Norman, Oklahoma Wedding: Malerie & Josh

In March, I photographed my cousin Malerie's wedding a few hours up highway 35 in Norman, Oklahoma. I'm so glad that she found Josh; he's a keeper. We were thrilled to welcome him to the family! They were wed at the St. Thomas More University Parish church next to the OU campus, and their reception followed at Belmar Golf Club.

Because my family is large and confusing, although Malerie is a few years older than me, she's my first cousin's daughter, and her grandmother is my aunt. My poor husband will never remember how all of the family fits together. Besides our own wedding, this was my husband's first Big Family Gathering and I'm pretty sure his head was swimming, since his entire extended family could fit in an SUV. It was also my first wedding to shoot with husband in tow! We're definitely not one of those many husband and wife photography teams. He's a software engineer, I'm a photographer, and there's no real overlap in skill set or professional interest. That's alright. It works for us! He did a great job at carrying my gear though, so if he's not careful, he might get dragged into that job responsibility again.

Malerie and Josh had a beautiful traditional Catholic mass, a bubble sendoff after the ceremony, a vintage Hollywood glamor vibe for their reception decor, and a packed dance floor all night long. Malerie wore her great-grandmother's pearls (my grandmother and namesake), and she and Josh gave out homemade wine as wedding favors. I loved the surprise element to the father-daughter dance when Malerie and her dad switched mid-song into Alicia Keys' "Girl on Fire" with some killer dance moves to go with! I always love documenting weddings, but it feels like even more of a labor of love when I'm documenting these memories for my own family to pass down. I know how we all cherish my grandmother's wedding portrait, and I hope that someday someone feels the same about these photos of Malerie and Josh.

You can see even more photos of this wedding and purchase prints here.








































































































At the end of the night, I handed my camera over to Malerie's brother for a rare photo of myself, with my gorgeous cousin.

You can see even more photos of this wedding and purchase prints here.