Miscellaneous Monday

You all proubably thought I was kidding with my "Get on a plane and fly to Nashville" to do in the "tagged" post back on Thursday. I wasn't, I really did get on a plane that night. I was gone for only 38 hours, but it was worth it to see my friend Britany, who lives down there, and her husband Scott. If I hadn't gone now I would have run the risk of not seeing them until Christmas, so I had to squeeze it in. I was working away in the airport and on the plane, and while Britany was in class on Friday, so it wasn't a total loss of work time. It seems totally crazy given how busy I am, but I firmly believe that people are my best investments, and Britany is one of my longest friends. We had a lovely time, despite the fact that I brought the rain with me to Nashville.

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I'm sure most of you are aware of the torrential rains and horrific weather we had the last two weeks in Southeastern Wisconsin. There has been a lot of flooding all around us. A few nights Hubby had to take some very interesting routes home to get around all of the streets the Root River had submerged. I ran into a camera rep from California on the first day of the storms and he was like "Is this normal?" Umm, yeah. But if you aren't from the area, you might have missed this video. Please click and watch it, it is amazing. What is happening there is that Lake Delton got so high with flash flooding that the lake formed a new river for itself and then emptied itself into a nearby lake. That new river did what you see on the video. The waters here are so high, that part of I-94 is actually closed north of Delafield. I'm hoping that gets fixed before my next Madison wedding (hi, Silva and Felipe!)

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Yesterday my family took my Dad to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago for Father's Day. Great fun, but whoa - are there a lot of misbehaved children and parents out there. Whew! Ironically, my Brother-in-law, Jake, bought a book on how we are raising a "pacifier nation" to read on the train home.

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Ringo Update: He has started to sort of lift his leg at the end of a peeing session - Hubby is so proud!

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This Miscellaneous Monday gets a special boost with a Birthday post. Normally these are standalone posts, but well, this one is belated, and I have so many weddings and engagements to post about I'm making room. My good friend Britany's Birthday was last Tuesday. I won't reveal which one it was, but let's just say she has caught up to me now. Every year this happens and we say "how did we get to be xx old?", it always seems so improbable. So, from here on out, we have agreed not to mention the numbers, just celebrate generic birthdays.
Britany is an amazing soul, someone who deserves much more than a belated blog birthday wish. We have been friends since we were freshmen in High School and I couldn't ask for a better one. I don't know if she really knows how much she means to me, but she has been a great constant in my life, who has always been grounded, fun and positive. To illustrate what an incredible friend Britany is, I will tell you this story, which I was reminded about while talking to Monica last week about her "Gonna be a Bridesmaid?" seminar coming up. I asked Britany to be a bridesmaid in our wedding, and she quickly accepted. Well, at the time, she was in school part time to get her Master's in education, attending on Saturdays and a few Fridays. Since there were so few class dates, missing just one automatically dropped your grade, two meant you failed. I remember expressing concern over this to Brit, and she quickly brushed it off. It turned out that one class she needed to take had a Friday and Saturday class the week of our wedding. So, if she took it, she would fail for having missed the two classes. What did Britany do? She dropped the class, walked at graduation without really graduating and is starting that class this week to make it up. Me, I didn't even know she had done this until long after the wedding when she accidentally let it slip in a conversation. To her it wasn't even debatable - of course she would do it. Amazing friend, no doubt.

Happy (belated) Birthday Britany!
Here is Brit and me at my wedding:

(photo by Heather Cook Elliott)

Father's Day

(photo by Heather Cook Elliott)

What to say about my Dad? It is always hard to talk about one of my parents with out talking about the other one.
My dad is one of those ones that your friends say when you bring him up "Oh, I love your Dad", and that is because he is genuinely interested in people. We used to tease him on family road trips because a rest stop always took forever - my dad was telling "our life story" (as we sarcastically put it) to the check-out clerk, making another friend. He is someone all of us kids turn to for level-headed advice, most especially because that advice is always packaged with a layer of "that is what I think, but you have to do what you want" attitude. He has long been my friend as well as my father. He is an optimist, always seeing positives in everyone and every situation, and if there is one thing he has taught me (by example) it is to be generous, because he is so generous with his time, his patience, his talents, all of it. My dad is my cheerleader and my PR person - someone who believes my possibilities are endless, my talent knows no bounds. Everyone (especially every artist) needs someone like that in their lives.

Happy Father's Day Dad!



This year is my second with an "official" Father-in-law. Last year though, that kind of got glossed over with Hubby and I freshly married and two of our closest friends marrying the day before Father's Day. Hubby's dad is a classic - one of those ones that worries about his children and protects his brood with undying resolve. Whatever it is that we have ever needed done, he is ready and willing - fixing my car (more times than I can count), helping us with the house, fixing our snowblower, the list goes on and on. My favorite part about him though is watching him with little kids or Ringo - he just turns into this big teddy bear and his eyes sparkle with anticipation of what they might say or do next. For all the little kids in the family, he is a favorite, and it isn't unusual to see one napping in his arms or chasing him around the yard. This is my favorite picture of my Father-in-Law, I just love the pride that is seeping out of him showing off Hubby to whomever will look:




Happy Father's Day Big Kenny!

Tagged Again.

Kim over at KB Image Photography tagged me. It's a new game, so I'll play.

Where were you 10 years ago?
Finished with my second year of college at the U of MN-Twin Cities and preparing for a transfer to UW-Stevens Point. I was a fine arts and Journalism double major who thought I wanted to be a painter (it would take me one semester at Point to switch to printmaking). I was trying to get a job as a RA at Point (which I did) so I wouldn't have to room with anyone. I can't recall which of my summer jobs I was working that year - it was proubably one of the years I spent working in my Mom's office. I was dating Mr. Wrong and that would be our last summer together, as our relationship started to fall apart that fall and winter. This was the summer before I met hubby.

Five Items on your TO-DO list today:
1.Finish burning and send out Katie & Dave's disks of their image files.
2.Print Mike and Naomi's placecards and programs.
3. Edit photo shoots and weddings for Laura & Jesse, Dawn & Sam, Macaire & Bill, Kate & Adam, Lindsay & Ben and the Reichel Family. (whew!) and set up a blog post on one of them.
4. Meet wit possible new clients at 1pm. Also stop and pick up puppy food for Ringo after that meeting.
5. Get on a plane and fly to Nashville.

Snacks I enjoy:
I've cut out most snacks, in fact I don't even buy them anymore. If they aren't in the house then I can't eat them - right?
But sit me down with a bowl of chips and salsa and a margarita and I'm a happy girl. Same goes for crusty bread and olive oil.

What would you do if you were a billionaire?
I'm one of those people that would still work - but it would be awesome to have all the money I needed to spend on my business. (the lenses and computers I would buy!) I would hire a cleaning person for our house and a landscaper for the yard so we wouldn't have to do that stuff. I would build my Dad a house with a wrap-around porch because when I was ten I promised him I would one day, and he reminds me of this about every two months or so. I would gather all our friends and family in one room and then hand them envelopes. Inside would be the titles on their homes, because we will have paid them off. That would be fun.

Places I would live:
Italy.

Five bloggers I'm passing the challenge onto: Darci, Melissa, Amy, Claire and Dave

Engagement | Kristen & Griffin

Kristen and Griffin could be on one of those eHarmony commercials. Their story comes straight from there - both signed up looking for a mate, and their first match was each other. A few conversations later and they were meeting at a local restaurant. Griffin doesn't even remember what kind of food they served, only that he was nervous to meet Kristen. The date went well though, and the two were soon inseperable and no longer in need of their eHarmony accounts.



Awhile later they both decided that a fresh start was in order. Neither was in love with their jobs, and so they decided to move to Milwaukee (Griffin has family in the Madison area). In the midst of packing up their house, Griffin convinced Kristen to take a break and go for a walk in one of their favorite parks. They had brought along a camera to capture a few shots before leaving town. After taking a few of Kristen near a bluff, Griffin handed over the camera to Kristen to play photographer. He asked her to back up, and she did, turning around to be sure she didn't fall. When she turned back around to snap the shot, she saw Griffin going down on one knee, ring in hand. She said yes, they snapped some deliriously happy pictures and then moved to Wisconsin. What I love about their story is that they were both committed before the proposal, committed enough to move cross-country together.





Kristen requested locations that would be "very Milwaukee", so I had fun showing them around a bit in the city, and hitting some more iconic locations.






Kristen & Griffin are getting married next May in Door County. The wonderful Danica is coordinating, so I know the day will go on without a hitch (well except for the married kind).


Here's the slideshow - watch out for a subliminal shape that pops up in one picture - kudos to the first one to find it.
(If you are using a blog reader, you have to click out of it and into the actual blog to see the slideshows)

Wedding | Jamie & Jake

{Regularly scheduled "Miscellaneous Monday" posts have been postponed this week in favor of a wedding post. I'm sure no one will mind. }


Hand in hand, they plunged quickly into the bright sunshine outside of the church amid the applause and cheers of their family and friends from inside. As the noise faded and they descended the stairs; she turned to him and said "Jake, I'm Mrs. Boldt now!" with a mix of excitement and sudden realization all mixed together in her voice. He was speechless, and could only squeeze her hand and smile.

That moment was right after this shot:


This though, is easily my favorite moment, and quite possibly one of my favorite shots of the day:

It was just one of those moments that tugged at your heart in a way you can really feel. Jamie dancing with her brand-new 9-day-old niece. Sweetness at its best.

Jamie and Jake had a wonderful day, filled with happy family, wonderful memories and gorgeous sunshine. Yeah, a few things went wrong at the reception - but from my viewpoint, nothing that could sully such a great day. Jamie was gorgeous ( I swear I only have beautiful brides), Jake was dapper and the wedding party was a ton a fun.

A small sampling of the Getting Ready:








At the Ceremony:



There was some serious groom love:


Inspired by Sex in the City, and with Jamie's great taste in picking out her 'maids outfits and accessories, it only seemed appropriate:


My favorites from the portrait time:







At the reception, guests had to make a hole-in-one on a little putting green to get the couple to kiss. The guests were pretty good at it:


And this dear readers, is a bouquet shot I have been hoping for, for quite some time. Totally lucky shot:


Here's the slideshow. Watch out for a great laughing sequence at the salon, the homemade ball and chain that seemed to follow us all day, a surprisingly spry older gentleman on the dance floor, a super cute little blonde, guests playing jenga with the placecards, a wonderfully emotional dad, and some of the best looking formals I've ever done.

Buried Alive...

I've been a bad, bad blogger - no post since Tuesday? Has it really been that long already? I don't have enough adjectives in my vocabulary to describe how incredibly buried in work I am right now. But somehow, I keep plowing ahead, even though several (rather large) roadblocks have been thrown at me.

Today thru Monday night I will complete seven photo shoots (assuming this tornadic weather allows it). That alone is enough to fill up my week, but well, lets just say the week was already full.

I'm finishing up Jamie and Jake's wedding images this weekend, so I thought I would include the one I just finished as a teaser for you all to make up for my absense. I actually really love this shot, it was a sweet moment captured between them in the bar (where we were hanging out between the ceremony and reception). If my memory serves, this was slightly after Jake had spilled some (a very small drop) marinara sauce on Jamie's silk satin dress. Much drama had come of that, as I'm sure you can imagine. The spot was removed and Jake was quickly forgiven.



Have a great weekend and I'll try to post more next week!

Engagement | Amanda & Andy

They met among the flying frisbees, smoking bbq grills and clinking beer bottles of a 40 person UW-Milwaukee swim team's ultimate frisbee picnic. A lot of team members meant a lot of friends, and that is exactly what they were until graduation day neared. Having grown closer and closer (and Andy having figured out exactly which Amanda his crush was), one night after a few drinks he decided to let it all hang out. As Amanda put it "Suddenly, he was declaring his undying love for me" and there she was planning to move away to the big city and be "that girl" for awhile. My how plans can change.



A few years later, and halfway thru studying for the bar exam (for Amanda) Andy requested that she take just one night off so they could have a "date night". The plan was to do so on a Sunday. Saturday night Amanda was exhausted after a long 8 hours in a bar exam class, having been holed up inside with books on what was a beautiful sunny June day. No one had the energy to cook, so they went out to dinner. During dinner Amanda suggested that this should be their date night instead. Andy hesitated, but then agreed. Upon returning home, Andy ran off to the bedroom and Amanda was busy with putting leftovers away, removing contacts, etc. She went looking for Andy and then there he came down the hallway in a different shirt. She was confused as to why he would change clothes when suddenly halfway down the hallway, he dropped to one knee. The proposal was simple and not what he had planned (for the "date night" they had planned), but perfect none the less. And for the record, he changed shirts because well obviously, one should look their best when asking the love of their life to spend forever with them.



Amanda and Andy's wedding isn't until May of 2009, but since they live in New York, we took advantage of a visit here to do their engagement shoot. We were fortunate to get a beautiful sunny day, and Amanda and Andy rocked it.










Here is the slideshow, Enjoy!

Raining

(photo from the NY Times)

When it rains, it pours. Or at least so it seems.

It has been a rough day to say the least. But I am forging ahead.

Watch for Amanda & Andy's Engagement Post tomorrow...

Miscellaneous Monday

As you may have noticed, I ditched the orange frames on the blog pictures. They were fun, but they just didn't work with every picture, and I really wanted my work to take center stage, not the branding in this case. What do you think of the new little plaque I developed instead?

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The May weddings are complete. Well, they are shot anyway, complete is a ways off. June only has one wedding, so be prepared for a flurry of engagement and family sessions as I pack it all in before the weddings pick up again, once mid-July hits, it is going to be a long, almost every weekend haul until the first week of December.

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Ringo Update: We have taken a few backsteps in the potty training department, but we soldier on. He has developed the ability to play by himself lately, which is fun to watch as he creates his own little games of catch and fetch with his toys. He was with Hubby's Mom and Dad on Saturday (Hubby had to work and I was shooting Kate and Adam's wedding) and apparently has a deep love for riding in their golf cart. Hubby said it is hilarious - he sits very proper in the seat and surveys his kingdom. Ha! This I will have to see.

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The Sex and the City movie was fantastic. If you are a fan - you won't be dissapointed in the least. Jamie and I went to see it at the newer Majestic theater in Waukesha b/c that way we got to eat yummy appetizers and drink cosmos during it, which made it all the better. And seeing the parade of women all dressed up to the nines to attend this movie was a real kick.

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I may have possibly met the perfect bridesmaid at Kate & Adam's wedding this past weekend. Adam's sister Anna is a dream attendant. She is so good, you should hire her for your own day. Next to "bridesmaid" in the dictionary should be her picture. I see a lot of wedding party attendants, and honestly, 70% of them don't have a clue what their real role is on a wedding day - but Anna, she got it and she delivered. Top notch, all the way.

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I wasn't sure if I should post about this - but I figure I post about just about everything else, so why not. I lost my last surviving grandparent over the weekend, my grandmother Margaret. She was 92 and lived a full life, tack sharp and healthy until these last few months. We are all grateful that she did not suffer long and as is so fitting for her, she picked a Sunday to move on, or as my uncle put it "She picked a good day to travel". And I know that for her, that is all that this was, a journey. She was a tremendous woman, full of strength, unbreakable conviction and undying faith. The loss of her punctuates for me that I no longer have any grandparents here with me (though Hubby sweetly pointed out I still have his), but I know that they are all still here in spirit and memories.

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In an attempt to not end on a somber note, I will leave on a sassy one.
There is no situation, relationship or circumstance where it is acceptable for anyone to hint at, hassle, question or joke about why they weren't invited to a wedding. This is rude, rude, rude. There is just no gray area here. I can not believe what I hear from some of my brides, friends and colleagues about brides and grooms being hassled by people to be invited. Excuse me?
I can guarantee that absolutely every guest list gets a lot of effort, energy, tears and stress poured into it. If you were left off, there was proubably a good reason (size, space constraints, cost, privateness of event, etc) and you should never question it. It is also not acceptable to simply "show up" to a wedding uninvited. Seriously, what goes thru someone's mind when they do either of these two things? Just don't do it. Okay, that is all I have to say about that - I will get off my proverbial soapbox now.

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Happy Monday!

Wedding: Katie & Dave

She waited nervously on the small stage in the cafe, adjusting her train, fiddling with her veil and earrings, she wanted to be sure she looked just right. Hours of preparation had gone into this moment, years had gone into this day, and here it was. He walked into the room, blindfolded and trusting the guidance of his Best Man to lead him to his bride. He could hear voices, giggles, the click of the camera, and then her voice was clear "Can you find me?". "I'm trying" he replied and was prodded a bit further until, yes there it was - her hand. She pulled him in front her and said "Okay now you can look".




Katie and Dave were my first "First Look" couple, and the moment was so wonderful! They both said that it did not take away at all from seeing each other at either end of the aisle, and the private (well besides me and my lens) ten minutes they got to share before marriage was upon them are some of the most priceless ones they have had I'm sure. Witnessing it firsthand was a lucky treat indeed. For this couple it was truly the right decision - all the stress, worries and panic of the day melted away when their eyes met. I am hereby encouraging anyone considering this to do it. You won't regret it.

First, I must say that there are so many wonderful pictures from this day. I had to do some seriously brutal editing to get the slideshow down to one song. I felt like I was truly a friend at this wedding, not just a photographer thanks to the warmth with which Katie and Dave have welcomed me into their lives, and also their family members that day as well. Plus, Katie and I share a good friend; Monica from the White Box, who served as a bridesmaid. Having her there made the day extra fun for me. I always fall in love with each of my couples at some point during the process. Often it is during editing, when I get to sit down and really spend time looking at their images and reliving the moments of their day. For Katie and Dave it was watching their slideshow at the reception. Dave's father did such a wonderful job at putting this together, it was such a great expression of parental love to both of them. I have never seen an entire hall of guests sit in rapture of a slideshow - but these people did. And for good reason. It was touching, funny, and memorable. He even interspersed small video snippets in with the pictures, showing Katie as a young girl singing or Dave riding his bike.

Katie and Dave's day was chock full of moments of high emotion. There was the moment when their parents joined them on stage during the ceremony, along with their siblings to surround them as the entire congregation said a prayer just for them and their marriage. The love and care was seeping from these people. There was the private prayer they said together after lighting their unity candle, while a good friend sang. There was the incredibly moving and touching speech that Katie's father gave after dinner - such love and devotion. Watching Katie's mom look on for the Father/Daughter dance. Oh yes, and one of my favorite moments was watching their first dance as Dave sang every word of their song to his new wife. I just love it when a wedding day has such unleashed emotion and the participants really let themselves feel it.

Katie got ready in this tiny bathroom, and everyone kept peeking in the doorway to see the action:



She wasn't sure that her dress would safely go over her veil and hairdo, so a little extra luck was being put forth:


The ushers had a great time decorating the mustang the couple used as a getaway car:


Yummy cake (so I heard - Harmony and I didn't catch any):


Handsome Men:


Is there anything better than a laughing bride?:






Caught during the first dance:


Watching the slideshow:


I love this series, it is just so Katie and Dave:


This one might show up in my own stuido:


Please someone, buy this for them in a nice big canvas wrap for their new home:


And there you have it - two Wisconsin kids who met half a world away are now on their way to California on a whole new adventure as husband and wife.


Enjoy the slideshow. I used their first dance song, because it was just too beautiful to pass up. I hope Mr. David Barnes won't mind.