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▣ Alison & Jason - Red, White, and True
After photos at the church, the whole wedding party loaded up into a huge RV decorated with " Just Married " signs for the short drive through town to the Indiana Country Club.
Indiana Country Club was a beautiful venue with plenty of space. The guest list was 300+ but still felt like a hometown gathering of friends and relatives. The tables were decorated with red napkins and centerpieces and their cake was surrounded by rose petals. The grooms cakes featured toy soldiers.
Just before dinner was served, there was barely any daylight left. (Friday weddings are later in the day as the norm.) I was dying to get Alison and Jason out onto the golf course for some alone time, but the manager warned us there was no time and that postponing dinner even a few minutes could be disastrous. Lucky for me - Alison and Jason were serious about pictures and firmly stated they would be outside for photos and dinner would wait a few minutes.
** 100 bonus points to a bride on a mission ** :-)
We spent less than 5 minutes outside for just a couple of photos in the flower bed and the result was this. Can you say SO WORTH IT??
Once we were back inside, dinner went on and it was delicious. Afterwards Jason led Alison to the dance floor and presented her with a single red rose for their first dance as husband and wife.
When it was time to cut the cake, we had Alison & Jason's parents stand by for a "photo op" - while the whole crowd was calling for them to smash it on eachother - instead they turned and smashed the cake on their dads! Awesome action shot by Anna.
Things calmed down a little for the father-daughter and mother-son dances. Alison and her dad danced to "My Little Girl" by Tim McGraw - it was a tear jerker.
After that, the party really kicked loose. Their DJs were outstanding - almost too good! The dance floor was packed all night long. Jason strapped on his tactical helmet complete with headlamp to retreive Alison's garter and found a Terrible Towel instead!
The money dance went on and on - when Jason tried to get to Alison there was a wall of people blocking him and when he couldn't fight his way through, he got a leg up from his groomsmen who helped him over the top of the pile. When he finally got to her, he scooped her up along with the satin sack of money and carried her out !
If I had to choose 4 more images to represent this awesome reception, it would be these. Alison's hockey team members from college hoisting her for a photo, some guys wearing hats for the YMCA, the men busting a move to "earn a spot" up front to catch the garter, and two little indian chiefs who were having a ball. :-) Anna and I left this party in the wee hours of the morning and drove home with glow sticks around our neck just in time to get up early and start shooting for the next wedding the following day!
In lieu of favors, the families of the couple made a donation to the wounded warriors fund. They gave out flag pins at each place setting so that guests could wear them to show their support.
If you would like to make a donation or find out more information about how you can help wounded soldiers, please click HERE. Also, please keep Jason and his new bride in your thoughts and prayers as he has recently been deployed overseas. It's unimaginable, especially at the holidays, to think of being sent away from your family, but also to be newlyweds who will be separated for a long time after only having a few months together. Please pray for Jason's safe return and for all soldiers who are away from home this season.
Ceremony: Calvary Presbyterian Church, Indiana PA
Reception: Indiana Country Club
Entertainment: Mixmaster DJ Services
Comments added to this post ▣ Alison & Jason 8.07.09
Alison and Jason were married in Indiana, PA back in August of this year. They had a special set of circumstances for their wedding since Jason serves in the Army, they had to work around his leave schedule and plan their wedding in PA from an army base in the southern states. Having both grown up here, they had lots of friends and family to help pull the whole thing together! The weather was hot and sunny - a great day for golf. And boy did the guys golf - they golfed and golfed and golfed at least 18 holes and then realized they had like 9 guys that all needed to shower and get dressed and only one bathroom. (Schematic planning error!) They showed up a little late at the church but just in time to start escorting guests ;-) Alison and the girls had arrived hours earlier for make-up and lunch from the sub shop in town. Each of the girls wore a camoflauge T-shirt that had their names and 'rank' on it :-) For the day, they were Alison's Army. They matched Alison's camo garters.
For their ceremony, they chose Calvary Presbyterian Church in historic downtown Indiana. It was a huge red stone church in the round with a stained glass domed ceiling.
I was able to steal Jason outside for just a few quick portraits before the ceremony.
With eight bridesmaids and eight groomsmen, they were a big happy bunch. The stained glass shined in the afternoon sun as the men lit the candles that lined the long aisle. Alison wore a bracelet with her father's name and rank from his time in the armed forces. Top right image by Anna - gotta love the backstage moment :-)
Alison came down the aisle with her father with a big smile and happy tears. She and Jason said their vows and exchanged rings. The funniest thing happened though during the ceremony - they had left the back doors to the church open since it was a hot day (and gorgeous historic churches were not designed with air conditioning) while all eyes were on the couple - a tiny little kitten that had been hiding in the bushes outside decided to venture into the church and join the wedding! It scurried right past Anna and I who were dumbstruck and ran under the pews almost all the way to the front, circling in and out of people's feet, then looped back and ran to the back of the church. By this time, Anna and I are in hysterics trying to giggle silently and the little girl in the very last pew has turned around loudly proclaiming in the quiet church " Look Dad! Look! LOOK! " All the while no one notices and the ceremony goes on without interruption.
Thanks to Anna being the eye in the sky for the image on the left.
Married at last! They left the church to a huge cheering crowd and a shower of rose petals.
What a handsome and stylish wedding party!!
Finally, all the men together - very sore from playing all that golf.
Ladies in red - we loved their red shoes ;-)
An officer and a gentlemen - with his new bride.
Tomorrow's post - the party!
Comments added to this post ▣ Merry Christmas :-)
This has been my favorite christmas commercial since I was a little girl :-)
Merry Christmas everyone, be safe, be happy, be healthy, be together. And remember - each one of us ends up being the star once in a while, so when you can - be the tree :-)
Comments added to this post ▣ Stacey & Tim .... contd.
See what I mean about the transom window over the door? The girls wore ocean blue gowns and carried small starfish in their bouquets.
I loved their cake! It was blue to match the girls and was decorated with shells and brown sugar to look like sand. How clever? Right image by Anna.
The newly minted Mr. & Mrs. :-)
You might recognize this field from Amy & Ben's wedding. Only this time I made sure not to touch my face or rub my eyes or fall in the grass! Their wedding party was so fun and up for anything tromping out there for photos!
Love this :-)
Sometimes the best moments are the ones in between - Image by Anna - with the spy lens when no one thought she was looking ;-)
Stacey's blue shoes with her starfish tattoo.
Congratulations! :-)
Ceremony: Plum Creek Church, Plum Borough
Reception: Four Points Sheraton, Greensburg
Transportation: Quality Limosine - can take a hit and keep on going!
Comments added to this post ▣ Stacey & Tim 8.01.09
Ta Da! Snowed in and blogging and the whole house smells like cookies! We got about 6+ inches of snow yesterday while I was out shooting the last wedding of 2009 - but that is another story to be told later :-)
Back to sunny August 1st ! Hopefully you will recognize Stacey and Tim from their adventurous engagement session through the urban jungle. After months of planning and waiting - their big day arrived with bright sunny skies and a light breeze. And drama! But what's a wedding without a little drama? The girls were cool and collected getting ready, going over their checklists, packing bags, etc. The drama was not with the wedding party - it was the limo!
Their limo bus was hit by a drunk driver on the way to Stacey's mom's house to pick up the girls! Luckily it was still drive-able and after their chauffeur cleaned up the broken glassware that was knocked off the shelves in the collision he picked up the girls and got them to the church safely and on time. The drunk driver fled the scene but the limo driver called the police and explained the situation - the police met the driver at the church while the ceremony went on and took his statement - and then later called back to say they had caught the drunk driver. Justice ;-) The day went on without incident after that - but back to the beginning.
The girls all got ready at Stacey's mom's house which was just a short drive from the church.
Stacey was stunning :-)
And so was her bling! She had beautiful gifts from JARED to wear down the aisle with her ring.
Plum creek church was very pretty - it kind of struck me as early american colonial with the beamed ceiling, box pews, and the big transom over the front doors.
Some details of their ceremony included a candle lit near the altar in memory of Stacey's father, readings by family and friends, and a vase of sand that was poured by Stacey, Tim, and their pastor which signified their bond together and with God for the rest of their married lives.
Married at last! They left the church with big smiles through a cloud of bubbles and cheers!
Just a sneak peek - I'll post the good good stuff tomorrow. But right now I have to get out and do some shopping. (I'm almost done, but Sean the procrastinator hasn't even started his xmas shopping yet so we have a lot of ground to cover.)
Comments added to this post ▣ It's Snowing ! ! !
Ok - so I'm like Uncle Tootles from Hook. "It's Snowing!!!" :-D There's a youtube clip but I thought it was too long or I would've posted it. And this is not actually today's snow - this is from a few weeks back. But it's almost Christmas and it's snowing! There's already 3 inches at my house :-)
Today is the very last wedding of 2009 for me - I hope they have 4 wheel drive! One thing is for sure - there will be winter wonderland photos :-)
Make cookies, go sled riding. That's an order.
Comments added to this post ▣ Christine & Peter - 7.26.09
Diamonds are forever :-) Christine & Peter tied the knot back in July in a casually elegant black and white wedding. Christine works for JARED (as in - He went to Jared!!) and we looooved her cake topper. Just wait till you see :-D
The day started in the carriage house at Lingrow with all of the girls getting ready. Peter's sisters kept coming in and out bringing along big smiles, delicious homemade cookies, and passing messages back and forth to Pete. It was a celebration!
Their flower girl was a little bit shy and so she carried her favorite lady bug in the bottom of her petal basket.
There were no tears until Peter sent over a little note and a special gift - a bracelet that Christine had heart set on for her to wear on their wedding day. Then there were lots of happy tears as relatives and friends helped Christine put the final touches on her hair and make-up, adjusted her veil and sent her out the door into the next chapter of her life.
Their ringbearer - already a handsome man - getting coached before he marched proudly down the aisle. No fear :-) Image by Anna
Then there she was - like a fairy tale princess coming through the trees in a white carriage. The breeze had kicked up and caught her veil just right. You could see her smile from all the way across the lake! Image by Anna.
Peter saw her for the first time and met her halfway to escort her to the lake himself. They exchanged their vows under the gazebo. There was a brief moment of panic (at least for Anna and I) when the wind came on strong and started throwing down big fat rain drops. We grabbed for the umbrellas and kept on shooting. The show must go on !
Luckily the rain blew over as fast as it had arrived. Christine made sure that Peter's ring was on good and tight ;-)
My buddy was like an assistant in training!!! A natural... he was great!!
Check out that cake topper! Blingalicious :-D The evening was beautiful and the black and white details of the reception really popped.
Whoa. :-*
And as we all know - just because there's rain doesn't mean the day is a wash. Sometimes it's just a way to bring out the rainbow. We were lucky enough to be seeing double for just a split second during dinner.
After dinner it was time for their first dance and the party!!
Their friends surprised them with some wedding gifts ;-)
We stayed late that night until Christine & Pete were ready to depart for their honeymoon.
Thank you so much for having us! I hope your first Christmas as husband and wife is magical :-)
Comments added to this post ▣ Summer camping trip
Just a few images from a quick weekend trip back in July. As we head into winter - it's a huge deal for photographers - you have to fight CLD. Crummy Lighting Depression. I just made that up. (add it to my list of amandaisms) It certainly feels real enough. Photography is all about the observance, usage, manipulation, and all around worshipping of sunlight. Perhaps we were moths in another lifetime. Through the summer the days are long and the evenings are golden. The colors are vibrant and the shadows are deep. Not so in the winter. I think we are down to just under 10 full hours of daylight now that it's December. Christmas is just a few week away and with the weather we've been having sometimes it feels like it never really gets light out at all. Everything is pale - the shadows are even pale and thin. Colors are more subdued. If you're not careful you could be struck down by CRUMMY LIGHTING DEPRESSION! And find yourself making a bee-line for the nearest tanning bed.
Oh well - enough monologing. Here's my camping trip.
**Disclaimer - while I preach that wilderness camping is TRUE camping - campground camping is much more practical when you've only got hours to plan and pack and have to be back sunday evening.
Besides, I think campgrounds have their own neat atmosphere.
My sister, my Dad, Sean, and myself made it for this trip - we all have matching shoes in different colors. FYI.
I always worry about gathering enough firewood - and keeping it dry. After a day or so it looked like beavers were living under our picnic table. Beavers that were meticulous about sorting twigs into piles by size.
Small toad on my sister's hand.
Basically when we go on these campground camp trips there are only 2 objectives. #1 Relax. #2 Eat good. But who am I kidding - that's every camping trip we go on ;-)
I love to cook on the fire. And I love cast iron. I'm very Soup Nazi about my dutch oven. Nobody else gets to wash it - and it gets to ride up front in the cab of the truck with me. After a particularly enlightening episode of Alton Brown's Good Eat's - we realized that the dutch oven had even more hidden potential if we flipped the lid over and cooked on it like a griddle.
We made cinnamon french toast that morning with homemade maple syrup, berries and sausage. Ashley sat and munched happily in her green crocs.
View from our campsite that I took as a private joke. Like where is this road ?
Sean "making sparks" for my photos while we sat around the fire and talked till we were too tired and went to bed.
We eat GOOD. This is homemade pizza in the dutch oven with Sean manning the lid for me.
On the last day of our trip we visited the fish hatchery. Gorgeous hot sunny day.
Fishing prohibited and guarded like Fort Knox. The cyclone fence wraps all the way around and over the top and underneath to keep cheeating anglers and raccoons OUT.
Just a nice, peaceful, good trip :-)
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