When you’re a child, you don’t quite understand what marriage is. You think it’s simply about falling in love, having a wedding, and living happily ever after. Like a fairytale. It’s the innocence of youth. As you get older, you learn how difficult it is to find true love and you feel like the luckiest person in the world when and if you do find it. The concept of what a wedding means begins to change as you grow older and gain more knowledge about love and life. Nathalie found that true love with Merijn. And while photographer Joshua D’hondt of Antwerp, Belgium, reveals to us the story of their beautiful wedding day, she also shows us a wedding through the eyes of a child.
D’hondt has an incredible artistic photography style that’s easy to become obsessed with. The shots of Nathalie + Merijn are stunning from the start, as Nathalie is getting ready for the day and as Merijn lays his eyes on his bride for the first time of their wedding day. But as you view the photos, you’ll also notice pictures that include two adorable children, a girl and a boy who are the children of Nathalie + Merijn’s friends.
The little girl is immediately spotted in the room where Nathalie is getting ready. In each photo, she’s looking up to Nathalie, watching her closely. It’s obvious the child thinks Nathalie looks like a beautiful princess and can’t wait for her turn to play bride some day in the far off future. The children show up in the church, too. Both girl and boy are ready for their walk down the aisle, the boy with an excited smile on his face. Of course, while most of the guests are listening intently to the ceremony, the little girl sits in the pews with her flowers and yawns out loud. No matter how magical a wedding, it’s difficult for a child to understand the length and wordiness of a ceremony. To an adult, that’s where much of the meaning is held.
Some day, the little girl and boy will find true love themselves. And if they’re lucky, their own weddings will be as beautiful as the wedding of Nathalie + Merijn. While marriage is about much more than just a happily ever after, the perfect wedding day does feel like a fairytale come to life.
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