Kyle Hepp

June 29, 2011

I am arriving after almost 24 hours of traveling (Slash being awake. For some reason I could not sleep at all on this flight). So as usual I’m asking for forgiveness in advance for any incoherence and/or typos in this post.

We photographed a wedding in Hershey, Pennsylvania. You might be underestimating Pennsylvania, but do not forget — the grand state of PA houses both the Hershey chocolate factory as well as Sarah and Anthony.

And they’re awesome. I’m talking about the bride and groom now, not the chocolates.

I emailed Sarah before the wedding to ask if she wanted to get together before the big day. But because we were flying in Thursday I knew she’d probably be hectic on Friday so I told her not to worry about it if they didn’t have time and that it was just to say hi so they wouldn’t have to worry about strangers showing up on their wedding day to take their pictures. She replied, “No worries. I trust Caroline. Unless you guys feel like you need to meet us!” And I wrote back the same thing — that I trusted Caroline would only recommend us to the coolest people and I wasn’t worried at all that we wouldn’t get along.

When I arrived the day of, I jokingly said, “Caroline, if we hate each other this is all your fault.”

But of course, we didn’t. I adored Sarah. Let me rephrase that in case you didn’t understand completely. I ADORED Sarah. The first thing that I realized about her is that she is the kind of girl who knows what she wants. That is quite honestly one of my favorite personality traits in people. Why? Because the reason someone can know exactly what they want is because they know exactly who they are and are confident in who they are.

I’ve watched dozens of brides get hung up on what other people think they should do — “My grandma wants me to carry her handbag, but I don’t like it. What should I do?” or “My mom thinks I should wear my hair down, but Fiance thinks I should wear it up. I’m torn!” etc. etc. etc. There was none of that with Sarah. She was happy to be herself and simply do her thing, even on her wedding day. People who are true to themselves are always happier. It’s a rule.

The other thing that I loved about both her and Anthony was how giving of themselves they were. They were both exhausted towards the finale of the reception — really, what bride and groom aren’t at the end of a wedding? Sarah had been up and on her feet pretty much since 7:30am that morning. But both she and Anthony still made sure to go around and talk to every single guest. All night long they made sure everyone was having fun. They made sure everyone had what they needed. They even made sure their vendors were taken care of.

Honestly, “nice” doesn’t even begin to describe them. Sarah and Anthony are amazing.

Sarah’s tribute to the Amish

I LOVE this shot taken right before the first look, with the bridesmaids getting Sarah and Anthony ready!

Also love Anthony’s reaction. So adorable!

The above and below photos are my favorite bridal party pics EVER. Along with the one I posted Saturday.

Me gusta all the symmetry in this photo.

YMCA from the chairs, haha! But the lady NOT doing the YMCA makes the shot for me.