Second Generation Wedding – Courtney and Ian Get Married in Oak Harbor

Very few wedding photographers can say that they have shot a Second Generation wedding — a wedding where one of the participants is the child of a couple whose wedding they also photographed. I have now done this twice! Just over 38 years ago in 1987 I was the photographer at the wedding of Conrad Spens and Sue Ann Harrison. I had known Conrad since junior high school (we both played trumpet in the band) and he became one of my best friends. I met Sue Ann when we lived in the same co-ed house at Stanford during our senior year. She and Conrad met at the baby shower for my daughter.  So our families have obviously known each other for quite some time!

I have watched Courtney grow up since almost literally the day she was born. Conrad’s family lived quite close to us, and we saw them often. It took awhile, but Courtney finally found “The One”, and I was delighted when she asked if I’d be the photographer for her and Ian’s wedding.

Let’s fast-forward to the wedding day. The wedding was being held on the property of a good friend of Ian’s on the north end of Whidbey Island, about 100 miles from where I live. Depending on traffic this usually takes just under two hours on a weekend. Since Conrad and Sue Ann also planned to get to the location early we all rode up together.

The wedding location was located in the woods and was beautiful. The space for the ceremony was all set up and looked great; you can see it in the photos below. The men had their own cabin where they were getting dressed, and the women had a considerably larger house where they were getting ready. When we arrived, the men were mostly dressed and ready to go, but the women were running a bit late and Courtney was still finishing her hair and makeup. This was fine with me; I find that some of the best photos at many weddings are of the bride and bridesmaids in the dressing room. Courtney’s younger sister Amy was the Maid of Honor, and I got some fun photos of the two of them as Amy helped Courtney get ready. I included some of these photos below.

It took a while, but finally Courtney and all her bridesmaids were ready.  The guests were all in place, so it was time for the ceremony to begin! The wedding party was led to the altar by a group of Scottish bagpipers and a drummer, which was really cool and acknowledged the Spens family’s Scots background.  Next came the wedding party, who were the following –

Finally came Courtney, escorted by Conrad. Courtney had told me in advance that Ian was “going to be crying for sure!” and to be sure I got photos of this. However, Ian turned out to be dry-eyed while Courtney was trying hard not to bawl as she came down the aisle with her father. Photos of the procession are included below.

The ceremony went flawlessly, which is not nearly as common as you might think with most weddings! As Courtney and Ian recessed up the aisle at the conclusion they were showered with confetti by the guests, which made for some fun photos (also below).

Because Courtney and Ian had chosen not to see each other before the ceremony, we then met back at the house where the ladies had gotten ready for some photos with the wedding party. And finally we wrapped up the formal photos with some posed shots with parents and siblings near the barn(?) where the reception was to be held.  Family included –

Parents of the bride – Conrad and Sue Ann Spens
Sister of the bride – Amy Spens
Father of the groom – Jerry Casey
Sister of the groom – Shannon Casey

Finally I was able to turn Courtney and Ian loose to go hang out with all their friends, and possibly more important, to get something to eat!  The reception was held in the metal “barn” building directly behind where the ceremony took place.  The interior had been decorated with strings of lights, and was quite nice. Once Ian and Courtney arrived, the food tables were opened up to the guests who had been surviving on appetizers while waiting for the newlyweds.

The reception was a lot of fun. The Best Man gave one of the funniest toasts that I have heard in 45 years of shooting weddings, and the guests were all clearly having a great time.

That’s it for my report. If you have not already done so, please scroll down and check out a selection of photos from the day.

You can see more weddings and other photos by visiting my site at this link.