I Do At The Barn

Richmond, KY

Not every stop in the 50 Vows Project requires a plane ticket, a packed suitcase, or figuring out how to fit all of my camera gear into a carry-on.


Sometimes, one of the most meaningful stops is home.


Alyssa and Jaylen’s wedding officially checked Kentucky off the 50 Vows Project, and I think there was something extra sentimental about getting to photograph my home state with two people I’ve known since high school.


I know Kentucky isn't exactly an exciting travel destination for me. I live here. I grew up here. I've photographed here countless times. There wasn't a new state to explore or an airport adventure attached to this one.


But that’s exactly what made me realize that this project isn't really about how far I can travel.


It’s about the people I get to photograph along the way.

Full-Circle Moment

I actually got to photograph Alyssa and Jaylen before their wedding day when we did their engagement photos the fall before. I always love when I get that opportunity with my couples because by the time the wedding comes around, we've already spent time together in front of the camera. We've already figured out what feels natural, laughed through the awkward first few minutes, and gotten to know each other a little better.


And then suddenly, months later, you're standing there watching them get married.


Their wedding took place in Richmond, Kentucky, at a venue I had never photographed before. And what a DAY.


It was hot—and I mean Kentucky hot—but the weather was beautiful. The venue ended up being such a great space for their day. There was plenty of room for everyone they loved to be there, room for people to dance, room to laugh, and room for all of those little moments that happen when you get that many people together to celebrate two people they love.


And there was definitely dancing.


The whole day just felt easy.


There are wedding days where you're constantly checking the time and wondering how you're possibly going to fit everything in, and then there are days that somehow just flow. Alyssa and Jaylen’s was one of those. Before I knew it, we had gone from getting ready to the ceremony to portraits to a reception full of people dancing and laughing.


The entire night went by like a breeze.


I think what made this one particularly special for me, though, was thinking about how long our lives had overlapped before I ever became their wedding photographer.


I knew both Alyssa and Jaylen in high school. Now we all live in Bowling Green, years have passed, life looks completely different, and somehow I ended up being the person they trusted to document their wedding.


There's something really cool about that.


Photography has introduced me to people all over the place, and I hope the 50 Vows Project continues taking me farther and farther from home. But there's something equally meaningful about getting to photograph the people who were around long before Chloe Skeese Photography became what it is today.

Kentucky may not have required me to go very far, but this wedding reminded me that distance isn't what makes a story worth telling.


Sometimes it's getting on a plane and photographing people you've never met in a state you've never seen.

And sometimes it's driving across your own state to photograph two people you've known since you were a teenager.

Both deserve to be remembered.


I'm so thankful Alyssa and Jaylen trusted me first with their engagement photos and then with one of the biggest days of their lives. Their wedding will forever be one I remember—not only because it was beautiful, not only because everyone danced and laughed their way through the night, but because they got to represent home in this crazy little project of mine.


Florida may have started the 50 Vows Project.

But Kentucky brought it home.