NATHAN & ESTHER

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This is Nathan and Esther. Theirs was a most memorable wedding,... sure, the Bride wore white, the Groom chose a brown tuxedo, there was a ceremony, cake and killer reception. It was all about location. And the people. Some of the most beautiful land and some of the most hospitable people.

You could say it was a destination wedding (a term people in the wedding business use to refer to out-of-town event sites, sometimes out of the country) only this one was at Esther's family's ranch, the historic Maddux-Carver Ranch in the mountains northeast of Bakersfield. The family has raised cattle here dating back to the 1900's on this property, a sprawling, beautiful spread of hills and oak trees broken up by streams, farmsteads and old barbwire fences.

Esther planned the wedding for late spring, when the rye grass would be tall and wildflowers blooming full strength.

We began the wedding weekend on Friday with nearly everyone donning a hat, loading up on a flatbed truck (this is COUNTRY, I tell ya! Where's the hay bale?) and driving out to the old church in Glennville for a rehearsal dinner. Above, Esther, who is a darn good shooter (both, cameras and guns!)in her own right, shares a pic with Jenny.

The wedding party along with family enjoys an after dinner slideshow featuring Nate and Esther.

Friends of Esther's family provided guests with nearby lodging. Friday night, I stayed in a cabin right on a bubbling creek and was lulled to sleep by the sounds of frogs, crickets and the wind in the trees. Nice change from the city sounds I'm used to.

The Dress minus The Bride.

Earrings soon to be adorning our beautiful bride.

Esther's mom, Nancy, goes over some of the day's plans.

Esther and bridesmaids prepped at a three-story cabin complete with a firepole. Yeah, a FIREPOLE. Esther in curlers demonstrates proper form

Esther has plenty of reasons to smile. Her bridesmaids made quite an impression with their helpfulness, even helping each other get ready with hair and makeup. They were cheerful and polite to one another-- sometimes bridesmaids can be catty, not these ladies. One of them also commented that they enjoyed being a good friend to Esther, that she was easy to be friends with!

Meanwhile, Nathan and his crew got ready at another cabin some miles down the road.

Best Man Amos shows off The Ring to pastor Matt Ford.

An explanation: Nathan and his groomsmen are off the chart jokers. I couldn't get Amos to put on pants for pictures! Above, groomsman Mike Lynn applies some discipline to naughty Nathan.

Pastor Matt brings it back down to the reality of needing prayer for the day.

Bridesmaid Sarah compares footwear with Esther's dad, also named Nathan.

Nathan Carver calmly surveys the wedding preparation. The Carver family has been readying the ranch for the last eight months. By Saturday, it was all ready!

The candy necklace "garter" was an inside joke between Esther and Nathan, I won't go into details, I'll just say that when Nathan was younger, he thought he could win friends over by wearing one of these candy necklaces!

Hayley readies the blusher.

Nancy busses her blushing daughter-bride.

Esther awaits her steed, a 1963 Chevy Bel-Air driven by her dad.

Unbeknownst to most guests and even the Groom, Esther and her girls were in the car driving slowly up the hill to the wedding site.

Getting married under a deeply rooted century-old oak tree was a great statement about marriage.

Nathan responded enthusiastically when told he could finally kiss Esther.

But, wait!

Amos sprays a couple blasts of Binaca. Fresh breath is important to Nathan!

Wonderful cake by Alice Keeler

These two stole the show.

These are real cowboy kids. Not the ones you see on TV.

Nathan tried to figure out how to remove the spurs, before removing the garter... and candy necklace!

Speaking of candy necklace!

Sarah is a country-western dance instructor. She gave a free lesson to the Esther & Nathan's guests.

One of my favorite images. Barn dance under a shining moon.

This is the getaway. Honeymoon in Detroit!!! Just kidding about that Detroit thing.

The couple drives slowly through a sparkling crowd of revelers and on to life together.

Just a few extra shots here and there.

Sitting on a car in nice clothes is not too far removed from Nathan and Esther's personalities.

This one pretty much sums up Nathan and Esther, I think.

Final thoughts:

Nathan and Esther's wedding was not just an event to take interesting pictures. I got to experience the joining of two very loving, supportive and hospitable families. I also saw the results of a great dating relationship that turned into a genuine marriage.

How cool is my job!!!