Friday June 26th 2015, just a few hours after the Supreme Court of The United States issued a land mark ruling for marriage equality, the state of Tennessee began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.  Alex and Kayla were one of the first couples to get married Friday after the ruling.  When I met them at the Davidson County courthouse they were surrounded by camera crews from just about every Nashville news outlet.

As a wedding photographer I often refer to myself as a photojournalist.  A photojournalist is essentially a storyteller and a wedding photojournalist is someone who gets to tell beautiful love stories through photographs.  On Friday afternoon there wasn’t any other love story that I would have rather been telling than Alex and Kayla’s.  They had been engaged for a year and a half and when they heard the news they were so excited that they rushed down to the courthouse to make their marriage official.

Emotions were extremely high as they tried to complete the application process. The marriage application was finally updated from “bride and groom” to “applicant 1 and 2.”  As Alex and Kayla waited for everything to go through I got to witness their love for each other which was so evident in how they interacted.  Once it was finally time for their ceremony Nashville councilwoman and mayoral candidate Megan Barry officiated the ceremony.  As Alex and Kayla said their vows the small room was packed with people who wanted to witness the historic event and there was hardly a dry eye in the room by the time the ceremony was over.

It was such an honor to capture these photographs for them.  Congratulations Alex and Kayla and to all of the gay and lesbian couples who are now free to marry the person they love! – John