Set atop a working observatory in the hills of Brentwood, Tennessee, Abbey and Ralph celebrated their marriage under cloudy skies and occasional rain showers. I had met them through my wife, who was pursuing her PhD at Vanderbilt at the same time that Abbey started working as a research assistant and lab manager in the brain and cognitive science labs.

She and Ralph met at a weekly Motown Monday dance party at The 5 Spot in East Nashville, one of Five Points’ most venerable dance parties. So, when they got engaged and started planning their wedding, they knew one thing for certain: they wanted their reception to be a party.

Here’s the thing: I don’t shoot a ton of weddings. But I do shoot concerts and I do shoot events. But, that’s what Abbey and Ralph wanted: someone they were comfortable with, who could capture the energy and excitement of their day.

I enlisted my wife as a photo assistant to split my focus at the beginning of the day, before the storms started to roll in. We needed to knock out as many shots–the first look, the family photos, the bride and groom portraits–as possible before the weather completely turned.

Fortunately, everything worked out. Even Abbey’s heels getting stuck in the rapidly softening ground made for some fun shots when Ralph had to piggyback her all the way to the Star Chamber, where they wanted to shoot portraits. (Bringing a couple of extra umbrellas certainly didn’t hurt either.)

Their only directives during the ceremony and getting ready phases were to shoot documentary style. We posed them in a few cases, but the majority of the shots were in the moment candids.