brian & kaila’s wedding // guemes island, wa
Happy First Anniversary to Brian & Kaila, whose wedding we celebrated on the ever-amazing & intimate Guemes Island. I was lucky enough to have my dear friend Phil Chester in on this one, all the way from Colombus, Ohio… but he wasn’t even the most exotic import, as there were visitors from Peru & the Mediterranean & beyond, food from Spain & more, and of course all these fine folks from Seattle.
It was celebration like no other, with tributes to both of their heritage & to their loving families, and Kaila summed it up best when she noted that, “everyone was happy, the cooks were fed, the DJ was dancing, the bartender was drunk…” We were all drunk & delirious with love, and it was perfect.
I want to share something with you, that pretty much sums up this wedding, as well as the beauty that is Brian & Kaila’s relationship with each other & with their families… it’s the song that Kaila’s parents used to sing to her & her sister—-by Fred Small entitled “Everything Possible”—when they were young. Their intention was to recite it during the toasts, but it soon turned into this sort of awkward & endearing bit that they sang together, and was the probably the most beautiful & insightful dedication that I’ve ever seen… seriously, I had tears running down my face & on to my camera as they sang this, and still get pretty emotional whenever I think of it:
“You can be anybody you want to be,
You can love whomever you will
You can travel any country where your heart leads
And know I will love you still
You can live by yourself, you can gather friends around,
You can choose one special one
And the only measure of your words and your deeds
Will be the love you leave behind when you’re done.
There are girls who grow up strong and bold
There are boys quiet and kind
Some race on ahead, some follow behind
Some go in their own way and time
Some women love women, some men love men
Some raise children, some never do
You can dream all the day never reaching the end
Of everything possible for you.
Don’t be rattled by names, by taunts, by games
But seek out spirits true
If you give your friends the best part of yourself
They will give the same back to you.”
I can’t even begin to express how thankful I am to learn things like this about people, and from people… to know that there is so much love in this world, and that every so often we make the chance to celebrate this love together. Call me a hippy or what, but this is what life is all about. Family, Food & Love… and to have it all contained on this island of love is too wonderful for words.
To see more photos of this incredible union, see my post about their family {here}… and just to give a little shout out, the ridiculous food was made by Mike Easton of Il Corvo Pasta, and the dancing was brought to us by none other than DJ 100 Proof AKA Jeff Lawrence. Party People!
Brian & Kaila! You two are stars in my universe, and I’m so thankful to have your light to look up to.
{originally posted at CALIMA Portraits}