Wedding Story: Dylan and Jacob
Dylan and Jacob asked me to photograph their intimate wedding at the Santa Barbara Courthouse fully on film, no digital photography included. I recently asked them to share their story so I could submit it to Santa Barbara Wedding magazine for Pride month, and I wanted to share what they wrote to me! I love the way that they talk about film photography and what it meant to them, and I think it deserves a permanent place on my blog.
From the Couple:
"Our mutual friend Kristen introduced us in 2014 while we were all on Louisiana State University’s rowing team. Nearly our entire college experience was spent together. From 5:00 a.m.practices and long finals weeks to all the adventures and celebrations that come with college life, we shared some of the most formative years of our lives side by side and are now well into our early adult years together. We have been together for twelve years and will celebrate our first wedding anniversary this June 11th.
In 2016, while still in college, we embarked on a road trip from Louisiana to California and back. Along the way, we stopped in Santa Barbara and immediately felt there was a special charm about it. It stayed with us long after we left, and we often talked about how it might be the place we would return to one day for vacation and perhaps maybe something more significant down the line. We loved Santa Barbara so much that we returned in 2017 and again in 2024. That final trip in 2024 was what convinced us that the next time we visited California, it would be for our wedding at the Santa Barbara Courthouse.
We figured our next trip back to California would be in the next five years or so, making plenty of time to feel things out and plan something well into the future. As fate would have it when we returned home, we received an invitation to our friends Charlie and Richard’s wedding the next year in Los Angeles. Though less than a year since our last visit, we decided to keep our word to each other and take the leap. We began planning a small ceremony with family and friends at the Santa Barbara Courthouse that would take place a few days after leaving Los Angeles (Charlie was able to make our wedding and happened to wear a blue dress effectively becoming our much needed something blue).
As to why we wanted the day shot on film only, film is a timeless and warm, though difficult medium to work with. That is why we wanted an absolute professional to document our milestone because of its timelessness but also because of its complexity. We saw Holly’s work and she hit every mark. Without question we booked her immediately. We understood that it was a gamble to have Holly shoot only on film but it’s a gamble we would make again without hesitation. Admittedly we had accepted the possibility that the rolls of film might not turn out at all. Truthfully it was a reality we openly discussed together with Holly when we booked her. While that may sound a little off the rails, the uncertainty encouraged us to be even more present and intentional throughout the day. While taking some solo couples shots in the courthouse clock tower, Holly gave us a sweet backstory on her connection to film and how she grew up seeing her mother shooting on the same type of camera she was using to take our photos (A story that was made even sweeter because Holly was pregnant with her daughter at the time of our shoot). To have these happy, significant memories both etched in our minds and captured on film is absolutely priceless. Every photograph feels that much more meaningful and preserves both how the day looked and how it felt."
