A Lens with a View
We took a leap of faith on our wedding day and entrusted one of the groomsmen with a video recorder. The only thing we told him? “Talk to people.” My uncle (and father of our ring bearer and flower girl) was already generously documenting our wedding in real motion. Our thought in giving Stephen a camcorder was basically to instill laughter into our guests. Stephen’s sense of humor is fantastic. Meg, I don’t know how you handle it, but I give you mad props for putting up with it.
Friday night we had some of our closest friends over. Once we were properly fueled with Fat Tire and red wine, we curled up in our living room. By the light of the Christmas tree, we sat and watched the home video unfold. Raw, uncut and absolutely candid. While my girls and I were upstairs in the white light of the bridal suite, the boys were in the cellar, cracking jokes and practicing speeches. Stephen filmed it all. It was so fun and hilarious to see what they were up to before the wedding. My sister came in, delivering my wedding day note to Alex. To watch his smile as he read it (despite Stephen’s obtrusive remarks on camera over Alex’s shoulder) was so special.
Stephen walked around the tasting room during our cocktail hour asking people if they had anything to say to us. There were plenty of Congrats and We love you! To see our friends and family, their happy faces immediately after our ceremony is something I cannot begin to explain. As the reception unfolded, Stephen still had the camera. His commentary is perfect. As we watched this ridiculous, terrible quality video, we couldn’t stop laughing.
Later in the night, Alex brought me down to the cellar where our best friends were all waiting to take a round of Gentleman’s Jack (our traditional celebratory medicine of choice, be whatever reason). Alex and I were so happy. Our friends were so happy.
We have this memory forever now. We have this secret, special memory that was only shared with a few people in the depths of the vineyard, nestled in between the wine barrels and warmed with love.
We never budgeted for a videographer. We haven’t seen the footage from my uncle and I’m sure it’s unbelievable and we’ll cherish it year after year. We never meant for Stephen to capture what he captured. Prior to the wedding, I would’ve told him “Don’t you dare waste your time with a camcorder all night long.” Boy, I’m glad he did. Stephen, you’re fantastic and we love you. This video is so perfect. It’s timeless and it’s real and it’s messy. We love it.
*Filed under Married Life*
