Intimate Backyard La Mesa Wedding || Connor & Taylor

July 23, 2020 Miranda Smith

The Couple: Connor & Taylor

I have been a wedding photographer for 11 years now and my passion for the couples and beginning of marriage has ironically (but also not ironic at all, you will see) caused me for most of those years to be stuck in a conundrum... Over the years it’s only become more pronounced and confusing as my heart says one thing, and yet my business sense forces me to say another. Funny enough, Covid-19 of all things has helped straighten this out. Are you curious yet what the conundrum is? This particular intimate wedding will explain it all… If not the wordy explanation than hopefully the photographs!

The trouble is that I believe in love over fuss.

Of course, have a few meaningful details, but honestly… I would say not too many — I would really rather be a “less is more” kind of girl and many typical modern wedding wars against that. Many weddings now fight for more expense, more fluff, more details, more effort and time and out doing your neighbor with something unique — honestly, it’s exhausting even just watching and it makes it feel like weddings are a show rather than a promise between the two people to spend the rest of their lives choosing each other.

Now, because of the coronavirus, all the fluff has been shut down, all the extras have to be nixed, and (perhaps fortunately) the relatives that you don’t really know were omitted from the guest list — This forced me to look at what life is when you strip away everything else.

This wedding had

all the details that matter…

everything that you would want to remember and that the bride had dreamed about, just none of the things that you do, just to do them.

It was outdoors, in the backyard of the first home they would be living in together.

The audience was small — most guests were standing in the wedding party — and there were probably several important people who were unable to be invited yet this gave the couple a chance to really talk to each and every person and take photos with each, to hold them close and remember the moment.

The pastor took his time with the ceremony and said things that he could not have said in front of a large group. There was laughter and tears that would not have been possible in a less intimate gathering.

For the cocktail hour they had signature drinks (strong ones), charcuterie boards… and the realization that everyone who would have needed to be in family photos were right there. — All things many young couples can rarely find (or afford, I should say) in large receptions.

Dinner was shared family-style, people chatted down a long table with an openness that I haven’t seen at other weddings — there’s something about 24 people rather than 124. When every single hand is invested, and every single heart is helping there’s something to be said for that amount of joy.

I think that I was right about relaxed, smaller weddings. Like I said, I’ve always loved elopements (I’m sure if you have seen any of my other posts you will notice this ASAP!)... but this backyard wedding was perfect, having a few more people than a typical elopement, but not enough to distract from the intimacy.

And don’t get me wrong, I’m also going to be there for the epic party they throw when this pandemic is over and they get to celebrate with 200 people- but their vows with 24? That was something special, that was something sacred that I was honored to be a part of.