gemma and james

allview escape blue mountains wedding

I don’t know that I’d be able to do this if I didn’t feel I got to tell people’s stories in a really active sense. It’s not a job, the fact I get to do it is a freaking gift. It’s what motivates me, what draws and excites and inspires me, far more than producing any particular aesthetic or any kind of external motivation ever could. I feel like, at it’s best, we get to take these little transient moments and lift and polish and manipulate them until they are greater than the sum of their parts, until - for the people they are about - they represent a lifetime of closeness with their father, or the time in their life their niece was young and full of maniacal energy, or even just the enormity of love they have for someone. They can anchor people to a moment in time and remind them of their shared histories and experiences and all the love and people they are grateful for in their lives. 

At least that’s what I aspire to do. This day, and these two in particular, touched me more than most and really brought this all home for me.

At their relatively young ages Gemma and James have already had two whirlwind romances with one another, one slightly more serious than the other. The first in year 7, a month long schoolyard romance that ended almost as soon as it had begun, but amicably and with the two of them becoming fast friends. The second only recently, after many intervening years and shared experiences together. This time they were together only a few months before they decided, together, over a conversation in bed one night, to get married, something Gemma had never thought she would want to do.

I feel that reflects the two of their personalities in ways that are deeper than one might imagine. They both, to me, come across as a curious mix of dreamer and idealist as well as hard headed pragmatist. A few years ago, before romance had become part of the equation, they together with James’ best man founded a charity in response the increasing conservatism they saw around them called I am a Boat Person, providing skills training and support and necessary goods for people locked in detention in Australia. It still runs today. These are two people that care deeply but who are also proactive enough to want to do something about it all.

There are so many parts of this day and little narratives I want to draw attention to, from the beautiful - the many moments shared between James and his family, but in particular James sharing a tear filled embrace first with his dad Mark and then the rest of his family and Gemma right after the ceremony - to the absurd - the looks of incredulity on both Gemma and James faces during certain parts of the speeches - but I think this time I will let the images tell the rest of the story. See you what you see.

Enjoy

Dane