Gladys and Maria. Mother and daughter sharing a moment filled with excitement, nerves, and expectations. Makeup being done by the very talented Erin Puri!  More to follow.

Hair and makeup all done! It was during this time I began to hear the story of how Maria met her Prince Charming.  When asked she simply replied with a big smile, “At the gym”!  There was more of that story to come during the toasts!

Standing in your parents bedroom with the image of a wedding long ago…. today the images from your wedding are about to be made. Memories captured!  Who must you be talking to that made you smile that big?  Do you know how proud your Mom and Dad are of you?  You have their heart in your hands since the day you entered planet earth.

Mom in Erin’s makeup chair.  There you sat looking all serene on the outside, but what you must be thinking.  All around you family, bride’s maids, hair stylists, makeup artist, and a photographer.  I watched you doing a hundred different things to keep busy. I heard you wonder when the tears would come.  All the while…….I could see a mother giving away to a young man one of her most valuable gifts…. her daughter.  Maria…all grown up….

The music changed, the doors opened, and there she stood and in that moment a tear found it’s way ok Keith’s cheek.  He no longer realized the church was filled with wedding guests, family, and bridal party. It was only her he saw.

“Who gives this woman”? “Her mother and I,” came the response.  The journey of love suddenly stood before the altar to declare “WE ARE NOW ONE”!  A union before God, sanctioned, consecrated, and blessed!

I knew I had an interview with a bride and groom for July 30, 2011 at 5:30pm.  It was clearly on my calendar.  Alarms were set. I would be right on time.  Me who hates being late so much I always arrive early……there I was 30 minutes late to my appointment.  I apologized to them several times throughout the interview. Meantime in my head was the thought that perhaps they were thinking, “If we hire you will you be on time to photograph our wedding”?

What happened?  Very simple truth.  I got lost in going through images from a recent wedding I was processing.  I didn’t hear the alarm. I lost track of time.  I love what I do so much that I can and often do forget about everything around me.

Was I wrong in being late? Very much so!  Here I am the day after blogging about it because it bothers me very much.

They were really delightful, cute together, and at locations I love to photograph at.  I sat there during the interview mentally posing them and thinking of ways they would look fabulous in their images.

All you can do when you make a mistake is come clean and be totally frank.  Then you apologize and mean it.   I am very sad over this one!   I have missed two appointment lately.   I need to rethink my calendar and alarms on events AND NOT EVER NEVER EVER DO THIS AGAIN!

Me getting eaten by the MISSED APPOINTMENT monster!

more images to come!!!!

you had to be there.   Boomboompartybus.com was flying down a rainy, windy, River Drive.  The music was blasting, and the beer was flowing.  I raised the camera…….  and………

Here I was double #1’s.  I felt just so special and knew they loved their photographer!!!  All kidding aside… if you know Matt and Megan……. well that’s another story for another image

Many thanks to the staff at the Phoenix on 2nd Avenue in Davenport.  They let us come in for photos when it was pouring down rain.

http://www.imagequix.com/photog.php?id=N9CYK9K&ec=meganmatt  pass= groom’s last name in lower case   Proofs

When I am the busiest the thing that suffers the most is the blog.  I want to do it, I plan on doing it, I lament I have not done it………….but……….it all works out the same……….no post.  Thankfully silence does NOT mean I have no work to post.

So, in the midst of a crazy week, day, and weekend wedding coming up……… without further comment……… let the images begin……..

Joe Cook and Lynnann Smith…… one of my July 2011 weddings at the Stadium…… I would call it by name, but they have me all confused what to call it.   Honestly I don’t keep up with name changes.  For instance… it is still 23rd Avenue to me……… Avenue of the Cities……..who knew?

Aren’t they adorable all snuggled up?   More to come!