Nicole + Adam | Charlottesville, VA Wedding

They say that a person's sense of smell has the strongest link to memory, but I don’t buy it. Music, that pure hearing and participation in it, can flood the body with memories so rich and raw that no other sense can compete. 

Nicole & Adam celebrated music at their wedding.  Built on an incredible cornerstone of faith, music is one of the most important parts of their relationship. They met each other their first year at the University of Virginia because the incredible group, the University Singers, brought them together to create music. Which, incidentally, is where I met them too.

So when a group of U-Singers stood up and performed Franz Biebl’s Ave Maria (AKA one of the most beautiful choral arrangements of all time) in the middle of the ceremony, I nearly lost it.  Also, as a confession, I was singing behind my camera, because I physically could not stop myself. That’s just what music does to people. 

After the ceremony, the sun broke through rain clouds just in time for portraits outside on the lawn of the University. The rotunda is currently covered in a net of scaffolding for a years-long restoration project, so we had to modify the typical UVA lawn vista. We still took full advantage of the lawn columns and the gardens—especially the one where Adam proposed! And afterwards, Nicole & Adam broke it down on the dance floor of the Inn at Darden with their incredible group of friends and family.  And we made sure to take a U-Singers picture with our fearless leader Professor Slon!

Nicole & Adam, my advice for your marriage is simple. Keep praying together, and keep creating music together. Participating in the papal choir when Pope Francis comes to Philadelphia is a pretty good way to combine those two things :) Your wedding day was beyond special, and I feel tremendously honored that I was able to be there to share in your joy.  Here's how I will always remember it: