I don't even know where to start when I think about the past week. Things have been so hectic for me since mid- April, and I was so glad to see June arrive. That was, until June 1st came around. I was actually really looking forward to it for a variety of reasons, but as the day went on the weather started getting crazy. I was stuck at work and could see it out the window, but we don't have TV's there or anything and so until my friend Shelby started texting me, I really wasn't sure what was happening. She told me that there was a tornado watch, then a warning, and that they had actually touched down in my area. By the time I left work at 5:00 and drove home basically white-knuckled, the sky was INSANE and I was pretty much terrified. Oddly, though, I felt much more calm than when we used to get similar weather in Nashville. I think because when you're in the South you know how bad they can get, and here, even though the sky was nuts and something was obviously wrong, it still didn't feel like anything could ever happen. I ended up being really, really wrong about that. Wednesday evening tornados ripped up downtown Springfield and came within a mile of my house. I can't tell you what a strange, surreal, emotional experience it ended up being. To actually know people directly affected by something like this here, to hear on the news the heartbreaking stories of those killed... I feel very lucky to have stayed safe and to have my family and friends safe as well. The massive amounts of calls and text messages I was getting from my friends was unreal, and I feel so blessed to be cared about by so many wonderful people. Then earlier today, I found out that a friend of mine had a freak medical accident yesterday, and I won't lie when I say it scared the crap out of me. I am happy to say she is okay, but what her family must have gone through yesterday, I can't even imagine. This whole week I had been pre-occupied with something that happened last weekend... and things like the tornado and a health scare with a best friend opened to my eyes to what is truly important in life. Experiences like these truly remind you of what's important: friendship, family, and love. Which is why I really wanted to blog Eileen and Jonathan's wedding next.

I met Eileen about 2 years ago, a few months after I first met Molly. She is Molly's best friend, and immediately upon meeting her it's not hard to see why. They both have the same sweet, outgoing, charismatic personality, and they are both just genuinely fun people to be around. When Melissa asked me to second shoot this wedding with her because Molly was in the bridal party, I was thrilled to do it because I couldn't wait to see what a gorgeous bride Eileen was going to make. Jonathan cleaned up pretty well himself! They made a gorgeous pair as they started their new lives as husband and wife. I was honored to be a part of their day at the Nantasket Beach Resort. Here are a few of my favorite photos, the first wedding I used the BlogStomp app for and I loved how much easier it made blogging!!!