Dispelling the Rainy Day Wedding Myth

  If  you've planned an outdoor wedding and it rains, you're screwed. The guests will be miserable, the decorations will be ruined, your pictures will be hideous . Right?

WRONG! 

It's a myth, folks! I write here today to dispel the doom-and-gloom prophecy which every bride who has ever planned an outdoor wedding has been subjected to through the years. And I have the pictures to prove it! 

On the side of a mountain in the pouring rain. That is where M and J were married. Sounds gloomy, eh? Not so! It was absolutely wonderful! They were married on the lawn of an attractive private home located on the breathtakingly beautiful side of a mountain. Even the low hanging clouds couldn't disguise the incredible view. And the cool, spring rain gave a fresh verdure to the surrounding greenery and flowers.

 

 As the thoughtfully planned outside wedding had to be hurriedly moved out of the drenching rain and set-up inside (under the reception tent); the bride's effervescent, sunny personality kept the mood bright and full of fun. In fact, I don't believe that a monsoon could have put a damper on this couple's radiantly positive aura!

     M was so beautiful in her elegant, figure hugging gown which was topped with a billowy veil creating a very soft and pleasing silhouette. Just so pretty. Fresh flowers in cool shades were artfully arranged on the tables under the tent. The menfolk were handsome in classic dark tuxes with pink roses for boutonnieres. The food was artfully arranged and tasty. The cake was unique and decorated perfectly (the rain kept the temperature down, so the icing didn't melt--an unfortunately frequent happening at spring/summer weddings). The coordinators and DJ were on the ball, keeping the event flowing along smoothly. The music was highly danceable. It was very apparent on the smiling faces of every guest, that a good time was enjoyed by all. The weather had nothing on this wedding!  

Here are some images from the day, in random order. 

  Now really. Does that look like a wedding that was "ruined"? No. It looks like a wedding that anyone would be privileged to have attended.  I know I was. A wonderful couple, a great group of people, a marvelous event on which the sun shined in every way but one :-)

Thanks, M&J, for letting me capture the images of your very beautiful and special day! May the sun shine brightly on every day of your married life together.  

Austin

 Austin is the coolest guy. To name just a few of the many reasons: he's a beast on the pitcher's mound, rips out blazing riffs on his electric guitar and holds a black belt in Mixed Martial Arts. Funny, intelligent, talented, athletic, polite, unassuming, laid back and just ...good. I am honored to know him. He graduated from high school this week and I couldn't be prouder of my oldest nephew. Here is a little compilation of video and pictures from his senior year:

Congratulations, Austin! 

Love, Aunt Thomasina

Engagement Session

 Here are some highlights from an engagement session I did last week. They were the  sweetest couple and a pleasure to work with. This gal could easily be a model, which makes my job behind the camera SO easy :-)

We started out in the studio. How cute are they??

Then we moved outside into a pretty meadow full of flowers

Their expressions here are priceless! I love capturing a "moment"!

The bride-to-be LOVES flowers, so we took advantage of all of the pretty spring blooms.

Our final destination was on campus at LU. The groom-to-be proposed here, so it was a 

must-have location for their pictures. 

Thanks, guys, for giving me the opportunity to create some special images of this very joyful time in your lives. I can't wait to photograph your beautiful summer wedding!!

Easter '10

   My time for blogging, here lately, has been...um...limited...at best.  So, I'm JUST getting around to putting up a few pictures from the Easter holiday spent at ye old homestead. But it was a wonderful holiday and I just had to share a few of the memories!

Dad, preparing The Meat. 

A word about The Meat: Allen Bros Prime Rib Roast, dry cured. It was smoked over hickory to a lovely medium rare. That is Prime grade beef, people, not just Grade A. It was a very special treat that Dad prepared for all of us, with his usual exemplary level of culinary expertise.

A lovely array of desserts was also on hand

Random images of all the youngsters

Hilda, egged on by a hysterically laughing Q, doing the crazy-wild-puppy-run

Wherein Jackson hi-jacks my camera and takes pictures of random things including a buzzard, a pile of cow poop, himself in the car mirror and my butt as I went to open the gate. You should all thank me profusely for not posting that last one **shudder**  I think I need lay off the old Prime beef, heh-heh! :-D

Skiing surprises

My sister invited me to go skiing with her and the kids this week, in continuing celebration of my niece's 16th birthday. Having never even seen a ski, I was pretty excited about giving it a whirl (a glide really, but whatever). Many fascinating surprises awaited me. I've written down a few to share with you.

I was quite surprised...

--to find that my eldest nephew Austin was such an amazingly patient and skilled ski instructor to his utterly clueless aunt. How he was not laughing as he watched me wallow and flail around after each tumble, I cannot say. He's a good boy, that one.

---that I could actually keep my balance, correctly steer and do the gliding wedge, i.e. "pizza slice" very easily. Like second nature, really. I felt very, very cool.

---at how quickly coolness can turn to fear.

---that I could inadvertently do 0-50 in 4 seconds despite the making of a very large and aggressive "pizza slice" the entire time.

---by the number of very nice people who offered me assistance each time I made a, um, less than graceful maneuver which landed me on my back or balled me up in a snow bank. Nice people ski :-)

---how intimidating the ski lifts were, upon first seeing the whole load/unload process

---at how easy the whole load/unload process actually was

---that there are slope cops who actually "pull you over" when you do something wrong. When we asked Jack if he had ever been pulled over, he replied "Yeh, like three times" in a tone which implied that if you haven't been pulled over you're not REALLY skiing.

---when I creamed some unsuspecting snow boarder on my very first go down the slope. And I mean DEMOLISHED him. Never even saw the poor guy. I felt a big bang and next thing I know me and this dude were rolled up in a ball over by the fence, skis-poles-snowboards everywhere. I gasped out my apologies and said that it was my first time on skis. He, breathing heavily also, said it was his first time on a snowboard. So all was well. Again, nice people ski :-)

---to find myself, by the end of the day, gently swooshing down the small slope all by myself without falling or injuring others. It was really FUN!!

---that I really enjoyed myself, crashes and all. Ok, I guess I was more pleased than surprised. But I'm definitely ready to go again. I can see myself really getting the hang of it with some practice.

Two more surprises from the day, unrelated to skiing, but noteworthy:

I was surprised...

---at how amazingly delicious and well presented the tapas was at the little restaurant where my sister I had supper

---when my sister, after Mojito #2 accidentally substituted "cow-tailed" for "cow-towed" during a very serious conversation about politics. Priceless moment, really ;-)

Thanks, Melissa and the kids for letting me tag along. It was a great trip and I'm looking forward to doing it again sometime!!!

Martha and Bennie's Wedding

Details. It was all about the lovely, well planned details on Martha and Bennie's wedding day. From the table decorations in the reception hall to the gorgeous fall themed flower arrangements, it was very apparent that every little thing was carefully thought out with a lot of TLC.




Martha is BIG into shoes and her bridal shoe selection did not disappoint. The pearls-on-the-shoe idea was hers---very elegant! And how cute is it that each of the bridesmaids wore a different style shoe?




One of the most important things I try to do as a wedding photographer is to capture the special moments, as they happen. The expressions and the body language tell the story so much better than words ever could. Martha and Bennie's day was full of these special moments. Here are a few of my favorites:







And of course, my favorite part, the fun formals




I love , LOVE the way the colors in the leaves and bouquet bring out Martha's beautiful eyes!


After working with Martha on her engagements portraits, her bridal session and her wedding, I have to say that she is one of the sweetest, easiest to work with brides I have ever had the pleasure of photographing. That's just a fact. And I have really enjoyed her adventurous spirit, too! I will be writing a separate blog post to tell the story of her bridal and engagement sessions--we had a blast and created some pretty amazing images, there, too. So stay tuned, folks!

Thanks, Martha and Bennie for giving me the pleasure of capturing the special moments of your wedding day. All of my best wishes for a long, happy life together!