Emily & Tyler – From an unconventional engagement to a 2020 COVID wedding.

We all know 2020 has been an unconventional year for everyone, but I could not imagine planning a wedding during the global pandemic. I give many props to every bride that made the best of a 2020 wedding. We were contacted in May by Emily about photographing a small wedding certificate signing ceremony. Of course, we said yes, as Emily and I originally met in 2007 at Junior Fife and Drum Camp the summer before middle school. Our adventures continued in a few of the same directions as we began High School, where ironically we took two years of photography together. After High School, we went our separate ways where Emily went onto college and I began to pursue my career as a photographer. So, I was honored when Emily contacted me to share her special day with her!

I reached out to Emily recently to get a little more background on the relationship and their own little love story. I received not only the sweetest but also one of the most adorable love stories I have ever read and was blessed to be able to help capture some of their most precious beginning moments for them.

Emily stated "Our engagement was unconventional. First, I knew Tyler was going to propose. I knew he had a ring already, and he would tease me by saying he moved its hiding place around our house for months before the proposal. When Tyler and I did finally get engaged, we got engaged in August of 2019, in Essex CT. We started planning right away! Within weeks we had a venue and caterer booked for July 2020! Decisions were being made and the entire picture was coming together! We were so excited!"

Emily continued on "Then COVID-19 hit and our world was put on hold. With the realization that our wedding plan was not going to happen we came up with an alternative plan. With everything falling apart we knew that no matter what we were still getting married this year. Our wedding, the celebration, could wait until 2021, but we couldn’t!" We could tell the excitement and love that these two shared and how much they couldn't wait to be married while photographing them together. Simone and I understood exactly what she meant when she said they just couldn't wait another year!

When I asked Emily why Essex, her response was simple and sweet. "I grew up in Essex, it holds a special place in my heart, and Tyler proposed on Main Street. So when thinking of alternative locations of a wedding ceremony Essex was an easy choice. We picked a new date in June, gathered our parents, and got married. Simple as that. While we are still looking forward to our 2021 wedding, our 2020 marriage was more than we could have ever asked for. Small, simple, and filled with love."

The final thing that Emily said, sticks to me personally because of the emotion and love you can feel in the images below. One that I recommend all to follow, especially with the current state of the world and the global health pandemic "We learned a life lesson from this experience that has set a foundation for our life together, don’t forget about the marriage when planning the wedding."