Chris Jackson // West Virginia Wedding Photographers

A somber yet joy filled backyard wedding at Glade Springs

It isn’t too often as a wedding photographer do you get a last second inquiry for a wedding. Like a week out. I was contacted by Susan Landis after a referral from a friend of mine to provide photography for her son, Drew, and his fiance Sharon. She was up front, saying she had been diagnosed with an aggressive illness and that this was going to be her last time to spend joyful moments with friends and family. Drew and Sharon were to marry in 2018, but sped it up to get Susan in the wedding somehow.

They all worked their butts off getting last second flowers and booking The Dish Cafe (who this was their first ever time catering a wedding) to cater. I was willing and able. They got it all, rings, dresses, tents. Name it. Saturday morning came around and a few hours before I was to start, I got a phone call telling me Susan passed away Friday evening. It was devastating. To think all that work and effort to make this work and that happens. I felt crushed. I called Drew and asked him if they still wanted me to come, saying “I understand and it is no problem.” He was reluctant at first, saying “no probably not,” but he asked Sharon and they said “yes, we’re still doing this thing.”

It was somber at first, but the more people smiling, telling stories of Susan. Laughing and crying. Looking at photos of her in her pristine, gorgeous home started to make it feel as if she wasn’t gone. A friend of hers’ pulled me aside and said “Susan told me I’d see you here, you take fantastic photos.” She was still there, clearly evident in her gifts of old cooking books for attendees, giving them the warmth and joy she had cooking for friends and family. It was a celebration of her life. It was a celebration of Drew’s love for his mother and Sharon. It was Drew and Sharon’s wedding day.