September was a busy month-full of weddings, portraits and more charity work. I've had a couple truly remarkable weddings lately and some wedding parties that I'll never forget!
Anna and Joel's wedding was ten years ago, in a VERY small ceremony at City Hall. Anna had always dreamed of having a big wedding, and her wish came true on August 14th when she and Joel renewed their vowes in front of over 100 of their family and friends. It was beautiful to see their love even stronger than it was ten years ago!
Matt and Stacey met a few years ago at a party. Matt told me that when he saw Stacey, he thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world. WOW-every single person on earth should have someone feel that way about them! This couple is about as sweet and adorable as you can get. I left their wedding on such a natural high. When I leave a wedding like that, I say to myself "This, is why you love to photograph weddings!"
Here's just one of the many engagement portraits I've been doing where the couple wants to create a save the date card. Can't wait until May 4th of next year. Valerie and Kent are SO much fun!
Saturday was Vanessa and Josh's engagement session. We had this scheduled weeks ago, but they wanted Andrew to be there for the photos as well. I'm SO glad we waited, because he is a little cutie! The weather was perfect, and their smiles were as bright as the sun. We chatted about the wedding, their honeymoon, and Andrew was talking about how there was a lot of goose poop out in the country...ah little boys-gotta love them! I can't wait until March when Vanessa and Josh are married. The wedding is going to be fantabulous!!! To see more of their engagement photos, go to my facebook page.
Hello friends! Saturday was Kristen and Andrew's wedding and I'll be posting their slideshow by Friday. For right now, I wanted to share some portrait sessions from the last week. It was a mix of sessions...engagement, a single mom and her two beautiful children, and a family with young kids. I had a BLAST with every single person! I hope you love looking at the photos as much as I loved taking them!
Before I begin, I know this is a long post, but I AM GOING TO ASK THAT YOU READ THIS STORY---YOU WILL NOT BE SORRY!! Today was probably one of the most special bridal session I will ever photograph, and it was fun to help play fairy godmother. Before I tell you about today (and the INCREDIBLE people who helped to make it happen), I need to give you a little back story. Heidi, along with her parents, Carole and Lou, are our neighbors. We met them right after we all moved into the neighborhood almost nine years ago. Heidi has Down's Syndrome, and the love of her life, Michael, does as well. Over the years I have taken hundreds of photos of these two and they are two extremely special people! In the first few years that we knew them, Ali and Katie spent a lot of time with Heidi and Michael because they were both involved as volunteers with Special Olympics. Michael is from Tennessee, and Heidi lives here in Lincoln (they met each other in the early '80s when they both lived in the bay area and were athletes with Special Olympics). Several times a year they fly back and forth to each other's homes and spend a month or so together. Both of them are Type 1 Diabetics, so they are really lucky that each family knows how to handle this disease and how to take care of one another's "kids". I hope this isn't too much info, but I have to tell you how extraordinary Heidi's parents are. When Heidi was a baby, her parents were told that she would never do so many things that the average person does; she'd never walk on her own, never be a potty trained child, never be able to read or write. Carole and Lou refused to believe this and treated their daughter as they did their son. Heidi has dozens and dozens of medals for skiing, golfing, swimming and just about any other sport she trys. She is an incredible woman who makes the rest of us look "lazy" ;) She is also quite a reader and when she first got engaged, she poured over bridal magazines!
Six years ago Michael talked to his parents and said he wanted to propose to Heidi. Michael's parents talked to Heidi's parents and agreed that it was the right time. Heidi and Michael met each other in 1984, and got engaged in 2004. Heidi knew she wanted a June wedding, so for obvious reasons the parents suggested to this couple that since they got engaged after they knew each other for 20 years, they should set the wedding date 20 years out. SO, I now have June 30, 2024 on my calendar to photograph their wedding...sorry, if you were thinking about that date, but I'm booked with a very special wedding :-) In the last couple of years Heidi has been wanting to try on wedding dresses, but for reasons I cannot understand, no bridal shop would allow it because her wedding was too far out. After meeting this couple, can you believe people didn't want to help her live every part of her fairytale? Carole had told me about a day where they stumbled on an incredible bridal store in Vegas where Heidi was able to try on some dresses. The problem was that Michael wasn't there to see it, and Carole wasn't really prepared to take photos. So, here is the rest of the story...
When I heard about this I knew I could do the photography, but we needed a place for her to try on dresses. I immediately called my friend Jennifer Baker at Enchanted Bridal Shoppe and told her about this heartwarming story, and asked her if she would help me to make another of Heidi's dreams come true. SHE DID NOT HESITATE!!!!! Today, Heidi, Michael, Carole and I arrived at Enchanted Bridal Shoppe and were they ever ready for us!!! I had told them that Heidi LOVES, LOVES, LOVES Disney, so we KNEW that this bride had to try on Disney dresses. In addition to her modeling for us, Michael brought his tuxedo. As I am writing this I am crying just thinking about how magical this day was. If you could have seen the look on Carole's face when she saw her only daughter try on wedding dresses that Heidi could only dream of, it just melted me! Nothing that Heidi wanted to try on was off limits...Tiffany tiaras, crystal bracelets, and any dress she wanted. An added bonus was that Ali had purchased a dress from the bridal shoppe and she was with us to pick it up. We couldn't help but get some "wedding party" photos with her, Heidi and Michael. I tried to do detail photos for them as well, and when I found out that the cufflinks that Michael had belonged to his late grandfather, I could not take a chance on missing those; Heidi's special engagement ring was Michael's great aunt's. As you'll be able to tell from the photos, Michael is quite the ham, while Heidi is the sophisticated one of the two ;)
I have three daughters and there are so many things that I take for granted...knowing that I'll probably be with them on their wedding day is one. However, when I looked at Carole today, knowing that this was quite possibly one of the most important days in her life as Heidi's mom, I can't even begin to tell you the emotions that overwhelmed me. The only thing that could have made this more emotional was if Heidi's dad, Lou, was there. He is THE MOST emotional guy I have ever known ;)
Heidi and Michael, I will never ever meet another couple like the two of you, and you make me so happy that I could share this with you!!
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, look at this slideshow with the emotions and heart that this couple deserves. Whether or not you know this Princess and Prince Charming, it would be tremendously special if you could leave them a comment to tell them how much they touched your heart. Obviously, a Disney song was in order for this slideshow. It seems like "thank you" is not enough to Enchanted Bridal for what you did today. You made your motto "You are a princess, and so shall you be treated", come to life today for what you did for this family. I know they will NEVER forget you!!!!!!
Saturday was Sarah and Mike's wedding, and it was spectacular!! Pink was the color of the day, and every single detail showcased the various shades of pink. The wedding took place at Lake Natoma Inn and the exquisite flowers were created by Joan of Beautiful by Nature. This wedding was a photographer's dream-wonderful people, a fantastic venue, and incredible details to photograph! Sarah looked stunning in her dress from Enchanted Bridal Shoppe, and she was absolutely glowing all day! She and Mike met each other when they were in high school, and I'd be willing to bet it was love at first sight. Mike looked so handsome in his tuxedo, and I really loved the striped ties all the guys wore. As you're looking at the slideshow, you may think your eyes are playing tricks on you, but they're not-Mike's bestman was his twin brother.
This wedding was so much fun, and the reception was really lively! I also wanted to give some credit to my assistant, Brie. She did a great job as second shooter for me, and it was great to have her with me on Saturday. Sarah and Mike had two flowergirls and a ringbearer. Sarah got the girls a teaset as a gift, and the girls played with it all afternoon! It was so cute to watch Sarah have "tea" with her flowergirls. The song I selected for their slideshow is a song I just heard a few weeks ago, and I have been saving it just for them! Be sure to show them some love by leaving a comment!
Last week I photographed Ceci and Chris' engagement portraits. Ceci and Chris are a couple who have lived here for quite a while-let's just say A LOT longer than me. I have been really looking forward to Ceci and Chris' portraits, as well as their wedding. Ali went to high school with both of them, so they have a lot of mutual friends. If you've read my blog, you know how much I LOVE to photograph Lincoln weddings. Lincoln is such a small community and so many relationships overlap each other. Chris and I were talking about that at their session. We said that even though Lincoln has grown substantially in the last decade, the social nucleus of this town definitely keeps that small town atmosphere alive...I wouldn't want to live anywhere else! Ceci and Chris are the cutest couple, and I KNOW their wedding is going to be fantastic! As I was doing the portraits I was watching the two of them together, and loved to watch how Ceci just melts when she looks at Chris. When she's around him, she just looks like being around him is the safest place in the world.
In the last couple of weeks I've been doing some portraits. One of the sessions I did was of Rae and Clark's beautiful family. I had not met them before this time, but I had met their newest addition, Sammy. Some of you may know that Ali is Sammy's nanny. He is absolutely adorable and I was thrilled to finally meet his big brothers and their parents. It was a gorgeous day in Folsom, and the perfect setting for these portraits. Rae and Clark are runners and love to be outdoors. Initially Clark wanted something in the studio that was more formal, but as our discussion progressed, we agreed that outdoors in the area where they love to spend so much time, was much more appropriate. I did the portraits about three weeks ago, and when they came today to view them, I couldn't get over how much Sammy has grown since I last saw him! One of the true pleasures of this session were Rae and Clark's two oldest sons. It's not unusual for young men in their late teens and early twenties to not enjoy having family portraits taken-and their expressions usually show it. However, these young men were polite, respectful, and I think actually enjoyed the session; they also could not be any cuter with their little brother--Sammy is a lucky boy to have such nice role models. I had a wonderful time working with all of them am looking forward to photographing them as the boys get older.
This past Sunday morning, it was so wonderful to get out into the sunshine. With the rain storm we had Friday and Saturday, I wasn't sure we were going to be able to do Sarah and Mike's engagement session. However, other than a few pair of soggy feet by the time we were done, the day was perfect! I met Sarah and her mom in January, and we became fast friends. In fact, by the time our consultation was over, her mom asked if she could give me a hug, because she said she felt like we had been old friends. I hadn't met Mike until Sunday, but Sarah had told me a lot about him. Mike is a director for a local news channel. He and I joked about how we both feel more comfortable behind the camera, than in front of the camera. I'm sure you'll agree that he looks great in front of the camera. Undoubtedly, the camera loves Sarah! I can't wait for their June wedding, and am so excited to photograph this couple again!
