A Rainy Wedding at Black Lantern Resort

Some days the weather doesn't cooperate, and it turns out to be the best possible outcome. For those of you who love a rainy wedding, you're my people.

Sierra and Waylon got married at Black Lantern Resort near Bemidji, Minnesota, tucked into 200 acres of northern pine forest with a pavilion strung in lights and a dance floor open to the sky. It rained, and the fog and mist weaved their way around us and through the pines.

Mossy forest floors, boulder landscaping, tiki torches at dusk, and enough seclusion that the rest of the world disappeared for the weekend. It's a place built for the kind of wedding where guests linger and actually connect. We went out at sunset venturing into a wheat field a few miles out from the resort and heard a moose bellowing... a little too close for comfort. Minnesota, I love you, but keep your moose population a bit further away from me next time. I like being alive, thanks.

If it isn't apparent by the main photo on this story, Waylon and Sierra have such a tender love. The way he holds her, the way she melts into him, it's a safe, supportive love. His eyes lit up when he saw her walk down the aisle in a way that can't be done without the real emotion behind them. They are both the warmest souls who welcomed me into their tribe like I was always one of them, and they wrote me the sweetest card later and even made me my first ever Twin Flames Christmas Ornament, which I have cherished on every tree in the years since.

If you're planning a wedding at Black Lantern Resort or anywhere in northern Minnesota and want photography that meets the moment, rain and all, I'd love to hear from you.