Early on in our relationship, I had to take Zack to the hospital for a dental emergency.  I told him that I was going to tell the nurse that I was his “girlfriend,” even though we had yet to define the terms of our situation, “because it will just be a lot easier.”  The truth was, I was completely head over heels in love with him and I thought this would be a sneaky stealth move on the road to our eventual marriage.  He got the hint.  Zack is: my best friend, the funniest person in the universe (sorry Louis CK), shy and thoughtful, a million kinds of fun, a very kind human being, a brilliant writer, the best shoulder to cry on, an excellent out-loud reader, exceedingly attractive, and a surprisingly amazing dancer.  I am constantly in awe of his talent and heart.  Until Zack, I had never met someone who would think about a situation (either in life or within himself) that he didn’t like and actually be willing to take steps to change it.  He makes me a stronger, better person every day and I honestly can’t imagine my life without him.

-Eli

I’ve tried many times to put into words my love for Eli.  I always come up short and I’m sure I always will but I will keep trying forever and ever and here goes my latest attempt. When Eli and I are home alone together we are laughing almost always.  That’s exactly what I’ve always wanted, someone who makes every boring average uneventful day into something fun.  She is unstoppable in that regard.  She’s hilarious and goofy and doesn’t accept not having a good time, she simply won’t allow it.  I end up the beneficiary of this approach to life every single day.  I also love every other single thing about her.  She’s brilliant and beautiful, she inspires me, intimidates, challenges and supports me.  She’s my biggest fan and I’m hers.  But when I think about why I love her I keep coming back to the thought that I just love my life with her in it.  I love my life.  She makes me happy and I LOVE being happy.  I don’t know what more I could ask for.

-Zack

ON FAMILY

The first photograph that Zack ever took of me was during a moment when I was holding our boss’s baby, Jake.  I remember looking up at him and seeing his face in that moment – even though we hadn’t even been on a date yet, I could tell that he was thinking future thoughts.  I know he’s going to be a great father, and I will be a kooky mother who does a lot of prop comedy.  One time when I was dancing like a robot, Zack looked at me fondly and said, “You are the future mother of embarrassed children” and then he married me.  Zack and I both come from large, loud, boisterous families who know how to have a good time.  As you can imagine, it made for a pretty fun wedding.  We are both so lucky to have such wonderful parents and siblings, not to mention aunts, uncles, and cousins who have taught us how important it is to love each other well.  We have examples of wonderful marriages all around us, and the support of the best families around.  Our wedding was the perfect blend of those families, who came together for the week of the wedding to build bars, plant flowers, learn songs, and party.  I’m excited to be a Whedon and I’m so happy Zack is a Clark.

-Eli

Family is hugely important to me.  I was raised in a wonderful, warm, tight-knit family where I was taught to value those connections.  That has extended throughout my life into how I value my circle of friends and now into how that circle has expanded with my friends starting families of their own.  Eli feels the same way and this is a big part of why we had the wedding we did which is to say a very very big one.  The idea of all these disparate people that I love and all these people that Eli loves coming together in one place was something I’d always wanted to happen.  I wanted EVERYONE there.  It was better than I ever could have imagined.  Seeing people connect and interact was amazing.  Beyond that though it felt like something we all created together because in many ways we very literally did.  We had people building bars and planting flowers and painting signs, all working together to pull off this incredible event and a lot of the time these were people who had never met before that week.  To finally, after all these years take every thread of my life and weave them all together was remarkable and the result was something I’ll never forget.

-Zack

CEREMONY & RECEPTION: FAMILY’S FARRM
WEDDING PLANNER: CHRISTINE WHEAT
WEDDING FILM: SARATOGA WEDDING VIDEO
FLORALS & DESIGN: RENAISSANCE FLORAL DESIGN
CATERING: MANSION CATERING