I met Sokun and Matt in 2017.
Playing Pokemon Go, of all things.
He also happened to be my Zumba instructor. Small world, right?
We became close fast. The kind of close where you're the first call when something goes wrong. The kind of close where, since my husband and I didn't have family nearby, you just become family to each other.
So when Sokun and his now-husband Matt decided to get married during COVID, my husband and I knew we should support them in every way that they need to. And because it was COVID, they didn't want to risk having someone they didn't fully trust capture their photos. So they asked me.
Me. Even though I had never shot a wedding in my life.
It was never something I had to think twice about, being there for them as an LGBTQ-affirming photographer. They were my friends. This was their wedding. Without thinking much and I said yes.
A Small Wedding, On Purpose
Their day was outdoor, small, and careful.
COVID meant a limited guest list. No big reception, no hundreds of people. Just two families coming together, spaced out, masks on when they needed to be.
It was simple. But it didn't feel small.
It felt like exactly what it was supposed to be — two people, two families, celebrating two people in love and who wants to spend the rest of their lives together.
I Showed Up With a 3-Month-Old in a Stroller
Here's the part I don't say enough: I had a newborn at home.
She came with me. Strapped into her stroller, parked off to the side while I figured out where to stand for the vow exchange. My husband was there with her of course.
I was nervous the whole morning. Not the cute kind of nervous — the real kind. I didn't know if I'd get the shots they needed. I'd never done this before.
But once I warmed up, something clicked.
I knew exactly what I was looking for. The arch. The ring exchange. The way they looked at each other while reading their vows — that's the shot I was chasing all day. Not the smile for the camera. The real one, underneath it.
Some of what I got that day was amazing.
Some of it, honestly, was just okay. I know now I could have done a few things differently.
But I walked away from that wedding with photos that mattered. And with a feeling I hadn't expected — that this was something I wanted to keep doing.
Why This Day Still Matters
I think about that wedding every time I'm second-guessing myself before a session.
It reminds me that the technical stuff comes with time. What doesn't change is showing up fully — even nervous, even with a baby in tow — and looking for the real moment instead of the posed one.
That's still how I shoot today. Whether it's an intimate backyard wedding or a couple's engagement session at Union Depot in St. Paul, I'm looking for the same thing I was looking for with Sokun and Matt: the moment they forget I'm there.
Looking for an LGBTQ Wedding Photographer in the Twin Cities?
If you're planning something small and meaningful — an elopement, a backyard ceremony, an intimate LGBTQ wedding anywhere in the Twin Cities, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Woodbury, or the East Metro — I'd love to hear your story.
I know what it feels like to want a day that's simple but still feels like everything. I've been on both sides of that camera.
