Ruth reached out to me with only about two weeks leading up to her wedding. She explained they were having a very small, very simple wedding and would I be interested in photographing it? Of course, my answer was yes!

I drove three hours one way to Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania. A remote little area that most people have never heard of and less than half of that most could pronounce correctly. It was there that I walked in on Ruth getting ready with her sisters and Mom. It was a very calm and quiet atmosphere. One of the details I loved about Ruth’s special day is that she borrowed everything. From her grandmother’s original garter all the way to her dress. So many special women, memories, and moments were captivated by Ruth’s wedding wardrobe.

Their ceremony was sweet and intensely personal. The couple exchanged loving words to one another and tears flowed freely from all. There was not a dry eye in the house. After the ceremony a small fare was provided for the guests and touching words were spoken by those dearest to the couple.

Now our original plan was to just take photos in the grassy wooded area outside of the church which was actually quite pretty. But we found that the entire area was flooded due to the heavy rains that we had been experiencing for the days leading up to their wedding.

One of the things that I loved about Zack + Ruth is that they were so ready to just leave everyone behind and head out on their own for their honeymoon. But they wanted their photos first. So I followed them to this amazing, hidden gem of a location where we walked among the wooded trees until it opened up to cliff drops and one of the most gorgeous waterfall spreads I’ve ever seen.

After grabbing a few photos on the rock ledges above we took our explorations down to the waters edge where we braved the waters and jumped right in. What was so great about our time is the awesome surprise it was for all of us. None of us were prepared to get chest deep, none of us were planning on scaling rocks, none of us were ready for the jaw dropping beauty that came out of our time together.

My time spent with Zack + Ruth will probably be one of my most unforgettable moments in my career. It was truly one of the first spontaneous sessions that gave me the thrill that photographers talk about, the absolute feeling of “Is this really my life?!”

I couldn’t be more thankful for that.

And I couldn’t be more thankful for Zack + Ruth.