Rick + Rachel
Rick + Rachel :: Wedding Photography, Columbus, Ohio
Ryan + Rachel :: Wedding Photography, Columbus, Ohio
Michael + Libby :: Wedding Photography, Columbus, Ohio
The maid of honor made reference in her speech to her first impression of Michael: she wondered if he ever wore something other than gym clothes. In my laughter along with the rest of the crowd at Libby and Michael's reception, I admired the couple for the implied simplicity in their love for one another. Dressing down means being genuine, means not trying to impress, means being raw and accessible, means love that is not pretentious.
Tim shaved his beard for the first time in four years to celebrate the beginning of the summer. So, for the past four weeks he's been making the slow climb back to the bearded Tim we all know and love. (The girls were a little afraid of him upon first seeing his bare face.)
But, as he's been traveling through the various stages of stubble, I've been realizing how much I love him. The last time he shaved it we were newly married, fresh out of our May wedding. Memories of that first summer have crept in with different glances at him, mostly when he's got a baby on his hip while he's setting the dinner table and dodging lego towers underfoot.
The contrast of how our life was then to how it is now is strong at moments (diapers, carseats), but barely there in others, only taking shape in the form of four years' worth of wrinkles around our eyes that have smiled and cried from joy so much.
But his shaven face, reminding me so much of that first honeymoon summer, has helped me to realize how our admiration for one another has become more and more genuine as the years have passed. It has become less pretentious, less concerned with impressing, more raw and genuine.
Libby and Michael, may you enjoy the treasure that you already possess, so early in your marriage, that raw and genuine love you have for one another. It will change the world.
Enjoy,
Rachel
Edward + Kate :: Wedding Photography, Columbus, Ohio
I've quoted Kate Simon.
I met her a couple of years ago at a wedding I was photographing. I was in fly-on-the-wall photo mode, crouched in the corner of the room getting photos of a bouquet, when I heard a bridesmaid say,
"Lipstick. Lipstick is important.
It is a woman's way of sealing her outfit with kiss."
(You may not remember this, Kate, but it's true :-)
And I've admired her ever since. I've seen her in bridal parties, doing makeup for her friends' weddings and on and off of dance floors at receptions over the past couple of years. So, I was simply giddy to be asked to photograph she and Edward's wedding.
It was a day of sincere joy, and I think it only appropriate to include a Kate quote from her own wedding day:
While I was photographing her at the very beginning of the day, I asked her to relax her face out of her omnipresent smile, and she replied reluctantly, showing some sincere effort: "Okay, I'll try. It's just, I'm so happy." The smile crept to her face again and she continued,
"I knew I was going to marry Eddie since the day time I saw him. I can't stop smiling."
Cue the music. I looked up from my camera wondering if she was serious, or almost being sarcastic. But no. It was an excellently delivered line from a real-life story tale.
Kate and Edward, may the story tale continue into many many sequels :-)
Enjoy,
Rachel (+ Tim)
::An Update::
My husband, Tim, teaches and plays music. So, while I'm at home slicing carrots sticks on colored plates for toddler lunches and exploring municipal parks, Tim works as a music teacher by day and plays piano at Columbus's favorite restaurants by night. (Here, especially. Go hear him. He's the best...I think so, anyway.) This summer break is the first of our four adventurous ones since he's been teaching that we've shifted our focus from other summer jobs to the photo business, and we're trying our hand at collaborating in more ways than just changing diapers :-) So far, we're having a blast. We'll see where this winding road, full of adventure, veggie straws, and lots of battery chargers (figurative and literal) leads us.
Maire + Peter :: Wedding Photography, Columbus, Ohio
Do you know that poem, As Kingfishers Catch Fire?
If you don't, I recommend stepping into your introverted, poetry-enlightened self and reading it. Just wait to be tucked into the floral folds of all the beautiful words:
I say more: the just man justices
Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is -
Christ - for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men's faces.
This day was these words. It spoke the truth that each of us is Christ, all leading one another to heaven through our lives laid out on earth.
Maire and Peter, may you continue to lead one another upward through your lovely marriage, blossomed in beauty.