I cannot think of a more picturesque setting to an elope that what happened to be Jon and Stephanie's backyard! The green, rolling hills of Vermont stretched as far as our eyes could see from the top of a bluff that a local farmer mowed down for the happy couples' special day.

The ceremony was small with the only guests being the officiant, myself and their two gigantic, cuddly dogs. They were on their best behavior and smartly dressed with colorful bowties. During the most tender moments of the ceremony, the dogs sat stoically, almost understanding the importance of what was happening with "mom" and "dad".

After the tears from the ceremony had tried and turned to unremovable smiles, the three (I mean five!) of us headed to the bottom of the hill where there was a backdrop that looked clipped out of a magazine. The scene was a fishing pond that perfectly reflected the quaint cabin on the other side and wrapped by an ancient stonewall a wonderfully imperfect dirt path.

If we couldn't get any more "Vermont" than that, we loaded the dogs in the car and headed down to the old farmhouse for some more photos. We also ventured into the farmer's field that was blanketed with dandelions and had a million-dollar view of the not-so-far-away ridge. That's where I captured my favorite photo of the day, though they were skeptical!

I felt so privileged to be part of the wonderful exchange of love Jon and Stephanie had that day and will never forget it!