Stacy & Kyle: Wedding

Stacy is a friend that I met through another site I blog on, and I had only actually met her once before we did these pictures, but I thought we hit it off. I didn't actually do their full wedding, just some portrait shots beforehand, but I saw everything getting set up, and I LOVED it. My favorite kinds of weddings are actually the ones that don't look a whole lot like weddings but actually more just plain old celebrations of people and their love and commitment and relationship. This wedding had Star Wars coloring books on the tables, Hershey kisses sparkling under simple glass and candle centerpieces (scenterpieces, ha!), and was held in a church/bookstore/coffee shop with tall ceilings, dark wood, and a whole lotta artwork. I really thought it was fun and beautiful and really suited Kyle and Stacy perfectly, at least from what I know of them.

I can't figure out how to make good chronological orders of the pictures I'm loading in here and I'm trying not to let anal-retentiveness take over my life, so I'll just go out of order. No one's going to die over it, right? Anyway, this is where we snuck into someone's driveway to use their fence as a background, hence the crouching. It was all very top-secret, spy stuff. Thankfully, Stacy and Kyle were pretty indulgent of my whims.

This is the one I wanted to show last because it is my favorite. I loved that yellow garage door, and I love how the magic of Photoshop makes it look kind of pineappley. Trivia: Did you know that the pineapple is the international symbol of welcome? More trivia: Did you know that I had a cream and blue, very country-looking pineapple couch in college? Man, I loved that thing. It had the perfect lean to it. And it was so long. Sigh. Memories. Back to the topic at hand, I told them I wanted to do a foot-in-the-air kissing shot, and Kyle decided that his foot needed to be up too. Man, I loved that. There are a lot of grooms out there who aren't really into the whole picture taking thing, but Kyle was definitely willing to ham it up and have a good time, and I love the fearless spirit when I'm doing these shoots. The pictures come out marvelously every time.

This one's for Grandma.

(I always say that to people when we're taking these kinds of pictures. I need to not give away all my secrets on my blog or people will catch onto my recycled jokes.)

Okay, now here, I've been kind of dying to try out the silhouette/stained glass window shot. It's a standard wedding photographer shot, but I still think they're really cool, plus, they're a good way to showcase the venue without just taking pictures of the window, you know? This turned out much better than I thought it would for my first time, and thank you to everyone who "inspired" this idea. (As Billy likes to quote, "Good artists borrow; great artists steal.")

We were trying to head back to the church at this point because it was starting to sprinkle, but I kept seeing things I wanted to take pictures in front of. When we finished this shot, I told them not to let me look at anything else on the way back. It was at this point that Stacy suggested horse blinders, and man, did I wish Billy was there to hear that because he would have cracked up. I really could use some horse blinders for like ... every day wear. I would be a zillion times more productive (and probably a zillion times less creative, but, you know, it's a trade-off.)

Here we are in front of an Italian restaurant down the street from the church, and I made them sit there with the blue curtains, since blue seemed to be the main wedding color. Also like how you get a clear shot of the Chucks from here.

Okay, now this picture led to one of the coolest, most neighborly things happening that I have seen in awhile. We were doing this picture in front of that fence, which happened to face the back of someone's house, where a lady was cleaning out her garage. She came out and said, "Is it your wedding day?!?!" and was all excited and congratulating them. I love when we're out doing pictures and people get honked/yelled at. Like, that's right! Someone wants to love you forever, you do deserve some recognition! Anyway, we finished up and walked onto the next place and were heading on from there when we see a black car honking and waving. We all kind of wave back, but were kind of confused, like, do we know that person? So the person signals for us to stop and the car pulls across the intersection to where we were, and it turns out it was the lady from the garage, bringing them a bottle of wine to congratulate them! Is that not the sweetest thing? Some days just really make you believe in humanity.

Ah, and lastly, the lampost. Where I cut off the lamp. :) Nonetheless, I had instructed them to use the pole as a prop, but not in the gross way, and this was the result, which I LOVED. See, really, it is win win for me. I like giving people direction on how to pose because it's more creative control for me, but I also LOVE it when they pose themselves because, hey, less work for me! Plus, I feel like personalities come out that way and people feel and look comfortable and natural. Have I mentioned yet how much I love photography? Because I do.

I am really excited for these two because they just seem to light each other up. I love it when these love cliches actually end up being true, so I can see it with my own two eyes and not end up a bitter, cynical, jaded old hag. Everyone needs to know people like that in their own lives, to be encouraged to love and be loved like that. Congratulations!