Some weddings need a ton of details to tell their story. This one didn't.
Christian and Sydney chose a small ceremony in the garden at Milton Hershey's Purcell Friendship Hall, just the two of them, their closest family and blue skies with those big puffy summer clouds overhead. It was hot. It was sunny. And it was exactly the kind of quiet, understated day that says more with less.
Christian got there first, showing up with his family in tow and, if I'm being honest, wearing the best shirt of the day. A few minutes later Sydney arrived with her mom by her side. No big production, no long guest list walking in behind her. Just the people who mattered most, standing in a garden made of white columns and manicured hedges, waiting to watch two people commit to each other.
The ceremony itself was short and it was heavy in all the best ways. Vows were exchanged. Rings were exchanged. And then, in a moment I always love photographing, they jumped the broom together.
Broom jumping has deep roots and I love that they chose to include this tradition in their ceremony. I didn't get the chance to ask Christian and Sydney what it meant to them specifically, but watching them jump that broom, surrounded by the people who came out in the heat to see it happen, it was clear it mattered.
After the ceremony we found a little time for just the two of them. A few quiet portraits under the trees, down by the water, away from everyone else for just a minute before the celebration picked back up with family. That's usually my favorite part of any day like this. The vows are said, the pressure's off, and you get to see a couple just be a couple for the first time.
Congratulations, Christian and Sydney. Thank you for letting me spend your morning with you.
