Tuesday, January 28, 2014

M & G's wedding | ETSU Catholic Center Wedding

Did you know that I used to be a Spanish teacher before I became a photographer?  Yup.  Totally did that.  I had a blast.  But it was just too hard to be away from my kiddos all day, so I quit the day before my third child was born.  The bride was one of my former students!  I did her engagement photos this summer.  It was so fun to see her as an adult and to see the man that she chose to spend the rest of her life with.  He's really great and they're perfect for each other!  They met at the Catholic Center at ETSU and that is where they decided to have their wedding. 





 He was so excited to see his beautiful bride walking down the aisle! 
 I asked her dad if he was nervous at all.  He said, "no."  He's an old hat at this.  The bride is his fourth daughter! 
 This was a full Catholic wedding.  And my first!  I love seeing the importance that different religions place on marriage.  The priest blessed their lives, their future children, and the rings. 

 Sheesh, these shoes were amazing...
 The groom's parents held hands during the whole ceremony. 


 Just look at how he's looking at her!  He ADORES her!

 The Catholic wedding ceremony involves an entire mass.  Which is kind of hard on the little kids :)  It's so hard to be reverent when you're 4. 

 Flower petals are so much more interesting than watching your uncle marry the love of his life. 




 They used to take walks all the time around the Catholic Center.  How perfect to take a little walk on their wedding day? 




 This is my favorite photo right here. 
 It was cold and her toes were freezing, so we didn't stay outside much longer.... 
 ....which is okay because there was a POOL table inside!  And she had an amazing slit up her dress


 These three guys are some of their greatest friends.  I thought I was going to die when she told me that the one in the blue shirt is one of her best friends.  He was a student of mine, too.  Let's just say that he's matured a little since high school.  I sat next to him during the reception and shared my chicken with him.   The other two guys are really special friends.  The couple was in Rome when the groom decided to pop the question.  The guy in the green shirt was there to photograph it.  He lamented that he only had an iphone.  You'll often hear photographers tell you that the best camera you can have is the one you have with you.  That is so true.  I would much rather have iphone photos of my proposal than no photos at all (and, no, I don't have proposal photos). 


 We then headed to the Carnegie in Johnson City for the wedding reception.  It was beautiful!  I have never been there before!  Check out these sweet cake toppers....
 ...and the fun cake.
 Her ring is incredible.  He did such a good job picking it out!
 I'm finding that I really love photographing weddings.  Everyone is so happy!

 Just look at these photos! 









 The groom only has one sibling.  What a special moment for them!


 The groom told her that "Words can not describe how beautiful you look tonight."  Wouldn't you agree?  Congratulations!


Monday, December 30, 2013

R&R's wedding

Happy month-iversary to these guys!  I can hardly believe that it's been that long!  I first met the bride's family 9 years ago when I moved to Kingsport.  When she was tiny.  She contacted me in October to see if  I'd photograph her wedding and I was so excited!  I did their family photos just a few months before and they are so great.  I have VERY minimal experience photographing weddings, so I prepared like crazy. And I'm very happy with the results! 

Her ring is so soft and delicate.  Her diamond is PINK! 
It took a few tries to get this shot....the poor guys....They were pretty tired when we were done.  But don't you think it was worth it?

 
He took a wrong turn on the way to the temple, so she was SUPER excited when he finally got there!  She broke away from her friends immediately and ran up to give him a huge hug. 
 
 This was an LDS wedding (Mormon) in Washington DC.  There is no photography allowed during the ceremony, so the moment when they come out of the temple is a big deal.  Obviously they were VERY happy. 

 

 Little kids aren't allowed, either.  So the bride's little sister was absolutely adorable as she ran up to hug Regan on her big day. 
 These four girls have been friends since they were tiny.  They all came up from far away to be there for the wedding!  How amazing to have friends like that. 
 Grandma and Grandpa came all the way from Arizona.  Grandpa couldn't stop taking pictures.  He was so proud of his daughter and her family. 
 
 Here are most of the bride and groom's brothers and sisters (and a brother in law and two nephews)!  He's one of eight and she's the oldest of five.  They're actually missing one who is serving as a missionary in South America.  SOOOO much personality here as you'll see in the next few photos!



 

Then everyone left and it was just the two of them.  And they were so sweet and so in love and so happy to be together!






 Both of their parents have a jumping photo in front of the temple.  So we HAD to do this one.  And, yes, we did this in one take.  I can't believe how high he got!

 
When we finished up photos, we went to the luncheon.  It was DELICIOUS.  The groom's aunt brought the flowers all the way from Utah.  And they were perfect!







 
Congratulations you two! 

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Super awesome announcement!

I have been saving for a REALLY long time to do some one-on-one mentoring with one of my favorite newborn photographers.  We finally set a date!  January 31st and Feb. 1st I will be mentored by the great Jennie Pyfferoen!  Check out her work.  It's amazing.  I'm so excited to learn from her!

http://jenniepyfferoen.com/site/#/home/

Friday, November 8, 2013

Busy season!

It is BUSY season for photography!  Did you know that when a photographer says that they are "editing" a photo, it means more than just cropping it?  Most photographers shoot in RAW format which means that they "develop" the photos in the "digital darkroom."  Those who have been  doing this for years have the system down pat and can go through this process pretty quickly.  It used to take me forever (think 1 hour per photo) but I've gotten quicker.  Not quick enough to do a photo session every day, though!  So you'll have to excuse the lack of recent photos on here.  I'm playing catch up and hope to get back to blogging soon!  In the meantime, here is a before and after that you might enjoy.