Last weekend I had the pleasure of photographing the Bidwell Park Chico California Wedding Day of Lauren and Richard.

Lauren is an old friend and colleague I worked with when I was a staff photographer at the Record Searchlight newspaper in Redding, California. At the time, she was a reporter, and for over a year, we would accompany each other to assignments around the town. You really get to know your colleagues well at a newspaper because you are all working together to put out the newspaper every day. Often times while waiting for an assignment to begin, conversations turn to personal stories and day-to-day ramblings in your life. I was always about my latest fishing trip. Lauren, it was her boyfriend in Chico.

For as long as I’ve known Lauren, she was living in Chico and then would commute up to Redding for work. It was an hour’s drive on a good day. I could never understand why anyone would willingly put themselves through that kind of inconvenience. And during our assignments together, I would constantly let her know I thought she was crazy. Looking back on it, I don’t think I was seeing the big picture. Her reasoning was always the same. She kept talking about her wonderful boyfriend turned fiancée now husband Richard and the life they were living together in Chico.

When Lauren called me up a couple of months ago asking me to shoot their wedding, I just had to smile. It was a long time coming. Last weekend I finally got to meet Richard and from the very moment I saw them together, it was clear that they were head over heels for each other. I realize now that her driving commute was a small sacrifice compared to the overall happiness that these two shared together as a couple. To Lauren, it was well worth it. Ah, the things you do for love. It’s good to see.

Their Bidwell Park Chico California Wedding Day was a lot of fun to shoot. A beautiful outdoor ceremony in Bidwell Park then the wedding party walked through downtown to the reception. You couldn’t ask for a nicer day. I love watching friends get married through my lens. -M