Stacy & Doug | Wedding

Stacy is my sister, and I shot her second wedding. So this post is going to be far more personal than it is professional. I learned a lot of things shooting Stacy & Doug's wedding. Mostly I learned that trying to be the impartial observer (photographer) at the wedding of your sister who you are close to is very, very hard. There were lots of occasions where I found myself forgetting I had my camera in hand because I had jumped into sister mode. Right before the ceremony started I had to kind of mentally step out of that headspace and into "photographer" for fear that I would miss key moments. And there were definately moments missed later in the day when I put the camera down here and there and just enjoyed the wedding, being with my family and the day. That part at least, was to be expected.

So, as you read this post, things might start getting confusing. Let me explain. Stacy is my sister, full and 100% in my heart, but in reality she is my half-sister, and so is Shelley. We share the same dad, but not that same mom. Our dad was married to their mom before he was married to my mom. And since Stacy and Shelley are older than me, I have been an aunt since I was ten years old. Okay, I hope that clears that up.


Stacy getting ready above, and my niece Kayla seeing her Mom all dressed for the first time, below:


Their wedding was a charming backyard affair held at Doug's parent's home, complete with tent, live music, bug spray and a fireworks show (provided by Hubby). Our father served as officiant, something that was awesome to see, and that he was so honored to serve as. Their marriage officially made them a family of seven. Doug has three girls (19, 16, and 8, I believe) and Stacy has a son (19) and a daughter (16).


Doug's youngest daughter, Jordan:


One of my favorite shots:


Now this, this is joy:

My nephew Logan is a Marine serving in Japan, so he couldn't be there:

The extra sheet cake had this comical topper on it:

Doug's father:

Stacy and my beautiful niece Kayla:

This is my whole immediate family in one place for once. From left, my two new nieces Morgan and Cassie, My parents, Doug, Jordan (new niece), Stacy, my niece Kayla, my brother Christian, my sister Katie (some of you know her as an assistant here at Mthree), her husband Jake, Hubby and Me, my niece Chelsey, my nephew Chase, my sister Shelley and her husband Rick. The only one missing is Logan. Whew!

And this is the real us. Quite possibly my most favorite family formal ever, most especially because it is my family.

The sisters:

I did steal Stacy and Doug away for about three minutes for a few shots:

Their first dance:



Stacy had two father-daughter dances. One with Ed, her stepdad. This one was especially poignant because Ed is currently battling terminal brain cancer. But he did his best to cut a rug and I was so glad I could capture that for them:

His face in this one is so funny:



And then of course, with our dad:


This little peanut and her brother were two of the cutest kids there:


The sunset was beautiful:

Here is Shelley, Ed and Stacy:

The kids lost their ball in the pond and my brother-in-law Jacob valiantly tried to retrieve it, much to the dismay of his jeans:

My dad and his brother, Jerry:

It is not often that my camera bag gets adorned with a corsage:

Doug is definately part of the laid-back set:

So, in order for me to be in some pictures, Hubby picked up my camera periodically during the day and here are his best shots, starting with one of himself:

Me and my Mom:

Himself and Jordan:

Jordan and a very scared Joey:

And here a couple my brother Christian snapped:



It was a great day, and so much fun.
Congrats Stacy & Doug!