Megan & Jacob

Wadsworth Mansion sits at the end of a long drive lined with pines, bright white against a blue fall sky. Inside, Megan's bridesmaids wore matching red floral robes, and her gown hung in a tall window before it came down. When the bridesmaids turned around to see her in it, a row of burgundy dresses reacted all at once. She came down the carpeted staircase holding her skirt in one hand.

Jacob waited on the back lawn with his back to her, in front of a wall of hydrangeas gone pink and rust with the season. The first look there was quiet and close, his hand on her shoulder, her bouquet of blush roses pressed between them. Afterward the wedding party lined up on the grass, burgundy and black, with a few small kids tucked into the front row. Escort cards spread across a table crowded with pumpkins and gourds.

The ceremony took place in the columned courtyard, guests seated between the mansion's two arched wings. Jacob met Megan halfway and walked her the rest of the way himself. I pulled them back out front as the sky went deep blue, the porch lanterns warm behind them. Inside, the reception moved through a first dance on the parquet floor, a toast from a bridesmaid in burgundy, and a teary family moment that needed no explanation.