It has taken me forever to write this post! Mostly because I can't decide on which pictures to share. Which pictures I am most pleased with. Because, you see, I think I did a damn fine job shooting my first wedding ever!

Yep, someone trusted me enough to take her wedding photos - and I am so glad she did! Although I will not be doing another wedding any time soon. It was exhausting. Luckily, it wasn't stressful, which I was worried it would be. It was fun and exciting, just a lot of work.

But before I show you the photos, I have to give you some back stories because I like sharing silly and often pointless details.

I've known the Harney kids since I was about 10 or 11. They used to live on the cemetery grounds in Twin Falls. I have fond memories of running through the cemetery playing dress up. To this day, I find cemeteries peaceful and relaxing, probably because of those early experiences.

At some point during my childhood, the Harneys moved to farm in Filer, which was even more fun than the cemetery. There was a barn, a small grove of trees, acres of land, and a whole bunch of other farm buildings used for who knows what - milking cows, butchering chickens? They were all deserted so it didn't really matter. 

I've had two migraines in my life, both in junior high. My second migraine came on during Mr. Gerrish's science class. After picking me up from school, my mom needed to run out to the Harney's for something. While we were there I threw up on the back steps of their house. There was a cat standing beneath my stream of vomit and it wouldn't move. And then the cat licked up all my vomit!

My parents and the Harneys used to host an annual summer solstice party. The summer before my eighth grade year, Tom opened a coffee shop. He let us take the espresso machine to the Harney's house so that we could practice making drinks. Before the party started, Dylan and I got into a fight over the machine and he punched me in the stomach. It knocked the wind out of me and I fell over a cooler. When I got back up, I grabbed him by the neck of his T-shirt and pulled him around in a big sweeping circle in the gravel driveway. He had just had his tonsils out two days earlier. Dana drove us home and left us there, alone, for nearly 10 hours.

I most enjoyed playing the barn. It had a small loft that we transformed into many things. It was frequently used to hold wedding ceremonies. Alicia (the oldest Harney daughter) and I would orchestrate elaborate unions among our younger siblings. When I showed up to take Fina's (the youngest daughter) wedding photos, I was reminded of those afternoons spent playing make believe in the barn. Everyone thought it was fitting that I be there for Fina's second (and official) wedding after also attending her first wedding with Jack nearly 20 years earlier. I couldn't have agreed more.

Samuel and Serafina, May 2012 -