Sarah and Matt - Backyard Wedding

Sarah and Matt.

I have shot two backyard weddings in my time as a photographer. I think. Both times it rained. The first wedding was just about to begin and it poured like crazy for 30 minutes. Then stopped. Then it cleared up and it was great. The second one, Sarah and Matt’s, tried to do the same thing. We were all driving to the house for the couple to have their first look and it started to rain.

After a while of letting it rain and Sarah sitting in the car with a bridesmaid, and Matt and I in the house trying to figure out what to do if it doesn’t stop, Sarah decided we should go for it. Now, I’m sure if I left it up to the bride to re-do her day, she would plan it without rain 10 times out of 10. If it was up to me I wouldn’t change a thing.

So, when it started to rain and they decided to go for it and not call off the backyard wedding, (they could have moved it inside to their reception venue, Hyland Hills Ski Area) I knew it was going to be that much more cool. That much more unique. That much more them. Umbrellas add something timeless and romantic to these photographs. It somehow ties in how unique and awesome they are.

Sarah and Matt are probably two of the coolest people I know. Anyone who knows them would probably say the same. Sarah has a job where she travels the world. Matt has a cool digital marketing strategist job and they both run a non-profit Snowboard School. Oh and they also have a pig named Petunia.

Long story short, the rain eventually stopped. Awesome people have awesome friends and their friends all jumped in to help dry everything off. We even had sunshine at one point at the end of the wedding.

Oh, I almost forgot one of the coolest parts about this wedding. Sarah called me a few days before the wedding and told me she bought Matt a vintage MG convertible. (His initials are MG, because of course they are in their amazing story.) She said that she hadn’t told anyone except another person or two and she’d have it in the neighbors garage and was going to surprise him with it after the ceremony. Not only did she surprise Matt, she surprised almost everyone else at the wedding.

Like any cool story would end, they drove off from their house in Matt’s vintage convertible, in a sunset, to celebrate their marriage with all of the people they love.

So happy I got to shoot this wedding. Thanks Sarah and Matt for such a cool day.

WeddingJoe LemkeWedding, Backyard