• Real Weddings

Today  Whitney Darling Photography will be sharing her photos as well as her experience at Kristin and Levi's San Diego Hayfield Wedding.  Read on to hear all about the wedding and be sure to see more images in the full gallery. Without further ado take it away Whitney:

Kristin and Levi met at Westmont, a liberal arts Christian college in Santa Barbara, Ca. She is a poet, he is a carpenter. The wedding was held on his dad's hay field property in Nuevo, a tiny rural town in San Diego county. As a photojournalist, I not only rely on images, but words as well. My desire is to retell a wedding story that engages every God-given sense-- I want my readers to not only see, but also hear and smell and feel the experience.

I can still remember the sight of the massive white sheets hanging from atop the barn, dancing in the wind behind the altar. Yes, even the inanimate celebrated that day! Ivory sheets twisted and spun and unspun and spun behind the man and his soon to be wife– both of which were almost perfectly still. It was the perfect juxtaposition; the lovers, bodies and hearts quieted by the enormity of it all, and the creation made for them, celebrating without ceasing.

I watched carefully, their chests rising and falling, absorbing each breath between the vows. I can’t help but notice these things. You know, the sheets and the hills and the breaths. They are important. Kristin inevitably lost her breath at one point; I think that’s when I wept. To see her jarred from the every-day into the other-worldly, it said much. She was present. When she finally stopped to catch her breath, tiny white feathers flew from the ground to her hand– as if to soothe her racing heart. Yeah, the Lord would use feathers for such work! It was a magical gesture that only He could imagine. Oh boy. I love that we serve a God that’s interested in the miraculous. Rejoice, those of faith.

I can still remember the scent of the hay fields, and how it wafted heavenwards with each step we forged into the landscape. Levi held the back of his bride’s backless dress as she swooshed through the sun-bleached earth. Her carmel locks bounced at her back, while little fly-aways were busy playing in the breeze, a sweet breeze that kept our status sun-kissed instead of sun-stroke.

We were smack dab in the middle of a low lying valley. The Earth seemingly crawled from below our toes into rural formations around us. These were the hills he grew up gazing at. In fact, his childhood home was just a stone throw’s away from where he stood with his bride that evening. But a different type of home it’s become since he and his brothers ruled the plot– it’s now a church. A church his own dad pours his heart out at every Sunday. And the hay fields all around them? Those golden crops are the means to their family’s living. This was the little town of Nuevo, CA. It was absolutely charming. The only thing missing was a covered wagon.

I can still taste the homemade honey lavender cupcakes. I don’t know, maybe it’s because I ate four. I think some call it emotional eating, but I refer to it as having a good time. I stuffed my face. Music blared. Men swung their ladies round and round. Now that I recall, the dance floor resembled more of a pioneer’s nightclub, if you can imagine such a place. Friends danced like they were getting away with crime. It was an ecstatic, lively, an altogether dizzying time.

As Kristin and Levi exited, their musically inclined friends played the doxology on instruments a many. A trumpet. A drum. Guitars. And a banjo, of course. The music played and the guests howled the song of their souls. “Praise God from who all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below. Praise him above ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!” In case my words failed you in the least, it was altogether perfect. - Whitney Darling Photography

Photographer: Whitney Darling Photography Caterer: Temecula Catering Cinematography: Chach Hernandez Coordinator: Jolene Flores Dress Designer: Nicole Miller Flowers: Temecula Floral Company Groom's Attire: Ralph Lauren Officiant: Steve Bagdanov, Groom's father Shoe Designer: Remix Vintage Stationery: Table Top Made Venue: Groom's Dad's hay field property | Makeup: Maya Cutler | Hair: Dawn Tucker | Cake: Cupcakes by Compaignon Bakery