots. Her eyes sparkled and her steps were confident. 

 

We followed our granddaughter Della up the dirt path. Her ivory dress flowed with the breeze and occasionally a white rose petal floated through the air. On the faces of the family members who joined us were beaming smiles. It was such a comfortable and loving place to be. As we approached the makeshift altar - marked only with white lanterns perched upon logs and some twine-wrapped wildflowers tucked into the apple trees -  I saw the line of attendants - the siblings of the bride and groom. 

 

In their same-style strapless dresses of teal and pink and holding simple hand-tied bouquets of black-eyed Susans and Queen Anne's lace, the bridesmaid and maid of honor were so pretty. The groomsmen were in khaki shorts and polos, but they couldn't have looked more handsome. They looked proud to be standing up for their soon-to-be brother-in-law Andrew and I was proud of them. And as the moment couldn't have been more perfect, I looked down and there was Bo - Andrew's dog - lying at the boys' feet, sound asleep. He never misses accompanying any of them on their dirt bike rides over the miles of area trails, so he wasn't about to miss accompanying them for this special occasion either. 

 

The ring bearer and tiny flower girl were adorable and despite having a little trouble navigating the path, had made it to just the right spots and they seemed very comfortable fulfilling their duties. Willow Anna dropped her little burlap and lace embellished flower bucket and was kept very busy picking up each and every petal which spilled. Rush stood with the rest of the boys, safekeeping the wedding rings until the time was right.

 

We joined Brittany's hand with that of her handsome groom and I took my seat as Jeff proceeded to officiate the ceremony. And as it all played out, it felt just right - and my mental pictures turned out perfectly. 

 

Photo by Jessica Ashcraft. 

 

Julie Perine can be reached at 304-848-7200, julie@connect-bridgeport.com or follow @JuliePerine on Twitter!

 

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