Sentimentality is one of the reasons I’m still doing weddings after 25 years. And if there was anything missing from this wedding, it certainly wasn’t sentiment. Another later in life couple, Shannon and Dave are a very special duo.
Before the wedding, a few of the bridal party members started the celebration early. I wasn’t supposed to let you know that. But hey, it was truly a celebration.
Shannon was very emotional coming down the aisle. But Dave was quick to say something to make her smile and settle into their ceremony. It was made more solemn when a candle was lit in honor of fallen parents.
Peek-A-Boo!
A beautiful location at the Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown lended itself well to images like this. It’s easy to see how happy they were.
The toast was also emotion-filled, but brought out the best in everyone. The reception began shortly after that, and there was plenty of time for talking with old friends, relatives and others.
We have enjoyed working with Shannon and Dave, and look forward to prints, albums and other things from their wedding.
So, you remember how many passport photos we took at the last passport day? We eclipsed that… considerably. This time we took 116 sets of passport photos. There were lots of people and plenty of questions.
We were pleased to see so many faces, people we knew and new people we didn’t. The Shepherd Study Abroad Program was very accomodating and helpful. We kept a tote board updated as we went along, and it seemed like we were always “behind” getting new counts up because there were so many people getting passport photos.
Thanks to all who visited. We’ll look forward to seeing everyone at the next one!
How often do you go to a wedding and think “how could this be more perfect?”
If you’d gone to this wedding today, you would have thought exactly that. The sky was like a huge bright sapphire, the breeze was just about right, and the temperature and humidity were practically tailor-made. Just look at how beautiful that sky was!
Danielle came to us through referrals via magazine work we had done and the wedding work we also do. It was as important a wedding as any other, but somehow this one just seemed charmed. I spent a lot of time on the floor trying to get the right set of images that brought out the beauty of the front of this church.
Because we were fortunate enough to have a beautiful day, I asked the happy couple to take a walk with me after the wedding. At one point we stopped and I was a few feet below them and was making some adjustments to my camera. They looked at each other for a moment, pausing to ask what they should be doing at this point – and then did exactly what I’d hoped for, an impromptu kiss.
I haven’t met too many bridal parties that were so devoted and committed to the bride and groom. Here, Danielle poses with the TWO bridesmaids who caught the bouquet. Unusual, yes… but certainly a lot of fun.
Being afforded the opportunity and time to take some really nice portraits for Danielle and Ronnie gave us time to explore the surrounding woods at the reception site. Danielle ended up with a little tree sap in her hair, which also ended up on my shirt. But the images we got from this location was worth a little sap.
Interestingly, as I was showing some of the images from the wedding to Diana, this one moved her to tears. I suppose there is no greater compliment to me than to take an image that Diana finds such joy with.
It was a great wedding with a wonderful group of people. Don’t get me started on the cake incident or the band leader. Those are stories that you will have to wait for my memoirs on. 🙂
Quick… what’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys?
Yeah, lots of things. How about twin two-year olds and a five-year old? That has the potential for lots of things, including fun.
The Penningtons originally contacted us because they’d won the cover contest from Child Guide Magazine. Every two months, Child Guide picks an entry from the list and have a complementary photo taken at our studio – which ends up on the magazine cover.
Mom and dad were extremely patient, hoping to get the cover shot done quickly and move on to some other photos we’d offered to take for them. The cover shot was… challenging. Not because the kids wouldn’t cooperate, though. Only one child had to act up, and then the others would do something to top their sibling. It was most prevalent in the twins. Mom would come over to correct one two-year old and, not wanting to be outdone by his brother, the other two-year old would get up and start acting like he needed to do something sillier. The five-year old was fairly well-behaved, too.
We still managed to get a great cover shot (for the Holiday issue), and this gem below of the three boys in their Ravens shirts. Okay, so you can’t see he logo, but trust me. These are some really cute kids!
So I’m out at Morgan’s Grove Park this morning and I hear a man call to his wife and say “what is today?” I’m assuming he meant what the date was, since it was pretty obviously Saturday. Before his wife could answer, their child said “it’s Soccer Day!” and thrust his fist into the air joyfully.
And so it was, soccer day.
I spent six hours taking pictures of children six years of age and under, playing soccer. Some are deadly serious, others are just out for a run in the grass, and still others just astonish me by standing and watching – while IN the game! But they all seem to have fun. I enjoy the younger kids, because there doesn’t seem to be that compulsion to score, score, score. It’s just about having fun.
Made ya look!
No, that’s not a real crab on the roof. But it gets your attention, doesn’t it!?
One of this month’s assignments was to visit Chic’s Seafood in Hagerstown to get some pictures of crabs. I met briefly with the owner, who enlightened me on his business, his customers and seafood. I liked his place a lot, and hope to get up that way for some good seafood – soon!
You should, too. Easy to find on Summit Avenue in south Hagerstown.
13 years of wedded bliss.
So are you saying “yeah, right!”? Long ago, while unmarried, I never really saw myself as the marrying kind. Even into my early 30’s, I didn’t think I would ever marry. But I certainly didn’t believe that marriage could be as happy as this.
Oh, shut up! It’s my turn to talk. 🙂
Seriously… there were always a few naysayers here and there. Many had no idea what they were talking about when we got married. They didn’t understand what kind of people we are. It’s funny now to look back and think that 13 years have gone by – and so quickly!
What’s even funnier, though, is that it seems like each day we seem to become a little closer. We laugh together, cry together (usually at the same silly stuff), and we have a fondness for family and friends who we’ve treasured through the years. We’ve certainly been through our share of ups and downs… but marriage-wise I don’t think we’ve ever had a time when we doubted how things would turn out. Now we’re at the point in our marriage where we talk about what we’ll do in our 60’s and 70’s together. It’s fun knowing that Diana is always going to be there.
A tribute to my wife goes something like this:
She is truly my best friend, my partner and my soulmate. I cannot live without her, and nor would I be able to be happy knowing she would never again be by my side. I will always cherish her smile, her laugh and her love. We are so alike, and so different, that it is often hard to tell where one of us stops and the other starts. I have found my life’s partner – today, again.
I love you, Diana.
Before the wedding, a few of the bridal party members started the celebration early. I wasn’t supposed to let you know that. But hey, it was truly a celebration.
Shannon was very emotional coming down the aisle. But Dave was quick to say something to make her smile and settle into their ceremony. It was made more solemn when a candle was lit in honor of fallen parents.
Peek-A-Boo!
A beautiful location at the Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown lended itself well to images like this. It’s easy to see how happy they were.
The toast was also emotion-filled, but brought out the best in everyone. The reception began shortly after that, and there was plenty of time for talking with old friends, relatives and others.
