Emily & Jim, with their wedding date set in December, were excited for their engagement shoot at Harkness Park. But the weather that day wasn’t looking great. The day of the shoot, we kept going back and forth about cancelling or not when I checked my voicemail one last time and it was Emily saying, “We’re on our way.” And I’m so happy we went for it. The fog created such a dramatic photo shoot, and with it, some of my favorite engagement photos! Can't wait for the wedding!
It was obvious from the first time I met Ryan & Lori how in love they are with each other. They had the most perfect day for their wedding in Fort Myers, FL. It was a fun-filled evening with a lot of laughs and love. Congratulations to a beautiful couple.
· Lori & Ryan
· May 2, 2015
· Fort Myers, FL
· Ceremony: Fort Myers Country Club
· Reception: Edison Restaurant, Bar & Banquet Center
· Gown Botique: For the Bride
· Wedding Coordinator: Shazzie
· DJ: Black Tie Entertainment: Mike Cole
· Caterer: The Edison
· Cake Artist: Perfectly Scrumptious
I'm excited to share the details of this recent shoot with Crystal and Ben, former wedding clients of mine.
Let me backtrack just a bit…. In November of 2012, Crystal and Ben got married at the Lily Lake Inn in Wolcott, CT. You know how the story goes: First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage. Except for Crystal and Ben, a baby posed some health concerns and they had to take an alternate route. Here’s a little of their story, told through their GoFundMe page:
“dear friends, as many of you know, we are trying to start a family. due to health complications, having our own child would put crystal and a baby at risk. to avoid this, we have decided to adopt a child. we are a young, loving couple that would give anything to help a child in need. please help us in our journey to raise funds to make an adoption possible. any amount that you can donate would be greatly appreciated. you know the old saying, ‘it takes a village to raise a child.’ well, this could not be more true for us. please help us create our family!!! -Crystal and Ben”
They have continued to passionately pursue this dream throughout the past year and a half and one of the many challenges that they recently faced was creating a pamphlet to represent them as potential parents.
At first glance, this doesn’t sound all too difficult, especially for two educators- of course they love kids!! But just for a moment put yourself in the shoes of an expecting parent, desperately trying to find a loving family to give her growing baby a chance at a good life. A chance for a life with a family that will care for and love her baby. Now… how critical is that pamphlet? And more importantly, that first photo this woman sees?
I quickly learned of the power and importance of this one image.
My job as the photographer was to convey, through pictures alone, the Crystal and Ben I have come to know: Happy, loving, caring, strong, and stable potential parents. I wanted this image to provide comfort, confidence, and solace to a biological parent.
This type of passion and image importance motivates me as a creative to do the best job I can do for my client. And though Crystal & Ben hired me for the shoot, my ultimate client here was that person, whom I'll never meet, but will make an extremely important decision partly based on my photography of Crystal and Ben.
Below I have attached a few of the images from our shoot and I hope that I have done Crystal and Ben a bit of justice in demonstrating that they are wonderful people who are going to provide love, care, and a beautiful life for a lucky baby!
Thanks to Crystal and Ben for trusting me with this responsibility.
If you would like to learn more about Crystal and Ben and their hopes of adopting please visit their site HERE
Last year I had the honor of photographing two gay marriages, Jenna & Betsy and Manny & Mo. I absolutely loved photographing both of these weddings! Of course, the fact that all four of these ladies are beautiful, fun, and down to earth is what made the whole experience a pleasure.
It is crazy to think that just over 10 years ago neither of these two couples could have exercised this civil right, a right that is so deeply rooted in our hearts and identity. Thankfully, progressive states have taken the lead and others are following (FL legalized gay marriage yesterday - Jan 6th, 2015, becoming the 36th state).
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-florida-gay-marriage-20150106-story.html
I hope to have the honor of photographing several more gay marriages in 2015, maybe even one in FLA during its inaugural legal year.
