This Friday, it will have been three weeks since Mr. and Mrs. George Purcell were married on a beautiful Spring evening. In full disclosure, George is my second cousin.

The wedding and reception took place on the front lawn of George's childhood home, in Piqua, Kansas, in full view of the beautiful wheat field across the road.

Getting Ready

I was able to snap some photos of Gayla, the lovely Bride, getting ready, before we headed outside to shoot her bridal portraits and the formals of the bridal party.

While we were outside, George, and the rest of the groomsmen were inside getting dressed. By the time that we finished with the bridal party, the groom and his men were back outside, greeting the guests. I was able to capture a few of the crowd before the ceremony began.

At 7:00 p.m on the dot, everyone was seated and George walked into the ceremony with his Best Man, Ron Driskill and the Pastor. The Gayla's son queued up the music, the pastor asked us all to stand, and we all turned to watch as Gayla, Akeela, and Hope were preceded by her Matron of Honor, and two of her grandsons, acting as the ring bearer and an attendant.

The Wedding Ceremony

The ceremony was simple, but it was truly meaningful for this beautiful couple. The pastor referred to a verse in 1 Corinthians, and a few songs that mean a great deal to Gayla and George were played. Before we knew it, they were pronounced Man and Wife!

After the ceremony, we went out toward the barn, and captured all the formal poses of the wedding party. These gentlemen were troopers!

I was also able to capture George's formal portrait.

After this, I took George and Gayla to the wheat field on the back of the property to shoot their formal portraits before we returned to the front lawn for the reception, where I was able to capture all of the details Gayla had planned.

The Family Photos

We soon stepped aside again, this time to shoot the family portraits.

Gayla and George chose to open their wedding gifts at the ceremony, so I photographed that.

Before we knew it, the sun went down, and we saw the close of this beautiful day, and this heart-felt wedding.

Congratulations, George and Gayla! May you be blessed with many happy years to come! Oh, and thank you for choosing me to be your photographer!

Update 7/6/2024:

I am happy to report that George and Gayla are still happily married and are now living on and working the same farm that they were married on!

It is rare, nowadays, for a small farm like this to remain in the family, so even though George is my 2nd cousin, it makes me proud to see my family hanging on to our roots. George and Gayla have done a lot to restore the farm house and barns that- due to old age- had fallen into disrepair, so this farm has a bright future ahead!