My First (and last!) Wedding

I have never aspired to be a wedding photographer.  I enjoyed shooting my friends' engagement pictures back in August of 2010, but there was no pressure.  We got some good shots and if they hadn't worked out, we could have tried again.  Weddings don't work that way, unfortunately.  So, when my dear friend, Pat, asked me to consider taking her wedding pictures, I agreed, but was also scared to death.  I have known Pat since I was in college, when we worked as youth leaders in the junior high youth group at Church of the Canyons.  Hearing how God had drawn her and Jim together through difficult circumstances in both their lives is a true testament to God' perfect timing.  While Pat assured me that she did not want "typical" wedding pictures, but instead, more candid shots, and that she was fully aware that I am a novice photographer, the pressure to try and capture their special day was still tremendous.  The experience taught me a few things:
1.  While I respected professional wedding photographers and all their hard work before, I walked away with a whole new level of respect for the pressure they face in trying to capture such an important day in the lives of their clients.
2.  I have no idea what I am doing.  I can frame a shot.  I can point and shoot.  I have a good eye for what might make a good shot.  This is where my capabilities end.
I realize I have so much to learn and am lacking what real photographers would surely consider "basic" equipment, but I am so appreciative that friends and family are giving me the opportunities to learn as I go.
What follows is my feeble attempt to capture their special day.

I totally stole this from a picture I saw online.  Isn't it cool how the shadows of the rings form a heart?  I would have chosen a more wedding-appropriate passage, but I forgot to bring my Bible and the only Bible I had access to was paperback and I couldn't get it to stay open to the passages I wanted.

This was the moment when they saw each other for the first time before the ceremony after they were all fancied up.