My mother-in-law has the most remarkable garden.  So often, when we make the long drive down to visit, we’ll pull up in the driveway to find her knee deep in dirt wearing a giant, over-sized sun hat.  To watch her, you’d think that she was lost in another place…lost among her flowers and wind chimes…lost from the chaos and happenings of day-to-day life.  It’s a really beautiful thing to witness.

Gardening really isn’t for everyone though.  Gardening takes patience…it takes inspiration…it takes trust.  It takes the ability to sit back, relax, and know that in the long run…the effort is always worth it.  The effort will bring forth something more beautiful than you ever imagined.

It certainly didn’t come as a surprise for me to know that Jessica and Pierre felt it appropriate to have a backyard, garden wedding to exchange their vows.  Right there, among the trees and the flowers, they stood before their loved ones to make a promise.  A promise to be patience…to be inspired…to be trusting.  A promise that if they found themselves knee deep in dirt…they would do it together.

Because the truth is that marriage isn’t always easy.  It will endure hard times…stresses…external factors.  But just like those countless hours spent in a garden…the effort is always worth it.  The effort surpasses the storms…makes it through drought…it can even outlast a hungry animal or two!

Jess and Pierre, congratulations!  You have already started bringing forth that certain something that is more beautiful than any of us could ever imagine!

Thank you for letting me be there to capture it…