Emily & Darrell say I do

Emily and Darrell have eloped in Providence, RI on December 21, 2017.

It's a small world isn't it?

Well, it is when one of your friend's daughters reaches out to ask you to photograph her wedding.

I had never met Emily or Darrell before their wedding day but they are an amazing, sweet, and strong couple. I am so glad I was able to be there.

Plus I LOVE Rhode Island.

I grew up about 40 minutes from Providence.

How pretty is the state house here? : )

My husband and I lived in Providence for a bit together before we moved to Massachusetts.

I have a special place in my heart for Providence and I always will.

So, Emily and Darrell have two little ones, Margot and Lily.

Oh my goodness they are so cute!

I love kids, can you tell?

Lily is FULL of personality.

I can't wait to take that adventure myself with my hubby.

LOOK at this face!!!

Margot is equally as adorable!

Both girls were fascinated with Emily's pretty bouquet.

...but Margot's shoes though!!

Little ballerina slippers...I just can't, haha.

Here is my wonderful friend Candice "aka" grandma putting on her shoes <3

Now Margot is ready to go!

Lily loved these flowers so much she didn't really want to put them down, haha.

So adorable.

I loved how curious Lily was, wanting to see and explore the courthouse.

With daddy's help of course : )

The courthouse is quite old and had a very vintage vibe to it which Emily and I both loved.

As we waited for the judge I took some shots in the room outside his chambers which had some really cool things.

Like this SUPER amazing old school card catalogue!!

Love it!

The ladies in the office were working, but kindly let me in to snap a few photos (thank you, you're the best!!)

There was also these old records which I discovered pulled out on wheels.

I would "OOOOOO!!!" every so often and then look up to find the women in the office glancing over a tad worried, haha.

There was dust on the books too, so timeless.

I didn't remove any (although I so BADLY wanted to) because, well...getting thrown out of my first courthouse wedding would have made for a bad day ; )

I had a great time looking over everything!

So Emily and Darrell planned on tying the knot at City Hall in Providence.

...and they sort of did.

Being busy parents, working, and living an active life they realized they completely forgot their marriage certificate at home.

Don't worry Darrell you are definitely NOT the first person this has happened to.

People forget their wedding rings, vows, you name it.

It's called "wedding brain."

Yes, it's a real thing and it happened to us too.

So while they couldn't exactly have an official ceremony we totally rocked some photos in the courthouse, and then some VERY quick shots outside because it was ridiculously COLD!

...but first the inside.

LOVED these stairs!

How romantic are these two?

Emily did tell me later that they ended up going to a smaller place just to walk through the ceremony.

So they were able to get married that day ; )

I told them someday that this would be something to laugh about for sure!

In the meantime we had a blast taking photos.

I mean when things like this happen are they funny?

No, not at that exact moment, but they definitely are later on when you say, "HOW did THAT happen?!"

Like when our wedding cake melted into a puddle and fell over the day OF our wedding.

True story.

My poor husband must have had a slight panic attack the moment when he first opened the box to discover the pile that once resembled a cake.

...but we ended up with an even more beautiful cake and these two ended up married!

At the end of the day ALL that matters is your love and the strength of your relationship.

Not the cake, not the decorations, but each other.

When I first arrived I noticed some really cool Christmas lights strung up on a door downstairs.

...and I thought to myself well, it's before Christmas and you KNOW the lighting would be romantic with the soft glowy light.

It was!

So I wrapped them up in the lights.

Then we headed outside.

It was cold and when I told Emily she was going to have to take off her coat for a few moments she gave me a horrified look.

I told her, if models can wear their bathing suits in December in the freezing cold we can do this!

She laughed and we moved quickly.

I love how old fashioned this shot feels with the city hall sign.

Mission accomplished!

What a beauty!

It was probably 12 degrees with the wind chill, but you can't tell in the photos.

These two were amazing.

Yes, I got IN a Christmas tree for this shot, haha.

We weren't technically suppose to sit on the stairs as they were roped off because of the HUGE tree, but we figured if anyone said anything we would use the bride card, haha.

We popped in and out unnoticed ; )

These ended up being some of my favorites from our time together!

Darrell was such a good sport!

Emily went to get warm while I grabbed these last shots.

...and I asked him to hold her flowers ; )

Congrats Emily and Darrell you have a beautiful family!

Wishing you many years of laughter and happiness, you are a fantastic couple!

<3 Ashley

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You're the best.