“You had me at, ‘Lindsay, get in here!'”

One of my favorite things about weddings it that while, yes, they are first and foremost the melding together of two separate lives, they are also the merging of two separate families. Two sets of history, two sets of traditions, two separate units coming together with the new chance to do life as one.

So when Lindsay’s dad shared his story of the first time Dave came home to meet the family, I melted a little bit. Without any prompting, her dad said, Dave disappeared to the kitchen after dinner to wash the dishes. Here was the first time that Lindsay and Dave’s families were combining and it was just so effortless. That is, until Lindsay’s dad walking into the kitchen, astounded.

“Whatcha doing, Dave?”

“Just washing up. Do you know where Lindsay is?”

Her dad chuckled. “Oh, I know better than to look for Lindsay at the sink after dinner, I’ll never find her there!”

“What? Lindsay, get in here!”

And so two families started becoming one.

And Lindsay and Dave’s wedding day was a phenomenal celebration of that finally becoming official. I’d looked forward to this particular wedding since I got the chance to photograph Lindsay and Dave in their beautiful Brooklyn neighborhood. They’ve since moved to L.A., but for both of them, Virginia is home base. They were treated to one of the most beautiful Virginia fall days, and the slight chill in the air just made the warmth and love inside River Farm’s manor house all the sweeter.

Introducing: Mr. and Mrs. Foster