
Happy Thanksgiving
Ah, Thanksgiving. Family, football, turkey, and pumpkin pie.
My Uncle Perk loved Thanksgiving. He preferred it over Christmas because, in his words, Thanksgiving is “all about family”. It doesn’t have the distractions that come with Christmas. No decorations, no presents, no Santa Claus, no reindeer. Just family.
Personally, I have always preferred Christmas to Thanksgiving. I mean who doesn’t like getting presents? I used to love me some Christmas presents! I was one of those kids who was up at the crack of dawn and under that tree tearing into whatever Santa had brought me. But as I grew into my twenties and thirties, presents and things became less important. The older you get, the more you realize how fleeting your time is and how precious your relationships are. And now that I have a family of my own, I’ve come around to my Uncle’s way of thinking.
Thanksgiving has officially supplanted Christmas at the top of my holiday list. I don’t think it’s ‘better’, it’s just more emblematic of what a holiday means to me as an adult. Intimate, warm and all about those that matter most in your life.
So, why am I writing about Thanksgiving on a Wedding Blog?
Because as I was thinking of some holiday related content for ya’ll to read, it dawned on me that Thanksgiving embodies all the elements of the weddings I truly love to photograph – intimate, warm, family-focused celebrations. Of all the categories of weddings I’ve shot over the years, my favorites have been the smaller, more intimate gatherings where family and friends play the starring role.
I believe that a wedding is a party first and a formality second. Kinda like a Thanksgiving Day feast. I don’t know about your Turkey Day’s growing up, but ours were spent at my Aunt’s house in New Jersey. An all-day event with plenty of football on the TV, kids running around in the yard, adults chatting away about life, glasses being raised to toast the day, and everyone stuffing themselves full of the best homemade fixins. It was a hodgepodge of activity. Kind of a ‘come as you are, do as you please’ vibe.
And when you’re with family, there’s really no other way to be.
So, as you plan your weddings for next year, keep that image in mind. Let Thanksgiving inspire you. Let it be a reminder that it’s your relationships that matter most. That ‘gather here together’ means that people put their lives on hold and travel far and wide to give you their thanks and to wish you well. You know, kinda like ‘over the river and through the woods’.
Be sure you make room for all that on your wedding day because it makes for the best memories.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
If you know anyone who could use a little Thanksgiving inspiration for their wedding, just click SHARE ON FACEBOOK to, you know, share on Facebook!