Embracing a rainy day can mean all the difference in the world when it comes to remaining calm and happy on your big day. This wedding at Lost Tree Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, was planned from Manhattan as a destination wedding, and while November is generally dry, occasionally blustery storms can blow through, spitting rain and gusting winds that rustle palm fronds and whip wisps of hair into faces. Luckily this wedding day wasn't nearly as rainy as it could have been; all in all no one even got drizzled on, just a few spatters of rain and some wild hair. The weather held off enough for us to capture the family formals prior to the ceremony, keeping the evening simple with minimal posed portraits taken afterward.
Setting up a first look that's private can be a beautiful moment that prioritizes the soon-to-be-married couple's connection with each other, giving them time to be together, speak what they want to say, exchange cards, kiss, talk, dance, laugh, and breathe a sigh of relief that the wait is over. This doesn't tend to take anything away from the ceremony; if anything it removes an element of unsteadiness and reminds you of why you're getting married in the first place. If you'd like to allow your closest family and friends to witness this moment that can easily be done; all you need is a location where they can watch from a slight distance, to still give you privacy while allowing them to feel involved. (This image is from shortly after the first look; when we've had onlookers this close to the event we've asked them to put away their cellphones and cameras and simply bear witness, as their smiling and teary faces make for a much better backdrop than a bunch of phone cases and squinting looks of concentration while they rapid fire their shutter.)
Lost Tree Club is a private gated community on Singer Island, just across the water from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. It's an oceanfront country club with facilities to accommodate weddings of all sizes, including a chapel on the grounds.
Location: 11520 Lost Tree Way, North Palm Beach, Florida 33408.
1/1000; f/4.0; ISO 1250; 24.0 mm.