This is a wedding that’s exceedingly worthy of a ridiculously long post…and I’ll fully disclose my bias now by adding that the bride and groom our some of my favorite people on the planet, (the groom is my daughter’s godfather and my husband was the best man.) This was more than a wedding, it was like a full on vacation, only far easier and more enjoyable, because Christine and Aaron planned everything much better than we could have. I couldn’t edit out any of the fun, so I’m starting with the day before and finishing with the day after to show the whole Monte Rio experience. On Friday the rehearsal dinner was held on the banks of the Russian river, where they brought a taco truck to serve people whatever they wanted to go with their keg cups full of beer, followed by a few games of baseball, a toasty bonfire and then some late night antics back in our shared cabins and houses that were all situated right on the river and within walking distance to each other and the ceremony site. We entered our vintage style bedroom to find handmade gifts waiting for us; a beautiful wooden candle holder that Aaron made for everyone in the wedding party. The next morning we went for a jog around town while others went our for a canoe and by the afternoon we were all feeling relaxed and connected, and definitely ready to celebrate the love.

I initially thought that I was going to be a guest at this wedding, but Christine asked me if I would photograph the ceremony since their main photographer, the amazingly talented Stephanie Pool, is one of her best friends and also one of her bridesmaids! I was so honored to get to help document such an important day for them, and I loved getting to hang with the boys while they got ready. There is something so sweet about watching boys help each other get all dressed up, and it was pretty hilarious to see them all riding into the ceremony site on the back of a pickup truck with a bottle of whiskey between them…in perfect keeping with the country spirit of the event.

Christine and Aaron did such an amazing job pouring their hearts into this entire wedding weekend. Everything felt so personal, relaxed and soulful, and nothing conveyed that more than their ceremony. They simply picked a beautiful spot by the river, surrounded it with flowers arranged by family and friends, had a dear friend recite poetry by heart, exchanged some of the most beautiful vows I’ve ever heard, and then had their dog Bella run up the aisle with the rings and lay at their feet while they were announced as man and wife. I thank my camera’s auto-focus for seeing beyond my tears.

After the ceremony everybody walked up past the old movie theatre and into the reception site together. It was at this point that I went into party-mode myself and probably should have put my camera down, but there was too much fun to capture, from everyone taking turns on the swiss alphorn, to Christine and Aaron’s first dance that surprised everyone when it broke out into a fully choreographed dance routine, to the entire guest list dancing in a line behind the band, to a game of identify your husband’s calves, and ending with late night limbo. The next day everyone had breakfast together at one of the houses and then a bunch of us spent the entire day playing in the sun on the river. It was a weekend that we will all remember and I honestly couldn’t be happier for these two…they were meant to find each other.