month: July 2009
A little perspective on this 7 mile run most of it up hill. There were over 18,000 registered participants. When they announced the first runners were passing the half way point there were still people just passing the starting line. I know better than 30 people that ran….. I didn’t spot even one of them. It was a sea of people most with little to no maneuvering room. This gentleman faced all the possibilities of someone bumping him or a crutch, maneuvering through the crowd, going up that hill…….
I don’t know him, but he inspires me to count my blessings and admire him.
Edited to add:
Also, I was looking at your blog today (as I often do) and saw the pictures of the Bix. I thought I would fill you in on who the man with one leg is. His name is Tom Schultz and he was my sixth grade teacher at Unity Christian School in Fulton, IL. He is a great man and was one of my favorite teachers. He has been doing the Bix for as long as I can remember.
Liz Hager
Thank you, Liz!
New trend? Run the Bix before your wedding? Those are some true friends that are with her. That is not only going the extra mile it’s going the extra 7 miles.
Christ United Church
By The River
Davenport Raddison
A Storybook Ending
Boom Boom Party Bus
Clazzy Designs florals and linens
Ducky’s Formal Wear
Olde Towne Bakery for cookies
SAS Entertainment and DAN
The pink roses were huge and perfumed everywhere we went Saturday. Jenny’s gown was perfect for her,
Daddy’s little girl…his youngest. You can see it in his eyes as we did all day long, it was an emotional day for him. The love between both the groom and the bride and their parents and their sister and brothers was huge. The day was filled with laughter, tears, hugs, and lots of shared moments.
They did not see each other before the ceremony, so the portraits were done after the ceremony. Doing it later gave us this wonderful shaft of sunlight on the back altar wall.
We wound up behind the skate park and by the river. The goal for several months was to get shots of them at Le Claire Park where Matt proposed. It has never been in the cards. Weather, events, and other things have prevented it. At least this time we were closer than all the other times.
Everything was fairly calm until best man brother #1 took the mic. It started out ok. Nothing too revealing, but then he began to talk about a guest that should be there since he was Matt’s friend for the last 25 years. It got better and better for brother #1 and the guests with laughter filling the hall.
Jenny laughed until she cried. Matt turned red, hid his face, laughed, and finally laughed until he cried. Who was this guest of honor that has been Matt’s friend for the last 25 years?
It was his beloved Teddy! Not to be out done best man brother #2 tells Jenny about not hanging Teddy on the clothes line by his ears if he ever needs a bath because that was one of Matt’s worst ever days as a kid.
Daddy’s hug at the end of the Father Daughter dance. Think Das was feeling the emotions of giving away his daughter?
Mother Son Dance was no different. Matt was filled with tenderness while he danced with his mom.
A few moments alone. The Raddison is good for creating those little getaway places in the lobby.
Proofs may be viewed by clicking on this link. The password is the groom’s last name in lower case.
and without rain! Yay! See you in about 3 short hours. All the waiting is over!
Tina is one of my upcoming brides. Her makeup for the shoot was done by Erin Seddon. Soft, easy, light, playing to eyes and lips….. photographed beautifully. Love Erin’s magic!
why this door was hung. It is between a restroom and an outside door on the far side of the kitchen. It certainly won’t keep out bugs since they could buzz right through it. That large of a hole in screening isn’t required for a breeze to pass through. Perhaps strength to prevent being pushed in during the delivery process? Perhaps it was what was on hand to make the door, and it was homemade?
Love those funky places to shoot. So, Lexie is standing in the bathroom door.
The lovely blue wall is in the men’s room.
Lovely color in the kitchen!
My point in pointing these places throughout the building is that you don’t have to have totally beautiful settings to yield great photos. We went to all the funky corners that are usually not viewed by the public. Skellington Manor has all the upper floors under construction and getting the haunted floors ready for the public in the Fall.
Let me assure you the main floor is ready for a small to a fairly large event. Skellington Manor… a wee bit different!
Every wedding I shoot has random shoe shots from guests and family.
These lil’ pink numbers belong to Lexie.
Why do we do this? We want to see how much our bride notices the details of the day.
Concept shoots are fun, and this one proved to be no exception. Lexie always enjoys time in front of the camera. Erin Seddon is a makeup artist I recommend frequently, and we wanted to hookup to capture some of her work for various things. The last part of the equation is Skellington Manor in the District in Rock Island. They were perfect because I wanted a location out of the box and not seen 400 times. After a while locations become very “ho-hum” when everyone uses them.
It was magic time. Everything jelled. The three of us laughed, joked, planned, shot, and suddenly it was almost 3 hours later.
Skellington Manor is the old Masonic Temple in Rock Island. It enjoys a very 1930’s- 1940’s feel to the architecture and the lighting. Most have not seen the upper floors yet. There’s a little surprise about to be unveiled in the next few months. Would you like a little sneak preview?
Remember “Terror In The Woods” ? Surprise it has moved into town, and it is being set up for Halloween. It takes months to move, upack, set up, and prepare for the season. The second and third floor has some surprises. There is and old theater complete with stage, curtains, and a balcony. There are hidden rooms, closets full of horrors to be put in place. Theme party? Goth wedding? Mystery theatre night? This is the place. I’ve invited myself back to photograph when it is all set up.
Erin in the short time we have known each other has done the makeup for an intimate shoot and several others for Studio D, and booked several of my upcoming weddings. I am tremendously pleased with how people show up for the shoot looking their absolute best.
Look for more photos on Erin’s site, and of course Lexie will more than likely facebook ‘em!
The day started out with Greg and Kristin my August 22, 2009 wedding. It was hot, and they opted to pop in the studio for a casual shoot. No flash, 85mm, natural light…. just them being them! Quite fun to shoot this way without all the “expected” poses.
Before I took off for the next shoot we talked about the ceremony, reception, and all the timeline for the day. It’s going to be a fun day for sure!
Then it was off to Vander Veer to shoot Brooke and “Jeremy” (inside joke)
There is no way you can be with them and not laugh a lot and often! He eats up camera time like most of us eat chocolate. There’s no shyness.
Of course we had to get Chance with mom and dad. I really think Chance should come to the wedding!
Then it was off to shoot with Lynn Carr owner of Clazzy Designs for a story being done elsewhere. You just cannot talk about Clazzy Designs without mentioning Suzy……
Suzy is going to kill me for posting this. She is a behind the scenes, taking her list and checking it 3 times type. Sharp wit, ready smile, and tell it like it is kinda gal who loves Lynn! Suzy is great!!
Started at 9am and wound down around 4pm. It was a good feeling to settle into some air conditioned air and chill.