Will + Sally | Married in Los Angeles

Wow, I can’t even see through my own tears to write this blog post.
Excuse me as I try to articulate my words about how awesome this day was…

OK, I’m ready.  Whew.

These two are wonderful, wonderful people.  I cannot stress that fact enough.
I have now 4 years of history with Miss Sally Rae. Sally was a part of my first journey to India and since then all of our lives have never been the same. You may remember Sally and her story from here.  William Kim is such a perfect man for Sally.  The way he cares for Sally and her brothers as if they were his own family is beautiful to watch.  He is a shining example of what a Godly-man should be.  Together, these two even lead worship together at church, how cool is that?!
My wife and I are inspired by these two as a couple and couldn’t be more happy to call them friends.

Now, on to the wedding…
The venue was a 100-year-old warehouse in the middle of Skid Row in Downtown LA. Will and Sally have a large network of friends, family and colleagues. They wanted everyone who could make it to be a part of this day.  To them, this day was as much about the community that has surrounded them.  They found the perfect venue that could fit this gathering comfortably, as well as being a fascinating and quirky old building to boot.  I have been to many many weddings as a photographer, videographer and as a guest; and this was probably the most powerful wedding ceremony I have experienced.  These two love God so much and they wanted their ceremony to be a testament to that.  Before there were any words spoken about love, marriage, etc. by the pastor, there was 15 minutes of full-band worship that just set the tone in the most perfect way.  By inviting God’s presence into the room with hundreds of people sing praises in this creaky old warehouse on Skid Row was unforgettable.  The next 30 minutes were full of wonderful words of affirmation, advice, stories, communion and they even washed each other’s feet as an act of service to the other.  Oh and one of the coolest parts was when Will busted out a guitar and sang his vows!  He wrote a full on song about his commitment to love her and her brothers. That was when the place really lost it… there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.  I’m surprised I got any decent photos while I was weeping like a baby.

The rest of the evening was filled with joy, laughter and an epic dance party!

To close, here are Sally’s words about their story the past year…

Will and I met on my first day of work at a local church. He was in their school of worship at the time, and I was the front desk girl.
Weeks passed by and I went about my office work; Will ended up getting a job as the full time worship leader at this church… so we started running into each other more and more. Will asked me some of my story, so I shared. Then the staff director of our church asked me to share more of my story in a staff meeting. His jaw physically dropped both times. Come to find out (months into dating) he thought that I was a blonde, vein, airhead, who didn’t know anything about “real” life. My story is unique in the pain and muck that followed me. Abusive mom, estranged dad, amazing new families taking me in, bad choices, and, most recently, becoming the foster parent to my three little brothers. When I met Will, I was a single mom to three little boys, potty-training, algebra teaching, and anti-tantrum-training. I was only six months into this new mommy-hood.

The kicker for Will was when he heard me singing at my desk.  We started singing together on his team; then we started texting together; then we got coffee. Now, little did I know, this was Will’s plan of attack to ask me on a date–he had enough data to evaluate that I was, in fact, not shallow, and he wanted to learn more. Well, he was so swept away by our three hour conversation that day, that he completely forgot to ask. Eventually, Will came over and asked me on a date, to which I replied by shutting down completely out of anxiety and stammering and almost collapsing, saying “ya…..okay….this is good for me….sure…..ok…..I’ve gotta go now….” and running inside. At the time, I had a feeling he was interested, but I wasn’t interested. I didn’t like his shirts–that was my reason.

We went on our first sweet date, and I called him two days after to tell him I wasn’t interested. A month later, (a month full of wise counsel, a lot of thinking, and weighing) we sang together, and I told him that I didn’t think I liked him, I couldn’t promise any outcome, but that I like having him around. So he started being around more.  Three weeks later, he left on a retreat for two nights. He returned with flowers in his hand, and I jumped in his arms and said, “don’t ever leave me for that long again!” That’s when I realized I never wanted a single day apart from this man.

We’ve had a lot of circumstances around us that have stretched us, defined us, and established our character as individuals and as a couple. Through a lot of pains and laughs, we’ve found ourselves, and we are excited for this next adventure together.