Caitlin + Ryan | Charlotte NC

Another backyard wedding in the books... swoon.

Caitlin and Ryan's wedding day was a DIY labor of love with a rustic, country charm and just plain fun all around. Having only chatted with this couple via email and a brief FaceTime call, it was so refreshing to walk into Caitlin's dad's home on her wedding day and instantly feel like part of the family. Her mom welcomed me with open arms and whisked me away to see Caitlin, and the rest of the day was a whirlwind of happy tears, gut laughter, and authentic energy. 

My favorite highlights from this wedding celebration were:

- the way that Ryan looked at Caitlin this entire day, and how much pride he took in calling her his wife, while randomly belting out all night long, "That's my wife!".

- the private post-ceremony vows they shared while our peripheral vision allowed us to see a stray uncle peeing in the trees.

- the tiny bridal party of two -- Caitlin's sister and Ryan's best friend. I dig simplicity.

- the giddy laughter and playfulness during bride and groom portraits which I couldn't temper and finally gave up trying to, and while I would have liked to have more frames to present them with, they just wanted to party, so I realized that while they ended up with only a handful of truly authentic-to-their-personality images, that's better than a hundred fake and posed portraits.

- the cousin who played Polaroid king all night and definitely made sure Caitlin and Ryan got their money's worth out of the instant film they bought - oh, and he's also the savior who took my Polaroid (hop over to the 'gram if you need to know the back story of Dani and Polaroids... @dani_nicole_photography)

- light painting and the impromptu sparkler line up that wasn't planned, yet produced the best sparkler pictures I've ever taken at a wedding, not to mention the drunk uncle who literally ran through fire.

- my bride in a jean jacket over her wedding dress clutching a mini bottle of Fireball all night.

- the friends and family who stepped up and became vendors for this intimate wedding, and turned the family's backyard into such a successfully beautiful memory filled night.