Elizabeth and Bernie

There was an uninvited guest. Her name was Hanna. But she was gracious enough to head out as the ceremony began.

Hurricane Hanna hit Virginia Beach on September 6, 2008. Bernie and Elizabeth's wedding day. I packed my lucky yellow galoshes, and Jamie and I hit the road early. We white-knuckled across bridges and through tunnels wondering what to expect as we drove toward the storm, but as we approached the skies turned to a bright white gray and the rain seemed to soften.

Elizabeth and Bernie were the calm eyes of the storm. Nary a freak out, nor a frown, just easy breezy beautiful calm. About ten minutes before the ceremony we peeked out the windows one last time and saw a little patch of cerulean blue. And another. And in the distance a whole beautiful lot of it. The sun broke through and voila, golden light enveloped the Church. It was stunning.

Our plans for a post-ceremony beach shot of the couple was out of the question as the hurricane was being pushed out by a stiff wind that would have sandblasted us all, but we did manage a brisk walk from the Church to reception. It was pitch black when I took these, but my favorite lens absorbs light like nobody's business. I just love this image, how happy they look. How relaxed. And if you look hard you can see our uninvited guest leaving in the distance.

You can watch Elizabeth and Bernie's Wedding Slideshow here.