Once in a while someone falls into your life, and enhances it in all
sorts of ways. Such is the case with Justin and Tracy, and
such is ALSO the case with Tracy and me! She had seen my work
for another bride and groom in her area, and called and told me "I
like the way you look at things". She's an art teacher and an
artist and the more she talked the more I wanted to work with / for
her, and help represent her dream.
When she called, it had just been a matter of weeks since her dad
had been killed and her mom injured in a terrible traffic
accident. Her sweetheart had asked her to marry him, and as
she told me some of these plans have been in HER head for a long
time. I heard about the classic car his dad had that they wanted to
use as their get away car, her brothers walking her down the aisle,
and the photos she wanted taken at the cemetery to include her dad
in their day. By the end of our conversation, we both felt we
were a good fit, and agreed to move forward.
We didn't meet until their engagement photos, and that was the
continuation of the comfortable nature of our relationship.
They drove quite a ways to meet me, and then we drove all over the
place, one following the other, to get the atmosphere just
right. Lots of time, lots of images, and they completely fine with the driving and the time it took. It was all OK with them. They loved
their photos, and so did I!
The wedding day was just as she had described. Great fun with
big points of memory and emotion for both of them. We did get
to use the car. We did go to the cemetery and get something
that included her dad, and the beautiful spot where he rests.
Their wedding party was a great bunch of outgoing, big hearted
people who made interesting party images no trouble at all.
At the end of the day, I took them down an empty hallway together
and shot their ring pictures before we loaded up and left.
Justin thanked me in such a sincere way for working so hard and
dealing with everyone so well, and getting what he was sure were
great photos. It meant the world to me, and I told him
so. If we all hadn't been soaking wet with sweat, I probably
would have just grabbed him and bawled. It was a good good time,
and I think it shows in these images, from start to finish.
Thank you, my new friends.
Here's the entire project:
http://suzannekk.zenfolio.com/p937385346
Another shout out to Brandon Wittwer, my second photog for this
project, and my dear friend EVERY day!
Sometimes I think I am the luckiest girl alive. I am doing
what I most love to do, and making a few bucks for it. I get
found by people all over the country who see my work and ask me to
do work for them. They tell their friends, their friends hire
me....it's a wonderful circle.
This event was incredible! What a glorious series of
delightful surprises, and beauty beyond belief. But please
believe it. It's all true, and it can be seen in this
pictorial.
Andrea found me online. We had a terrific rapport on the phone
and through email, and we went back and forth for quite a while
before she was in the area with Dave, and we all drove quite a
ways to finally meet. They had conducted a long distance
romance of epic proportion for a very long time since they had both
graduated from Notre Dame, and had gone on to grad school, and
internships.When I walked into McDonald's in Angola to have coffee
with them, I came face to face with two of the warmest most genuine
people I'd ever met. So comfortable in their own skin.
So comfortable with one another. She is
Princess-Grace-American-Beauty kind of pretty. .He is sparkly and
genuine in a way that makes you want to stay around him, and be his
pal. We talked. We got excited. We made the
plan! Almost a year went by before I would see them again, at
their wedding rehearsal.
I needed help at Notre Dame. More than I knew. I needed
someone to shoot with me, and as it turned out, I needed a tour
guide for the campus as well. I was so fortunate to have
Christian Alonzo agree to work with me on this project! He is
familiar with the campus, and although he had not been inside The
Basilica, he could get me there and that was WAY better than I would
have been able to do on my own. I felt confident walking in
the massive doors with him, although we had never met before, we
were online friends for years in photography boards. I knew I
had a worthy comrade. How smart am I? The guy is
brilliant, and great company too! ("Thank you" does not suffice,
Christian!)
I could go on and on--and in fact I HAVE, haven't I?!
Just let me share one more tidbit of this day. (Then if you
want to know more, ask me. I could go on for hours.) The
large wedding party walked in and down the aisle. The bride
and her father walked in and down the aisle. Her hand was
placed in Dave's, dad walked away and sat down with his wife.
THE LIGHTS WENT OUT.
Christian and I looked at each other across this cavernous building in silence. I quietly walked over to the event coordinator for the Basilica. I asked her who often this happens. She said in the six years she had been working there, it had never happened. As it turned out, the entire campus was out.
Christian and I had all our tools. We were prepared for anything, and WOW was it a good thing! 40 minutes go by in natural light. The singer of the prayers had such a rich and powerful voice that she rose to the occasion, and no one suffered for it whatsoever. In a Catholic mass, the Eucharist is brought out, a select group of prayers and blessings are said and at the very end of this lovely part of the ceremony by the priest, and before communion, the Eucharist is raised high in the air. It's a goosebump moment, always. At that very moment, the lights came back on. The jewelers lights shone on
the gold at the top of the majestic pillars, the gorgeous antique
fixtures fired back up, and we completed the wedding mass with the
light that it was intended to have.
I tell this story for 2 reasons.
1) It did not surprise me at all that with a couple so tranquil and
secure in their love, and so peaceful at preparing on their wedding
day, the Lord showed that he WAS there.
2) If you know of someone thinking of hiring a photographer who has
shot a couple of weddings and would love to do it for $500--tell
them this story. When things don't go smoothly, there is NO
replacement for experience, fine equipment and know how. I
have shot hundreds of weddings now. SOMETHING happens at every
single one of them, and for years now I have been ready!
.
I LOVE my job!
http://suzannekk.zenfolio.com/p127333715
Last summer I donated a big gift certificate to the local PBS auction for their annual fundraiser. It was exiting to see the donation mentioned time and time again during the month of the fundraising event. I got some emails with questions about what the coverage entailed, etc. That even heightened the thrill of being involved, as I anticipated meeting the winner and beginning the planning of their big day.
In the end the Martin Henry family won, and their daughter Rebecca contacted me to arrange a meeting so we could get acquainted and talk about her wedding day. Becky was in town from Indy to taste cakes, and look at floral choices, and I met her mom Vicki, her sister Jamie and her at Club Soda for a cocktail (or two) and some delightful chat and love fest. They were so appreciative of my donation to PBS, I was so appreciative of their support of same. I made fast friends that night.
Fast forward to the wedding day. How lucky can I get? Seriously! The handsomest men, the most gorgeous girls. A huge loving family completely immersed in this occasion. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The Scottish Rite. A trolley for a couple of hours in between and all of downtown Ft Wayne as our backdrop. This was a fabulous day with clients who wanted cool photos just as much as they wanted a rocking party. A photographer's dream!
Thanks Becky and Steve, and your entire entourage.
Thanks Martin and Vicki for being benevolent benefactors to a worthy cause.
Thanks to ALL for being the perfect subjects.
Thanks to the entire Henry family for their graciousness, that day and every day!
I've made LOTS new friends--the ultimate icing on this cake!
(A special shout out to Brandon Wittwer, who takes my sh**, shoots like a champ, and helps make me look good!)
You know what our moms always told us about wearing clean panties for the ambulance driver? The same is also true of hair color.
Don't wait two weeks too long!
You could walk into the emergency room with a serious need for color, and be held captive there for a week. When this happens you find yourself then assuring the nurses that usually you are way cuter than this.
It's true. I know.
I'm freshly red now, and much more is right with the world!
