I read a lot of write-ups here, but this one had me welling up a little bit at my desk. It’s a nice reminder that weddings aren’t just about the gorgeous flowers or the dress, but more importantly, the love between two people. I don’t want to ruin the story, and I encourage you to give it a glance, and in the meantime bask in Kelly Dillon’s lovely pictures from the day.
From the Bride… Our relationship came as a ray of light during a difficult time. The unfortunate loss of a mutual friend brought us together. While we knew each other in high school, sharing classes together in which Tristam would occasionally tease me and ask me when he could take me out on a date, that was the extent of our relationship. It wasn’t until our senior year of high school when my childhood best friend, Kerri, and a very close high school friend of Tristam passed away in a car accident on her way to work during a snowy winter day. Kerri and I were born a day apart, spent our first days of life in hospital rooms across the hall from one another and coincidently ended up living a few doors down from each other growing up. With the loss of our mutual friend we took solace in our new found friendship, sharing memories and swearing to fulfill the dreams of our passed friend. In the months following Kerri’s death while everyone got back to their lives, Tristam remained a strong support for me and vice versa, thus developing a unique bond. As we started to fall for one another, college loomed in the near future and “being single” remained a prevalent thought in both our minds, perhaps mine more than Tristam’s. However, all it took was my first visit to see Tristam at UVM (where I would later transfer my sophomore year of college) to make me realize I had been in love with Tristam all along, something he had already known and was just waiting for me to come around. After a tough year of loss, transition, uncertainty, and new found friendship we finally decided to officially get together and have been together ever since. We like to believe an angel brought us together and she (Kerri) made sure her friends were taken care of after she left this earth.
The proposal took place on 11-11-11, a day after my birthday at Sunshine Memorial Playground in our hometown. After Kerri, who wanted to be an elementary school teacher, passed away her friends raised enough money to build a playground in her memory at the local elementary school. On Kerri’s birthday (11-11), Tristam took me to the playground in celebration of the back to back birthdays and according to Tristam to “test out” our new camera at “a special place we hadn’t visited in a while”. After playing on the swings together and running around like kids, Tristam suggested we take an action shot of me coming down the slide. I naively followed his instruction, and while wondering why Tristam was fumbling around so much before allowing me to take the trip down the slide (little did I know he was trying to get the ring out of his pocket) I slid down to find him at the bottom, on one knee, with not only the camera but a ring in his hand asking me to be his wife! “There is just something about you, me and infinity, will you marry me?” said Tristam. And of course in smiles and tears the answer was, “yes!” We spent that night celebrating birthdays, new and old memories, and most importantly our engagement with friends and family.
Photography: Kelly Dillon Photography | Planner: Missing Piece Events | Florals: A Whole Bunch Flower Market | Wedding Dress: Watters | Bridesmaids Dresses: J.Crew | Hair: Stephen And Burns | Band: The Grift | Bride Makeup: MAC Cosmetics | Ceremony & Reception Venue: The West Monitor Barn | Earrings: Nordstrom | Groom/Groomsmen Attire: Banana Republic | Ring And Diamond Bracelet: Desires By Mikolay