You first met Hillary and David when we shot their downtown New Baltimore engagement session. Their September wedding was planned to take place at City Flats Port Huron, but COVID-19 had some other plans for their special day. Hillary and David met online, when Hillary was living in Ohio. She’d drive up on weekends and vacations and would spend time with David in his home in Chesterfield area. Hillary is originally from Hawai’i, and most of her family and friends are either abroad, or splattered across the United States. Because of all the travel restrictions for international travel, as well as coming to/from New York (where many of her friends are) they decided to scale back and do a unique Zoom Backyard wedding. Hillary and David decided to use a company based in Denver that specializes in hosting these special Zoom weddings. They gave advice for camera placement, coordinated the link management for all their guests, rotated the screen views so everyone could see, and so much more. It was such a unique day that was full of love and magic, and you’d never know that we were actually in the middle of a global pandemic. Their wedding was fully in their backyard, with the first look at a park about 6 minutes away from their house. Then we did some sunset photos in their subdivision’s common space at the end (with the dreamy magical autumn sun.) Some of their closest friends and family were able to drive and make the tri[ out to witness their special day in-person. Did we mention before that Hillary is a professional singer? She commissioned a song for their wedding day, that featured her industry friends singing it via zoom, and she also sang to David during their vows. It was legitimately the sweetest thing we’ve seen in a while, and added another special unique touch to their day.

Their details were simply beautiful. They worked with Natalie from Beautiful Beginnings for their florals, which were stunning. We got to hang out with our favorite videographer Kristin from Ackerman & Co. (We also included their wedding video highlight below, too.) And also party with Cory from Ultimate Sounds again, too. We (not-so-humbly) joked that they brought the A-Team with vendors. Having friends in the wedding industry is a massive perk, and we love getting to hang out with them and watch them explore their art, whether it is to pack a (backyard) dance floor, or make a beautiful video they’ll cherish forever.

If you’re planning a wedding during these bonkers COVID-19 days, we cherish and admire your strength and ability to adjust plans as needed. If you’re looking for a wedding photographer team that will go on that ride alongside you, and document every step of the way, we’d love to connect. We hope you enjoy this preview into Hillary and David’s backyard zoom wedding.