One of the great privileges of small business owners everywhere is gaining family loyalty, which in my case, means getting to do more than one wedding for the same clan! When my photographer pal Nadine Berns referred her brother Ian to me as he and his fiancée Vyanka began to plan their elopement in the Sam Houston National Forest, I was delighted. Ian and V wanted to say their vows in a place that was not only special to them, but accessible beyond the big day: a picturesque bend in one of their favorite hiking trails that they would be able to return to in the future, maybe even with their children, to relive the memories. The charm of hosting a wedding in the middle of the literal forest drove home that every-day magic as guests laughingly climbed over fallen logs and dodged muddy parts of the path on their way to the ceremony arch (which we set up with permission from forest rangers, and removed with "leave no trace" thoroughness after the fact!) Ian and V read hand-written vows from their own hard-back journals, had a handfasting ritual, and generally swept each other up in expressions of love and commitment that left not a dry eye amongst the semi-circle of loved ones there to witness. As the golden hour light grew long, the whole kit and kaboodle paraded back down the trail to nearby Lynn's Ranch for a reception dinner catered by Ian's parents: traditional Indian dishes from his and Nadine's mother's heritage.
