.:a sneak peak at the new mrs. patel:.

I have already started sifting through the 7,000+ photos that Brian, Corey, & I took at the Patel wedding this weekend at the Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis. I *will* post an actual blog entry sometime soon but for now I couldn't stand not posting something. Ann & Rakesh chose to do a traditional Indian Ceremony and follow it by an American reception, which meant they had two sets of clothing.

This time we were accompanied by Corey Hale, a photographer we met a few months ago who does stellar live music photography (you may have seen him at the Blue Note, where he is the house photographer). Weddings are newer for him but he is fitting in fast!

Below you'll see some of his work. On the left is a photo I took after the ceremony when Ann and I took a two minute breather to get a few shots of her in her traditional (might I say gorgeous) Indian wedding attire and on the right is one that Corey captured when we did a mini photoshoot at the St. Louis Fair Pavilion prior to the day's festivities. Ann was just stunningly beautiful so at the very least I had to post some of her.

I promise to post photos soon of Rakesh's dynamic entrance to the ceremony-on a horse. I love Indian weddings!

.:a post for brian:.

So somewhere several months ago, while developing an addiction to Ken Rockwell's writings about camera and the equipment, Brian decided he wanted to become a film junkie. Problem was that neither of us owned a film camera nor really knew much about using them. Brian diligently waited for the right one to show up and *bam* in comes an ebay purchase of a film camera for $40 that was worth several hundred dollars. Brian picked the film that was apparently the best for colors and waited for his shots. Recently, Brian has decided that he wants to specialize in landscapes so when everything came in, that's what he focused on.

He says that he was only satisfied with around 5 on the roll of 30 but I picked my 5 favorites that he didn't even touch! Ken Rockwell is right, there is something film does that digital still hasn't gotten to but it is so darn expensive!

On a totally unrelated note, we had talked about an unwanted friend who was visiting our basement and getting into the trash and eating the Taco Bell mild sauce packets. We called the management company who happily filled the large hole that led to the basement. We hadn't had any troubles since then (that was several weeks ago). However, last night we woke up to the sound of gentle rain on our windowsill. (Our bedroom is on the 2nd floor). Brian checked the radar and found that no rain was anywhere near us. So he opened up the shutters (we have shutters on the inside of the window) and found a raccoon staring at him!!! Brian ran and grabbed the camera and took a few pictures through the window, one of which you will see posted below. You can see the raccoon behind the reflection of the shutters. You will also notice a faint reflection of the always adventurous Mr. Mostly Mittens, our cat, at the bottom left staring curiously at this intruder. Apparently the raccoon was nibbling on the windowsill, probably to try to open up another way into the house. After Brian shot this photo, the raccoon scampered off into the tree where Brian noticed TWO MORE raccoons, one of which was very small. Looks like there is a family of raccoons. I wonder if this may become an ongoing sag while we live here...

(click on the photo to make it bigger)

.:sneak peak:.

A sneak peek from this last weekend because, well, because running through fountains in your wedding attire is just plain awesome. (By the way, Brian gets credit for this photo!)

.:becca & rob part 2:.

Wow, what a day we had at Becca & Rob's wedding! I'd hinted in an earlier post (much closer to the time of their actual ceremony) that there was a story from their big day that I would save for later. That really isn't half of it. Let me preface this by saying that I don't know that I have ever seen a couple that, once meeting them both, you instantly know exactly why and how they fit together. That's Becca and Rob.

Let's start with part 1, the Murphy's Law part. Brian and I show up bright and early to begin documenting Rob & Becca's wedding that day. I go to the girls' house where the gals are getting their hair done and then we go off to the mall for Becca's make-up appointment. Somewhere in there Becca (who pretty much never stresses out, which is STELLAR) casually mentions that the tent that they set up last night that will be their reception location somehow blew over at 5:00 a.m. and there may or may not have been several guys sleeping in it at the time. We all look at each other with a "Gosh, hope everything's okay" look, and move on. The rest of our time together getting ready is relaxed and peaceful. Meanwhile, Brian arrives at a house full of guys getting the guy type stuff ready. This is normally a pretty laidback time as the bride and bridesmaids are normally the ones worrying about the details. In this case, Rob is the details person, not Becca. Remember how I said that Becca never stresses out, ever? That's why she and Rob are together because, well, Rob takes care of things. = ) So while the gals chilled and laughed, poor Rob and the guys spent the day in a mad rush to put everything back in order. Indeed, the tent had blown over in the storm at 5:30 that morning, the two guys sleeping in it did fear for their lives. The cool Chinese lanterns were ripped off the ceiling and ruined, the white tablecloths made their way to the mud, half of the centerpieces were smashed, and there was trash everywhere. So the guys sucked it up and spent their time serving. They hauled trash, made sure the white tablecloths ended up in a laundrymat and back, moved a Port-A-Potty (which Brian barely missed photographing), delegated the purchasing of new centerpieces to replace those that broke, supervised the finality of getting the tent back in order, counted the punch bowls, and made sure that no other minute detail was left undone. Most of us would have had a nervous breakdown if this had happened on our wedding day!

Now we begin Part 2, the part I like to call "Why we can see that Rob and Becca are meant for one another". I love being a photographer. I remember in high school wishing I had one of those cameras that looked fancy and professional because then people wouldn't stare at me funny if I walked around taking pictures or went backstage. (When you go around like that with a little point-and-shoot, people stare. Trust me!) At Becca & Rob's wedding I felt overwhelmingly blessed because I saw some moments that no one else was probably able to see. During the ceremony, Becca processed as her beautiful, sweet, charming, laidback self. Normally couples face each other when they get there, but for some reason, they ended up facing the minister and standing side by side without eye contact. Rob, understandably, still looked as if he had a lot of tension (and who wouldn't with what happened!). He stared straight ahead, looking almost lost. I could see Becca, sensing Rob's strain and feeling helpless to reassure him. Then, finally, their officiator announced that they should face one another and hold hands. I cannot explain what happened in Rob's entire body the moment he turned and was able to look into Becca's eyes. It was as if all of the tension, all of the stress, all of the frustration and pain and anxiety from the day's events melted away in the instant he saw his beautiful bride's eyes. They really do complete one another.

The Lord's magic at work in our lives. What a privilege to be a witness to this holy matrimony.

Rob, directing the chaos before the wedding

Can I mention that fans like these are an awesome idea for outdoor weddings?

And for those of you wondering. YES, that was bocce ball. Becca and Rob, cool as they are, decided to finish out their reception playing the winning bocce ball team who had beaten everyone else in the tournament. Unfortunately, Becca & Rob lost!

P.S. Hy-Vee caters Chinese! Who knew!?!?

.:ashley & eric:.

Anyone that knows Ashley knows that she's, well, awesome. She seriously might be superwoman. I met Ashley when my little sister got married in June of 2007. She was bubbly and it was hard not to notice that, well, to be quite frank, she was pretty hot stuff! We did Ashley & Eric's engagement photos last fall and had a blast running around all over Columbia. When we were talking to Ashley & Eric about what kind of engagement photos they wanted to end up with, Eric's response was "anything where my face doesn't show". Typical guy response! But he got through not only the engagement session but the wedding itself without a single fake smile (or at least if it was, we didn't notice!).

Their wedding was held in Concordia, Missouri on an absolutely gorgeous day. Ashley nixed the traditional veil in favor of gorgeous long locks and looked perfect. They both are the kind of people that others flock to because they are great listeners so I wasn't surprised to see that they both had huge bridal parties--they were flanked by 9 attendants each!

Enjoy their beautiful wedding (and notice the flower petals floating down over Ashley's entrance, which was a last minute set-up and one Eric knew nothing of!) and the joyous faces!

Eric, you've landed quite a catch.

.:a new look:.

With a lot of prayer and deliberation, we have given our website a new facelift and unveiled our new packages. Now to get to the gallery updates this weekend... Our plan is to design a completely new webface by 2010. Feedback is welcomed and appreciated!

.:jamie & josh part 2:.

Jamie and Josh were our first studio guinea pigs. = ) I had to post a few more. I think it really helped when I asked Jamie, "So, do you have anything in particular in mind?" she had LOTS of ideas. So because I loved them *that much* I'm posting a few more!