Sarah and Jason gettin’ hitched!

So we show up at the wedding in Las Cruces, NM and the bride says, “OK, I’m sharing my day today”.  Wait, what?!  I’ve heard brides say a lot of things, but I’m pretty sure that’s a new one!  Thinking back on it, I’m not sure she used those words, but everything about her wedding day definitely communicated that this was not all about her.  It was about her fiance’, her daughter, her mom, and countless other family members and friends.

(Hanging out with her and her mom before the ceremony was sooo fun.  Usually “fun” would be substituted with “stressful”, but this wedding was different!  They were totally cracking me up! Thanks for a good time ladies!)

The most moving part of the day was how Sarah and Jason both went so out of their way to make sure her daughter (Katie) felt like a princess on this day!  Katie got to wear the poofiest, most pretty in pink, super-star princess dress ever!  She definitely out-shined everyone on stage… in a good way!  How can a bridesmaid in a simple, brown dress compete with rhinestones and a tiara?! Katie got to participate in every aspect of the wedding day, she even got her very own princess cake to cut!  (Click the link to see more photos of the awesome pink dress along with the rest of the wedding photos). I have to say, as I watched Katie performing her Hannah Montana dance at the reception in her pink puffy dress, I felt like I was 10 all over again because that is EXACTLY what I would’ve wore and what I would’ve done if I was in her situation at that age!  Actually, it’s possible I would still be willing to wear and do the same things even now!  How could I deny a chance to dance around wearing shiny pink things with all the attention on me?! Watching how Katie was included in everything was absolutely beautiful.

(This was the part in the ceremony that was all about Katie and the new family they were becoming).

Sarah and Jason included other family members in the ceremony as well.  Jason’s dad is the pastor in the church they got married in so he performed a very touching ceremony.

(Here’s Jason standing next to his dad who’s praying over his son’s marriage during the ceremony.)

(Another thing that showed how much their marriage is centered on family is that they had both their parents come up and pray over them in the ceremony.  All the guests reached out their hands in a prayer over them at the same time.  You could tell it was very meaningful for them both to have so many of their loved ones praying for them and with them).

(Another chance to involve the family in her wedding was by having her mom play a special song for them during the ceremony.  And oh wow, can that lady sing!!!).

(Even Sarah’s grandparents who couldn’t be there, were involved in the day through a special pre-recorded video message they made.  That’s of course what she’s watching through her tears in this photo.)

So to say that family is important to them is quite the understatement.  Their entire wedding was centered around the strong relationships that they rely on to support their own relationship.  Throughout the whole day, they used the love that’s all around them to highlight their own love and it was beyond beautiful.

Of course I can’t resist putting  a few more of my favorites in here….

(Her dad and I worked really hard to get a non-panties shot and it just didn’t happen… but I think it’s cute this way anyways!)

Well Sarah and Jason, it’s obvious that you put lots of time and thought into every moment of your wedding day and you worked really hard to make it all very special.  First of all we want you to know that your hard work paid off because it was a very special day, but mostly we want to say thank you for allowing us to be part of it all.  Congratulations!!

Click the link to see the rest of the wedding photos from Sarah and Jason’s New Mexico wedding.