The Wedding Swallowtail

This weekend we were taking photos at a wedding. @justinmullet shoots a few weddings every year and I tag along as his second shooter. I'm not much of a second shooter, mostly I keep things moving, tell lame jokes and keep everyone comfortable while Justin does his thing behind the camera. We're told we make a good team.

We got to the wedding venue early to scout out good photo locations. While Justin was deciding where he wanted to get started I was stomping around with my thermos of coffee trying to look important, but really where we take photos is all up to him. At weddings I'm basically the equivalent of his service animal, although I have hands which makes me somewhat more useful.

It was chilly, 45 degrees and mostly shady in the woods. As I walked I glanced at the ground just before putting my foot down and a butterfly caught my eye. She was in the middle of the trail, right where I was about to walk. Her wings were folded and she was completely still. I got down on the ground to look at her and saw tiny movements. She was so still.

I called Justin over and he said "Oh, a Swallowtail butterfly!" I'm like "Right, what a pretty Swallowtail" while mentally I'm saying, "Seriously? How does he know it's a Swallowtail? Oh yeah, he was the kid that charted the temperature every day for like a year, and documented when each bird species was first seen every spring, of course he knows it's a Swallowtail!".

I googled when I got home, and sure enough, it's a Swallowtail! Now I can recognize two butterflies, Monarchs and Swallowtails. I feel like such a budding lepidopterist.

We took some photos then moved her to a sunny spot off the trail, since she was right where we were going to be tramping around.

Later during the outdoor wedding ceremony I noticed a similar butterfly flying above the guests. After the ceremony several guests asked if I took a picture of the butterfly flying right over the couple's heads as they said their vows then as they knelt to pray before walking out of the ceremony. I was busy snapping photos and didn't notice it then but I'm sure it's in the photos.

It was a special day made more beautiful by a simple butterfly.