A Wedding During a Crazy Flood

December 1, 2015

Recently I wrote about a wedding that I photographed during Charleston’s major flooding event—you can read about it here (after you read this one of course). It just so happens that I was blessed with two weddings that weekend. I don’t make it a habit of doing double header weekends, but I knew both of these weddings were special and I had to be there….I just didn’t know how special they would be. So many weddings happened during this crazy weekend and some unfortunately got cancelled because vendors couldn’t make it to the venues…or in Sarah and Caleb’s case the venue was completely under water. Yes, you read that right. Cypress Garden’s, was completely flooded from the parking lot through the whole park. While some people can and did get married on a boat during this time, others didn’t exactly have that in the plans. I can’t imagine what was going through Sarah’s head the night before her wedding after finding out that the venue had to cancel. What they ended up with, in my opinion, could not have been more perfect for them. They said their I Do’s and celebrated at Caleb’s parent’s cute house in the country. Friend’s and family showed up that day to help decorate and pull it all together…and pull it together they did. I truly think it was what was intended for them all along. An intimate wedding surrounded by those they love, complete with some country chic decor that just fit right in with the house and the land it’s on. Sarah is a bit crafty and came up with all the decor for the wedding. It was kinda boho with a country chic flare and it was super cute. The fabrics she chose for the table runners and pennants made me want to run out and find those fabrics and make something myself. They were pretty snazzy. Caleb and Sarah made BBQ and spice rubs as favors for their guests. What a fantastic treat for everyone to take home! So much love and heart was put into all the details. It really came together quite nicely, despite the natural disaster that was happening.

I’ve known Sarah for a little while now as our paths have crossed a lot since we both attend/serve/work for the same church. When she approached me about doing her Charleston wedding, I was beyond thrilled. This chick is crazy talented, super sweet, easy going and a lot of fun. I knew her wedding would be just as amazing as she is…but neither one of us had a clue of what was in store for us on the weekend of her big day. A huge Charleston flood was so not what anyone would have anticipated. Now don’t get me wrong, Charlestonians are no strangers to flooding that’s for sure—but nothing like what this storm brought. I arrived at the house in time to catch some of the running around and decorating. I didn’t feel an ounce of stress in the air, that’s a bit rare on a wedding day. Once Sarah realized I was there and it was time to start getting ready we headed up the stairs and settled in one of the bedrooms for the usual wedding day rituals (hair & makeup, dress and photos). Caleb and Sarah had perfect gifts for each other. Caleb is just as sweet as Sarah is and so thoughtful. His gift to Sarah was a beautiful pair of diamond earrings perfectly wrapped in a sock. Wait, a sock? Yeah, that had us all puzzled. We thought that was so strange the whole time she was opening it, but later found out that’s how his dad had proposed to his mom. The ring in a sock and in this case Sarah’s diamond earrings in a sock. So stinking cute! Sarah’s gorgeous lace dress came from a small shop in Fenton, MI. She had just been proposed to a few days before and thought why not go in and see what they have—the whole time knowing she would find her dress there. It was a formal dress shop and her dress was one of two white dresses in the whole place. This dress is truly one of a kind, especially because that store has since closed. It was THE perfect dress for her.

When I asked Sarah recently about some of the details of their wedding day she mentioned that their cake was made by a family friend. It was a cake that Caleb had when he came home from being stationed in Japan. It was so good that he brought a slice of that cake to Sarah on their first date. That’s adorable! Those personal touches in weddings can really make things fun and memorable. It rained the whole weekend (see previous wedding post) but managed to stop just in time for Sarah and Caleb’s most important day (lucky them). It was a perfect day with a great story and in Sarah’s words — “God provided for us, He knew exactly what we needed.”

Take a look!