High school sweethearts Christi & Ben finally tied the knot and I feel so lucky to have gotten to travel to their hometown in Iowa to document their day! They have been a couple for over 10 years and my friends for the past 2. Despite there many years together it was obvious they still feel butterflies when they look at each other and they both were so incredibly happy this day had come at last.
It was so much fun capturing Christi & Ben’s beautiful backyard wedding with their eclectic group of friends and family looking on. During the ceremony, streaks of late day sun pierced through the tall trees illuminating both sets of teary-eyed parents and we wandered around the countryside making photos in the tall grass and along the long, flat, dirt roads. After, the newlyweds threw a fantastic party downtown with so many people who watched them grow up there to celebrate their momentous day.
I didn’t know what to expect from Iowa and was pleasantly surprised and think it’s important to write a little about the town I became so enamored with… I had no idea my friends came from such a progressive place!
Fairfield, IA is a beautiful, quaint, seemingly typical mid-western town with a lovely downtown square and coffee shops where people notice strangers. However, this mid-western town is anything but typical. Fairfield was put on the map back in the 70’s when a slew of open-minded students followed the Beatles Vedic sage, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, to start the Maharishi University of Management. The school began attracting hundreds of students from around the world, hosted a world peace conference in 1979 and has been described as the home of the Transcendental Meditation movement. I met so many interesting people just walking the streets. What a cool town, and a place I truly enjoyed wandering around and making images of.
