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Project 365 ~ Week 14
365 Projectweddings
We Go Way Back
throwback ThursdayMan, I thought last week’s throwback post was a sweet stroll down memory lane! But on Tuesday I did family pictures from some dear friends and decided I would look back at pictures I have done with them over the years and oh my goodness, it was so fun to remember all these times!
The first time I photographed anyone in the Stout family was also the first time I was surprising someone with pictures. I approached the kids about doing pictures as a gift for my friend Mary on Mother’s Day. That was way back in 2008 and they were just the cutest bunch of kiddos! Heather and Patricia, the twins, are the oldest, next is Alice, and Jerry is the baby of the family.
And this is where I needed to double check my dates while I was writing this blogpost. Because I was looking at those pictures and the next thing I photographed was Heather’s bridals. Three years makes a huge difference in the life of someone. HUGE.
I mean seriously. Those first pictures would have been taken about the time the twins turned seventeen. Three years later I would have photographed Heather’s bridal portraits and then her and Sean’s wedding.
Crazy, isn’t it? In June of 2012 I did family pictures before Patricia moved away and I think Sean and Heather moved to Dallas, maybe?
It was funny to me as I looked at the pictures how I could suddenly remember that day clear as could be. That is what makes pictures important I think. The ability to call up moments that happened so long ago but seem like they happened yesterday. It was also the last time I had the whole immediate family in front of my camera. Alice would graduate not long after we took these pictures and her class was the first time I did senior class pictures. All five seniors. (The perks of being in a small classical Christian school.) She was also the only girl in the class. Those were good times.
Alice moved to Idaho for college, joining Patricia who had since married and I cannot remember which came first on these next pictures. I want to say it was the family pictures but I might be wrong and it was the 50th wedding anniversary celebration of Mr. and Mrs. Stout. Which was amazing because the family was able to pull off a huge surprise party without them knowing a single thing about it until they got there.
Also, by 2014 Heather and Patricia both added sweet babies to the family fold. (There are now ten grandchildren with number eleven on the way.)
Jerry graduated and moved to Idaho and then on January 1, 2016 Alice came home and got married.
The next time she was in front of my camera it was a year and a half later and I was photographing her son.
I love doing pictures for the same family over the years and watching them grow! I am looking forward to sharing some of the pictures from Tuesday’s session with almost all of the family. I have my fingers crossed that maybe one day everything will come together and I can do pictures of the whole family. I don’t know when that might happen but I am keeping my camera batteries charged!
It’s The Week of Edgar Throwback Thursday!
families, The Week of EdgarOn Monday I mentioned that I have been photographing the Edgar for family for about a decade now. Their family has grown (and so have my photography skills!) and getting this post together was so fun as I looked back over the years.
I really feel like I did a family session of the original four Edgar’s but maybe not since I cannot find them so my throwback post is is starting with the earliest pictures I could find…engagement and wedding pictures.
SONY DSC
When Jeff and Alicia had their first baby I was just getting into newborn sessions with only a little experience. I remember the first picture I took of Leah because it was the first time the first image was a keeper and I knew it. There has never been a time since that I have photographed that child and been disappointed. She is always so pleasant and cooperative and of course, so pretty.
When she was a little older and Uncle Chris was getting married she was part of the wedding party. So was Aunt Zena’s family dog and the two hit it off really well.
Not long after the wedding Leah’s new baby sister arrived and I am so disappointed to not be able to find those pictures. There is the sweetest shot of Leah kissing Anna’s little newborn head but a few months later we did do family pictures with Mom’s family and we got this sweet moment.
Aren’t they just the cutest? And as you could see from Monday’s post their little brother and cousin just add to the cute factor. Just wait until you see Mr Ethan’s birthday doughnut session tomorrow as we wrap up our week of Edgar!
Everlasting
NuptialsIt all started last Friday night. I got a facebook message from a friend that basically said if I happened to be at River Walk the next day around one o’clock with my camera there was going to be a special event that might be interesting.
I was intrigued. I trusted my “source” and started running through possible scenarios. Pretty sure there was not going to be an impromptu surprise engagement with her grandchildren. Her daughter is my age so I was also reasonably certain no baby announcements were forthcoming. I was perplexed but since I had been on a shooting spree that week and wanted to keep it moving I was all in.
But in the cold light of day on Saturday morning every episode of Crime Junkie that my oldest daughter had ever told me about began to run through my head and I became hesitant. I began to question the legitimacy of these summons. I mean, sure the message came from the account of my friend but how did I know if it was really from her and it was not some crazy insane plot to lure me, a middle aged small town housewife, to my death. Go ahead, insert your eyeroll here. It was all pre-coffee brain musings.
I reached out via text to said friend and got the low down and I was so glad I did! Not because I escaped certain death and becoming a Crime Junkie episode but because I got to photograph a last minute let’s-do-it wedding between two of her friends. These have been some difficult days to navigate in general and to varying degrees for everybody. The bride to be has had to deal with the death of her 95 year old father, health concerns for her mother, and apparently the upheaval of matrimonial plans. Not an easy season to be sure but life is worth living and the couple invited family and friends to join them as they made their vows out in the bright sunshine and fresh air. Lawn chairs were spread out to accommodate social distancing and a few guest watched from their car.
And you know what? It was glorious. The bride has a spirit that radiates beauty and the groom had such a tender expression on his face for her. Everyone was so happy and the love was palpable.
The groom walked the bride’s mother to her seat and he looked so handsome and distinguished while he waited for his soon to be wife.
And wasn’t she just a stunning bride?
I’m not going to lie, the emotion that showed as her uncle gave her away and mentioned her father made me get all teary eyed. Someone once said where there is deep grief there is deep love. I believe that mix of deep love and grief is the soil that allows other love to flourish.
It’s the way hope weaves itself in sorrow and the faith that believes there is more to this life than the right now that keeps us moving forward and then joy is never far behind.
There was so much laughter this day! Such a beautiful happy testimony to the good that is still happening in the midst of the hard and difficult.
What a beautiful special day. And what a beautiful special couple.
Ernest and Lee, I am so very grateful that I had the privilege to photograph your day. (Thank you, Ms Linda, for being such a good friend to all three of us and putting us together!)
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face to shine upon you and give you peace.
May your marriage always bring glory to God, joy to one another and blessings to your family for many generations to come. May love and laughter fill your hearts and your home for all at the days of your lives. May you face every challenge hand-in-hand and side-by-side knowing that with God’s grace, you’ll conquer all obstacles together. May the world be forever a better place because the two of you fell in love.
Marty Hadding Photography 