Everything about this wedding makes me miss Summer terribly. The color, warm light, peaches, tomatoes, flowers, Marci's flowy dress, watching movies outdoors...sigh.
Fall I love you but you will never be Summer.
I was neck deep in 1st trimester nausea when I shot this wedding but, honestly, I was so transfixed on the thoughtfulness of the details that I don't think I felt sick at all until I was in the car on my way home.
I don't need to say much...the photos speak for themselves.
Marci and Redge have this soft, quiet aura around them which was cathartic considering the border line state of madness I live in. You just calm down when you are around them..and then you feel like walking under huge willowy trees and eating fruit. That's what they do to you.
I want to leave you with a few words the bride shared with me about her day (Marci, I hope you don't mind!):
"We have a family tradition of going up to my Grandpa’s cabin around the 4th of July. One of his favorite places in the world to relax and enjoy the most important things to him, his family. As we were up there I cut down three quaky aspen trees to be a part of the decorations. My grandpa often made tables and frames out of these beautiful trees and so whenever I see them it brings his gentle heart and warmth back to me. I used these trees to display my family trees; one tree was dedicated to the Bendheim/Sprague family. We rummaged through old pictures hearing stories and decided which ones would make the cut. I saw Redge in so many of those old pictures, his eyes on his grandpa Sprague's, his nose on is grandma Bendheim. It helped us to connect to those that made the way for us. The next tree was dedicated to my side the Tuttle/Condie side of the family. How I love the look of the pictures of my grandparents going off to war or smiling hand in hand on the farm. The simple lives lead by them teaching the values and morals that would someday shape and grow my own tree. The last tree was our baby tree, mine and Redges, it was us planting our seed and we will watch it grow through out the years. Branches upon branches will come and our tree will continue to grow.
Our thank yous or favors at the end of the night were the fruit of the trees. Peaches to take home. Something tangible from the tree. The giving tree always gave back. And our families have given us so much."
How beautiful is that!!? I was so touched when I read it. They gave meaning to every part of the day. It was exactly what a wedding should be. It was a beautiful reminder to me of what we should be celebrating.
I was honored to be there. xo.
Emotion like this can not be staged or "posed". Trevi, Quinn and family are the real deal. They were all happy. Really happy.
Often when I meet new people and the "what do you do" conversation comes up and it ends with them wanting my website address and good intentions of looking up my work. I know that in a lot of cases, unless a business card was given, the web address is as good as gone. This time it was different.
I commonly don't meet a bride and groom until their wedding day. You know...emailing, maybe a phone call but getting together face to face isn't usually necessary. I love to shoot engagements before the wedding day so they can get an idea of how I work and I can get an idea of how they work...but this doesn't always happen and that's OK. Because of this, it's always a little mysterious to what my couple will look like. What will the style of her dress be? Will they be affectionate or shy? Loud or quiet?
It's fun anticipating the unknown factors that will impact how I shoot and what I see. It's that unknown that keeps me loving shooting in natural light and shooting weddings. It's guerrilla style. You have to always be on your toes, re-metering, watching five things at once, being one step ahead of an emotional moment so you can grab it and expose it properly. Not the most relaxing way to shoot, let me tell you. OK, I'm getting off track..
So I am back from what feels like 3 solid months of traveling.
Dave & Mel's wedding in Brisbane was shear brilliance. Photobooth photos above prove the level of fun we had. (How did we fit our 4 noggins in that tiny photobooth?!..and why am I hogging the whole frame?)
Early in my career as a photographer a lot of my work came from family, friends or friends of friends. Although those sources are still strong referral bases, most of my work now comes from clients I have never met previous to working with. We meet, we chat, we shoot.
Alabama knocked my socks off! I showed up with a welcome bag in my hotel room. Score. I grocery shopped at a Piggly Wiggly. Score. I bought butterfly earrings at Apropos. Score. I got to sit in the bridal room as Rachael got ready and stare at her. Score. AND I ended the night by seeing my first ever firefly. It was a very busy and very productive 24hrs.
One of my favorite weddings.
They way they planned their day was ideal. Small intimate group of friends and family, hours for us to walk around 
The title of this post really has nothing to do with the couple shown. Other than the fact that it's St. Patty's day...and maybe my luck at having those birds fly by... I really don't think "luck" has anything to do with it.