per•fect - having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be

It's a word that I actually have a very hard time with in many aspects of my life. With today's inundated world of seemingly perfect everything - be it via Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, etc - it's becoming easier and easier to lose sight of what perfection actually means to us, as individuals. Societal pressure has once again reared it's ugly head, telling us not only in what order to live our lives, but how perfect and flawless those lives 'should' be - our homes, our dinner tables, our outfits and especially our wedding days. 

So what does your 'perfect' wedding day entail?!? Is it the perfect shoes? The perfect bouquet? Sunny skies?!?! Perhaps, the perfect dress?!?! Maybe even the perfect wedding photographer.

In searching for perfection, I think we often forget to pause and give ourselves the time to reflect and appreciate the reasons we began this journey? What sparked it all? 

If glistening rain drenches your wedding day, does that ruin it? Is it no longer perfect?

Photographing Whitney and Hunter's wedding in the beautiful Clifton Inn in Charlottesville, VA illuminated this concept of perfection for me. It rained ... no, it poured ... for the majority of their wedding day. I will admit, at times I too get caught up in the what could have been - 'if only it wasn't raining.' Yet, on this day, these thoughts didn't linger long. They and their families (unknowingly) reminded me what this is all about. Why I was there. Why we were all there. The purpose for this day. The reason for this celebration. It has little to do with the bouquet or the weather or the shoes - those are bonuses in my mind. It has everything to do with the joining of two souls who share a connection that is so strong, they devoted the rest of their lives to one another. 

The happiness they shared. The devotion they expressed to each other. The comfort they found in one another. The encouraging words of support and love that their family and friends expressed to them.  All of that is what made this wedding day perfect. At least for me.  

I thank Whitney, Hunter and their families for that. This will for sure be a wedding I will never forget.