I knew Jenny and Jørgen from before I started photographing weddings. Back then I was photographing their dogs. It’s a good feeling when work crosses over like that — when someone you photographed in a completely different context comes back years later and asks you to be there for one of the most important days of their lives.
They had chosen Lillerud gård because the animals roam free on the property. It’s an unusual reason to pick a wedding venue, but it makes sense once you know Jenny and Jørgen. During the ceremony — held outdoors under an apple tree — a pig wandered past. In the field next door a few llamas and horses stood watching. Jenny had been nervous before the ceremony, and she told me afterwards that it was precisely the animals that helped her — that she could look at them instead of all the guests.
After the ceremony came hugs, beers and conversation in the summer evening. The couple and a few close friends eventually settled into a sofa group a little aside from everything else going on. I was quick down with the camera — those moments don’t wait for the photographer. They’re some of the photos I’m most fond of from the day.
The rest of the evening was what a good barn party should be: dinner, speeches, dancing, fairy lights overhead, and Jägermeister. The kind of wedding you remember without having to think about it.
Jenny and Jørgen wrote about the day: “We love the photos — they turned out exactly the way we’d imagined. Memories for life. We’re absolutely thrilled. They’re exactly the kind of photos I was looking for. Neither of us has ever been this photogenic before.”