Secret Wedding

On the morning of 28 June 2009 I woke up to one of the strangest phone calls. Someone was on the line asking me if I could come down to the Santa Barbara courthouse in an hour and photograph her wedding. My first thought of course was why had they waited until the last minute to hire a wedding photographer so I started asking questions. What I discovered was that this couple was up for Los Angeles and that their parents were planning a very large wedding for them next year. They felt that things had gotten out of control with this wedding and it had become more about their parents wants then their own. All they cared about was being married so they hopped in their car and drove up to Santa Barbara, a place they enjoyed visiting together. The couple had only one request of me as their photographer, I would not be allowed to post any of their wedding photos as no one knew they were getting married. They were still going through with the large family wedding the following year but they wanted photos to show their children someday of their actual wedding day.
At this point I should tell you that I was a bit reluctant, not because of the couple but because I had returned late the night before from my grandmothers funeral and to say the least I was not in an overly happy mood. For some mad reason however, I found myself agreeing and an hour latter I was standing, camera in hand watching and photographing the most beautiful couple. The love they shared simply poured out of them healing my broken heart as it did. I thought I was doing them a favor by showing up at the last minute but in reality they were the ones were helping me without even knowing it.
The photos turned out to be some of the best work I have ever done and I am sorry that I can not share them with you but I made a promise not to. So thank you to the magical couple who had the secret Santa Barbara wedding. You know who you are.