Ernie Taylor – The Secret of Life
Channel: photoPXL
Date: 07/05/2020

In early 2013, my now wife and I were cruising around Zionsville, Indiana looking for a potential wedding venue. With the help of a close family friend, we found an amazing private residence in Westfield, where we would be married in a large field adjacent to a beautiful barn. In our travels around the area, we passed a rather unique place that I thought would be an incredible location for our bridal party photos.

From the road, it was hard to tell if it was some sort of art installation or perhaps a museum or a vintage market, either way, we had to find out more about this incredible spot.

We pulled up the drive and we were greeted by a small dog. There was a little white house behind a chain-link fence that looked like something out of a storybook. It was a quaint home next to a large working shed with a classic pristine Model A Roadster parked outside. There were large metal sculptures, old farm equipment, trinkets and signs with inspirational or witty phrases written on them.

We still weren’t quite sure who we would meet when we knocked on the door, but we mustered up some courage and knocked. A few seconds later a cute old couple came to the door. We introduced ourselves and said we were passing by and saw all the incredible sculptures on your property and we were wondering if we could walk around to have a closer look at them.

Their names were Dottie and Ernie Taylor and they were delighted to have us stop by. They gave us a tour around the property and told us stories of all the incredible pieces, including some very large metallic dinosaurs.

After some time, I mentioned we were getting married up the road that fall, and we were curious if we could come here to shoot photos with our wedding party. I think they were both a little shocked that we wanted to come to take photos in their yard but they were clearly excited about the idea.

Fast forward a number of months and we showed up in a giant school bus with twenty of our closest family and friends. We spent over an hour playing on the property and shooting some incredibly fun and unique photos. Our wedding photographer, Jessica Strickland and her assistant Erika were in love with the unique ways they could photograph us and they both did an incredible job capturing the essence of the location.

Why do I share this story?

Well, it was photography that paved the way for my wife and me to meet this incredible couple, who at the time, had been married for nearly 60 years. We took photos with them in our wedding attire and Ernie told stories to my groomsmen. It was more than simply a location to stop and take photos it was an experience that could not be replicated. It also bonded us with a couple in a very special way.

On our first anniversary, we revisited the Dottie and Ernie and brought them a framed photo of us together from our wedding day. They were elated by the sentiment. We sat in their tiny kitchen, which was lined with little knick-knacks and old photos. Ernie played his banjo and sang us a couple of songs. It was a moment where time seemed to pause and my wife and I just sat there and took it all in.

Produced by Michael Durr
www.michaeldurr.com
www.instagram.com/instadurr