As wedding photographers, we’re privy to a lot of joyous moments. But even so, it’s rare to find a group quite as joyous, raucous and absolutely over the moon about the day as were every single person at the wedding of Shannon and Craig.

Part of the timbre of the day might have been down to the fact that this was a moment 10 years in the making for these two, who had already twined their lives together in such fundamental ways—raising twin daughters, buying houses together, making jobs into careers and acquaintances into friends into loved ones; or it might have been because these two are absolutely perfect for each other, that couple who make togetherness seem like an effortless, weightless thing, the natural choice for any two people who fit, curve into curve, like uncanny puzzles incarnated; or perhaps there was some magic in the place we were gathered. The Culinary Institute of America’s campus at Greystone is a majestic castle perched atop Napa’s hilly vine-covered landscape just moments from the heart of St. Helena. Inside, the effect is more storybook than school, the ceilings rise four stories tall, with wide sweeping staircases and airy ball rooms that must wait constantly for events as grand as this to materialize.