"Fall"in In Love...

Love shooting here, love gorgeous fall days, and I love beautiful people. Okay that last part sounded different in my head but let me explain...I'm pretty sure this is just a girl thing buuuut ladies you know when you come across another girl who's so stunning there's a real part of you that wishes you looked like her? Yeah that was me throughout this entire shoot. (: It wasn't in a spiteful envious way, more like: she's gorgeous inside and out and I admire that. 

Anyway...all that to say, I loved spending the day with these two. (: 

Oh! Annnnd I got to try out a picture idea I've had in my head for awhile but didn't have the right couple to do it. Until today...And they were troopers cuz that straw is not forgiving. Sigh...I'm happy and much to do with it is the fact that it took forever just choosing what pictures to put on here because I loved them all. And to that I say one last time that I love fall. (:

 

Green Eyes...

Green Eyes...aka...The absolute opposite of my eye color, a great Cold Play song, as well as what made National Geographic a phenomenon around the world. Dawn, my bride for the day has the most incredible eyes I've ever seen in real life. They are completely enchanting. And since it's said (well, at least in the photography world) that eyes make the picture you can say I was a little excited to get to shoot Dawn. 

I'd have to say my favorite part of the day was when we had a little extra time and thought we'd experiment with some pictures near a window in her house. My guess is my inner monologue of "holy cow, that was sweet" became more of an outer-monologue because she asked if she could see one of the pictures. So I turned my camera so she could see my monitor of the last image taken and when I looked up those beautiful eyes of hers had tears in them. So what was the picture of? Her eyes of course! (:

 

Girl In A Red Dress...

A couple years back I was shooting a wedding in Iowa. (I actually am there quite often and I'm glad about it) So I find myself that night at the dinner table with about 10 other people and this girl with a gorgeous red satin Thai dress on. Maybe it was her beauty, maybe it was fate, either way it was years later when I got a phone call from her and I knew exactly who she was.  I love stories like this. Really, what are the odds? I'm placed at a dinner table at a wedding that I'm already shooting, I meet a couple there, years later remember them, and end up shooting their wedding! I love it! Be it fate or what not, I'm so glad my path re-crossed these two. 

After setting the record for the longest engagement session I've ever done (by far!) I had already really gotten to know these two. They have a sense of care for people that is so rare and I truly am privileged to have gotten to spend so much time with them over the past year. They are having a second wedding in Thailand (Where Kanlaya is from) and I want to forewarn them to check their suitcases....I just may be hiding out in there. (: 

Personality Not Place...

Tis the season for last minute engagement session phone calls and trips to the Morton Arboretum. Hands down, the arboretum is where I most frequent for my shoots come fall. This day, well, weekend really, was no exception. This particular shoot being the second one in a row I've been at the location. The fun part about shooting back to back days at the same location is you can have such a different feel even though you're technically standing in the same spots you were but just 24 hours prior. So really, what it comes down to is personality, not place. As for place, there couldn't have been a better one for this couple as Erin, the future bride is Botonist. So I pretty much had a guided tour of what was what throughout the arboretum. Pretty cool. Wonder what kind of foliage she'll have at her wedding. (: 

(Notice the reflection? Was glad it turned out) (: 

What To Choose...

I probably haven't had such a difficulty in trying to pick out which pictures I want for the blog than this time around. I love them all. How do I choose? All I know is that I scored the photog jackpot with these two. They are gorgeous inside and out and they physically cannot take a bad picture. Good deal for me right? I sure think so. (: Can't wait for the wedding!  

My Gap Babies...

Is this not the most beautiful family you've ever seen? Well, I thought so the minute I walked through their front door. My inner monologue went something like this: "Holy cow, they're beautiful...I wish I worked for Gap...They would be the face of the company." 

The most exciting part about shooting children is they bring the un-expected factor. You have absolutely no idea what's about to happen or be said. Typically, it comes in the form of chaos and random comments that make me chuckle inside, but the unexpected with this family, was not only how beautiful they are but how well behaved the kids were! I dunno, I guess I haven't had that in quite awhile, it was refreshing to see. 

So Gap...When you're hiring, look me up, and my first gig can be shooting these beautiful faces. Ok? Thanks. (:

 

Legacy...

If I had to sum up the relationships of this wedding in one word I'd say: "Legacy" Now that may not be a part of most peoples daily vocabulary but for the bride Melissa and I it has been. Having played on the same soccer team back in college it was a term used often and with great pride. As I describe their wedding I want to do the same. 

Not to get all educational on you but I think it'd be helpful to know what Legacy really means. The word is used to describe something that is handed down by someone that's gone before us. In my and Melissa's case it was the legacy of a senior passing on her position of playing the Left-Mid position to a freshman on the TIU soccer team. Or for the groom, Jon, it was a pin that has for generations been passed down when they were twenty-five years old. 

So my point is...I'm sitting here at a wedding where I know a good number of the people already looking around at how much Melissa and Jon have impacted this group, and thought how cool it is that they will continue to pass things along to their current and future friends and family. On September 25th, 2009 they began a new journey and it's a sweet thought to know that from here on out they have a legacy not as individuals but as a partnership. These two have so much to offer and I have no doubt they will pass admirable things to those that follow them.