“The biggest representation of us was the simplicity, intimacy and inclusion of only our closest friends and family. We are not showy people who like to get up in front of a crowd to perform, so it was perfect to be married by Paul’s best friend and surrounded only be familiar, happy, smiling faces.”
Today I get to share with you this utterly beautiful, calming and intimate ceremony of Ann & Paul from Val & Sarah Photography that took place at Parish Foods & Goods in Atlanta where Paul’s best friend married them.
Over 5 years ago in early fall of 2008, I met Paul in Brooklyn after exchanging some stories on a now-defunct dating site that was, at the time, probably being held together by paperclips and string. Tall, goofy and handsome.. just my type! We hit it off and had a whirlwind romance over 6 weeks time.. until he told me he was moving to Nashville. Needless to say, I put the brakes on and he soon high-tailed it out of New York.
Months passed, and although he tried to stay in touch, I tried to move on. One afternoon, in January of 2012, I was updating my LinkedIn, in hopes of finding a new job, when in the right-hand corner of my screen appeared a suggested connection: Paul.
I thought, “How could this be? We haven’t talked in years!”, and quickly searched my email account for anything containing “paul” — hoping to find some straggling email from yesteryear which I hadn’t yet deleted. And there it was! An unanswered email from 3 years prior. He had found a bottle of wine from the Burge Family Winemakers (this is my maiden name), snapped a picture and purchased a bottle to try.
So, 3 years later, I wrote back with profuse apologies for dropping off the face of the earth and a request to catch up and hear how he is doing.. 20 minutes later, Paul wrote back! And he was in Atlanta.
Over the course of a year, we wrote hundreds of emails, thousands of text messages and logged a hefty volume of phone hours while we walked, drove, rode in taxis, cooked dinner, and before we went to sleep at night.
