South Australian Wedding at the Middleton Beach Huts ~

It’s raining right now. I’m listening to music that is making me cry. Music is one of those things, it moves me, it surrounds me, it fills me with joy and sometimes sadness but it almost always reflects a deep image in my mind’s eye.
Let life be as beautiful as a song.
This wedding.
This wedding was as beautiful as any song I have ever heard.

I don’t know where to begin. I’m literally lost because when I think of Mike and Carly, knowing how much they care for their friends, I can’t help but get tears in my eyes. This isn’t about me though. This. This is a love story of the most epic proportions. I’ve known Carly since high school but we have never been as close as we are now. You see, Carly and her beautiful man have re-entered my life. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes chapters are reopened. I met Mike three years ago at a wedding I was photographing and since then, well yeh, we’ve become pretty close. Mike is one of the most talented wedding photographers I know and it’s because he is deeply passionate and deeply kind. Both those traits resonate through his work so to say that I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to photograph his wedding wouldn’t even be scratching the surface of how I feel.
The last couple of years not only have I become very close with both Mike and Carly, they have inadvertently included me in their adventure. I knew when Mike was going to propose. I knew the very place he was going to do so. In fact I was sitting atop a cliff and under a tree, waiting for it all to unfold. Mike had flown me up to Byron Bay and we planned everything in the hope that I would capture that very moment when he would drop to one knee and ask his soulmate for her hand in marriage. That in itself was the most humbling photographic endeavour I had at that time experienced. You can see all of what happened on that day and the following here:

http://blog.tomekphotography.net/category/engagements/mike-carly

Fast forward a little time and Mike married his Carly. I may be biased but this was the most incredible and emotional wedding I have ever been a part of. This was much more than just a wedding though, it was a three day celebration amongst family and friends, honouring one another and everything that Mike and Carly had thus far achieved. It was a huge collaborative effort amongst family and friends to create something truly magical and memorable. Many of us stayed on site, prior and after the wedding as Mike and Carly wanted more than just a one day celebration. I have so many emotions going through my mind right now and i’m losing touch of what I even wanted to say. I cried during the ceremony. I cried during the reception. I cried the following day editing their photos. I cried a  lot but it was when Mike mentioned me in his speech did I realise that he cares for me as much as I care for him and that was almost too much for me but we all got through the tears because in the end, everyone (and there were a lot) who cried that weekend, cried because Mike and Carly and the love they share is one of the most beautiful and infectious things anyone is likely to see. This is not hollywood people, this, this is the real deal.

Please, if only this time, watch their story with the music. I promise you it is worth it.

Mike and Carly…

I love you.

[audio:http://blog.tomekphotography.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/02-Wake-Me.mp3|loop=yes]

Music by Message to Bears.