The Story of Leslie & Jaxon Willis 12/30/12

“It’s raining a little outside,” was definitely a statement I remember hearing as I was adjusting my camera settings.

“It is?!” Leslie looked back to see Amy, the wedding coordinator, peeking through the door of the Bride’s dressing room. Usually, it’s not always a good thing to hear when it’s raining on an important event, but this was different. Rain on your wedding day symbolizes good luck in the sense that it is bringing water to a dry place, for example, like watering a plant–causing a flower to bloom.

Back in August, Leslie and I sat next to each other during a Fever Dreamer show. I hadn’t even met Jaxon yet, but I recall constantly hearing about about how “awesome” he was. ( Blog post from that day with photos of Leslie and the show )

“Have you met Jaxon yet?” she said. This was the first time I had ever heard Leslie talk about him. I could tell she was already head over heels for him. Leslie has  definitely always been one of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever seen, and Jaxon happened to be the lucky one who swept her off the market.

“It had been a month since I had seen him because he had been off in Atlanta for work,” says Leslie, describing the significance of the purple chair at White Rhino Coffee House in Cedar Hill, Texas. “It was sometime late April that I saw him over my laptop from the couch and he was sitting across from me in that chair. I awkwardly told him I loved him because that was the first thing that came to mind. It was only natural that I profess my love for him right then and there. I mean, he came back from Atlanta looking like a Greek God. That’s when he started laughing it off, so I attempted to save that moment by saying he was tan… and I liked his tan skin. I started working on my government paper after that because I was mortified. Six months of repressed emotions and I felt like I blew it in one phrase… but it worked!” For those of you who do not know Leslie… she has a great sense of humor, lol. I asked her if they had a “special song,” and she replied, “‘I Just Do,’ by Dear And The Headlights. It’s almost identical to the beginning of our relationship.”

“In the coffee shop, you sipped your drink

and we all sat and talked.

My mind had wondered off

alone to find a thought

as beauty poured out when you talked.

You stand still in my sight,

a switch got hit somewhere back in my mind.

Just then I realized there what I had to do,

’cause I couldn’t stand to look at you

across another crowded room”

and know that you would not be mine.”

I feel so fortunate to have gotten the chance to be in charge of Leslie and Jaxon’s memories. I also feel honored to know that years from now, my photos will be the ones they will always look back to.

“I’m going to cry,” said Lisa sniffling as she held her daughters’ hands.

“Liz On Top Of The World” was the song Leslie walked to down the isle. My face was hidden behind my camera, but I looked like a sad, sad sour patch kid and couldn’t help by cry. :.)

“Now, ladies and gentlemen… Leslie & Jaxon have something to show you.”

“Midnight City,” was a song that Leslie and Jaxon booty danced to on their wedding night (I got some great photos from that).

However, it turns out that this song has a story too: “On our way down to get our engagement pictures done,  Jaxon was trying to cheer me up because the curl in my hair fell… So he made up some ridiculous dance moves to that song, and it stuck with me.”