Every story I film is sacred.

Every story, whether held in a grand cathedral or just two people on a cliff in the middle of nowhere, holds the power to transform lives.

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I’ve filmed weddings in mansions and on mountaintops, in backyards and on beaches. And here’s what I’ve learned: the sacredness of a ceremony has nothing to do with its size, budget, or location. The sacred lives in the story itself – in the courage it took to get there, in the love that persevered against impossible odds, in the witnessing of a journey that changed everything. But mostly, it’s in the voices that dare to speak it.

Ashley and Neil’s Florence elopement reminded me why this work matters. Because some of the most inspirational stories are born from loss. Some happily-ever-afters start with the worst day of your life. And bearing witness to those stories – really seeing them, honoring them, capturing them – is one of the most profound privileges of my life.

Before Italy: The Friend I Feared Losing

I remember being with Ashley before she moved to Italy. I was grieving the soon-to-be absence of one of my best friends as she prepared to travel across the world, leaving behind her hometown, family, and friends to start a completely new life for herself.

I told her how proud I was that she was choosing to start over, especially in the bravest, boldest way possible. But inside, I was terrified of losing her.

Ashley had only ever lived in our little coastal Florida town. She’d suffered a number of hardships in the years leading up to her decision to leave. But the final, devastating blow was losing her mom – her best friend – in a tragic accident.

Her mother’s death left us all reeling. But for Ashley, it became the catalyst for the biggest leap of faith she’d ever take.

The Leap That Changed Everything

When Ashley told me she was moving to Italy to learn to teach English as a second language, to go where the wind blew her, I was shocked. This was the friend who’d never lived anywhere else, who was deeply rooted in our Florida community, who was still processing the most profound grief of her life.

But ultimately, I couldn’t have been happier she was actually going through with it. Sometimes grief doesn’t make us smaller – it cracks us open to become who we were always meant to be.

Ashley left with zero expectations. She wasn’t running toward anything in particular. She was just choosing to keep living, to stay open to whatever life wanted to offer her next.

She had no idea that life was about to offer her everything.

A Pizza Shop in Florence

One night, Ashley sat alone at a table in a small pizza shop in Florence with a bottle of wine. Maybe she was lonely. Maybe she was content. Maybe she was still learning to be okay with the life she was building from scratch.

That’s when she heard something familiar – English conversation spoken across the room.

Neil and his best friend Gerald were simply passing through the city. Two travelers from South Africa who happened to land in that same little pizza shop on that particular night.

Before Ashley knew what was happening, she was giving them a private tour of Florence’s sights, showing these strangers her adopted city. And somewhere between ancient architecture and winding streets, she was falling in love with Neil – this unexpected person who appeared exactly when she’d stopped looking.

When Plans Change for Love

Neil wasn’t meant to stay in Florence after that night. He and Gerald had places to be, an itinerary to follow. But something about this quirky American girl learning English in Italy made him do something completely uncharacteristic.

He convinced Gerald to go on without him. He stayed a couple more days to get to know Ashley. And in doing so, he chose love before he even knew what it would become.

Even after Neil eventually had to leave, they never lost touch. Their relationship only grew stronger across continents and time zones. That long-distance journey is a tale fit for a book on its own – the calls, the visits, the faith it takes to believe in someone you can’t see every day.

But when it came time for them to finally get married, they knew exactly where it had to happen.

Returning to Where It All Began

Ashley and Neil chose to get married in Florence – the city where grief led to grace, where the worst chapter of Ashley’s life somehow opened the door to the best one.

And we, their friends and family, followed them there to witness and celebrate everything that brought them to this moment.

This is what I mean by sacred witnessing. It wasn’t just about filming a pretty wedding in Italy. It was about understanding the weight of that location, the significance of every street they walked down together, the grief that was still present alongside the joy.

Laughter and Tears: The Full Spectrum of Love

Their Florence wedding wasn’t all happiness, and that’s what made it so profoundly beautiful. There was much remembering of the circumstances that brought them together – especially Ashley’s mom, whose absence was felt deeply even as her daughter found love again.

We laughed together. We cried together. And we would do it all over again given the chance.

This is the reality of real love stories. They hold grief and joy simultaneously. They honor the people we’ve lost while celebrating the life that continues. They acknowledge that sometimes our greatest blessings emerge from our deepest pain.

As their filmmaker, my role wasn’t to edit out the complexity or make everything look perfect. It was to witness and honor the full truth of their story – the loss that led Ashley to Italy, the chance encounter that changed everything, the community that traveled across the world to celebrate love’s perseverance.

What Sacred Witnessing Really Means

People sometimes ask me what I mean by “sacred storytelling” or “sacred witnessing.” Ashley and Neil’s wedding is the perfect example.

Sacred witnessing means:

Seeing the whole story – Not just the happy moments, but understanding the journey that brought them there

Honoring what’s absent – Ashley’s mom was present in spirit, and acknowledging that absence was part of honoring their day

Capturing authentic emotion – The tears were as important as the laughter, because both were true

Understanding significance – That Florence wasn’t just a pretty backdrop but the actual birthplace of their love

Being present without intruding – Knowing when to film and when to simply stand in witness to sacred moments

Creating space for complexity – Love and loss, joy and grief, can coexist beautifully

A Story of Love Without Boundaries

Ashley and Neil’s story reminds us that love doesn’t follow the timeline we expect. It doesn’t wait for us to be “ready” or for our lives to be perfectly in order.

Love finds us in pizza shops when we’re eating alone. It convinces people to change their travel plans. It spans continents and time zones. It perseveres through grief and loss and the courage it takes to start over.

Theirs is a story of love in the unlikeliest of times. It’s about life persevering in the face of inconceivable sadness. It reminds us that leaps of faith – even ones born from heartbreak – can lead to the best era of your life.

For Anyone Standing at the Edge of Their Own Leap

If you’re reading this and feeling scared to jump, afraid of the fall, remember Ashley’s courage. She left everything familiar after experiencing the worst loss of her life. She had no guarantees that starting over would lead anywhere good.

But life found a way. And love was there to catch her.

Your leap might not lead you to Italy. It might not involve meeting someone in a pizza shop. But if you’re being called toward something new – if grief or loss or simply a longing for change is pushing you toward the edge – trust that there’s something waiting for you on the other side.

And when you find your own love story, when you’re ready to celebrate the journey that brought you there, find someone who will bear sacred witness to all of it – not just the pretty parts, but the whole beautiful, complicated truth.

Why Destination Weddings Hold Special Power

There’s something profound about returning to the place where your love story began. Ashley and Neil could have gotten married anywhere – in Florida where Ashley grew up, in South Africa where Neil is from, or any beautiful destination they chose together.

But Florence held their origin story. Walking those streets with their community, retracing the paths where they first fell in love, getting married in the city that witnessed Ashley’s transformation from grief to grace – all of it added layers of meaning that no other location could provide.

This is why I’m passionate about traveling to film elopements. Because location isn’t just about aesthetics. Sometimes it’s about returning to sacred ground, closing a circle, honoring the journey that brought you to this moment.

The Film That Holds It All

Ashley and Neil’s wedding film captures laughter and tears, joy and remembrance, the beauty of Florence and the deeper beauty of love that perseveres. It honors Ashley’s mom without her physical presence overshadowing Ashley’s day. It shows Neil’s spontaneous joy and Ashley’s quiet strength. It captures a community gathering to witness love’s triumph.

Most importantly, it tells the truth. Because sacred witnessing isn’t about making everything look perfect – it’s about honoring what’s real.

What Every Story Deserves

Whether your elopement happens in a grand Italian cathedral, a backyard in Florida, or a pizza shop where love first bloomed, your story deserves sacred witnessing.

It deserves someone who sees the significance beneath the surface, who honors the complexity of your journey, who understands that the most beautiful celebrations often hold both joy and grief, presence and absence, endings and beginnings.

No matter the location, venue large or small, budget big or modest – all stories are sacred when witnessed with reverence and captured with truth.

If your love story holds complexity, loss, triumph, or transformation – I see you. And I’d be honored to witness and capture your celebration with the sacred attention it deserves.

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Planning a wedding that honors your whole story? Whether in Italy or anywhere else, let’s talk about sacred witnessing that captures not just your wedding day, but the beautiful, complicated journey that brought you there.