The Next Best Thing To Your Own Wedding

Is when your friends have one.


Long time sweet friend finally got to marry the love of her life on the 20th of March. I'm so happy for her and loved playing a special part in their beautiful day. Congratulations Weilin & Rachel!

:: Jacob & Angel ::

I had the distinct privilege of being asked to do the candid photography at the wedding of a friend of mine. I love being a candid photographer. I get to go behind the scenes where not many others are allowed. I get to see a bride prepare herself for her wedding which is only the commencement of a marriage. I get to watch her excitedly arrange the silk and lace around her body. I get to see her nervousness, and her thrilled smiles. I get to go up front and watch the two of them look at each other during the ceremony and only guess at what they're whispering. It's my job to capture it all.... without the pressure of having to make perfect portraits. That's the other guy's job. [grins] Here's a handful of the images I got. They're definitely a very cute, twitter-pated couple. I'm so happy for them.

adjusting her veil

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a beautiful ring
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in lieu of a bouquet
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the groom's boutinere
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a hug with dad before he walks her down the aisle
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almost man and wife
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the kiss
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lovers
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lost in the moment
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cutting the cake
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for always
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Love Deeply

I want to make a big plaque and hang it in our house with those simple words to remind me every day how dear my husband is, how precious our marriage is, and that a honeymoon between a man and his wife doesn't have to end the day they step foot off the plane that brought them home from their exotic vacation. LOVE DEEPLY.

For some reason, in our culture, the norm is that once a man and a woman become married, that cute spark they have dissipates. They go back to being individuals, becoming consumed with the cares of their daily responsibilities. I don't understand why it has to be that way.

Perhaps being separated from my husband by a year long deployment, I learned to care very much for every moment we can share together. I know that every kiss is to be cherished, every touch of love is to be soaked in. I crave his presence, I revel in our union, and I pray that there never comes a day when I don't feel the passion.

I want to always be the couple that finds themselves kissing in a parking lot just because. I want to always be the wife who when my husband rolls over in bed just as I drift off to sleep and tells me that the 3 hours on the road at 6:30 the next morning would be too boring without me, I will be willing to go. Candle-lit dinners, goblets of wine, and twinkling smiles at each other across the table should never be reserved for only anniversaries and Valentine's Days'.

Life brings its cares and toils that can distract from our relationships, but marriage is something to be worked at. I believe that love can burn brightly as long as we don't forget to fan the embers.

Love always, love truly, love madly... LOVE DEEPLY.

On New Cars and a Guy Just Like My Brother

I used to hope that someday I could marry somebody like my brother. Somebody who could always, without fail, make me laugh, who would tease me mercilessly (why that's such a plus I'm sure I don't know) and be a brat in an adorable, lovable way. Without boring you with the details of how it came about, let's just suffice it to say, I got what I wanted.... and a little more than I bargained for.

Gabe and Andy just so happened to join the army the same year, they deployed together, they both came home in January, we now live in identical apartment buildings across the parking lot from each other, they work at the same place, are enrolled in the same school (and ironically enough, happen to have identical class schedules), they bought flat-screen TV's in the same week, wear black leather jackets, gel their hair, grow cute little goatees, have the same kind of guns and randomly sing in unison "Every Kiss begins with Kay" when the jeweler commercial comes on.

Don't get me wrong, they don't try to be alike. They just are. They really weren't aware of the other's existence when they signed up for the army nor when they purchased their respective leather jackets...

(And before I commence with my story, I will have you know that Gabe signed a lease for his apartment after he saw ours, and bought a flat screen TV after we showed him ours...)

Then came the day when Gabe's fiancee's car was really not safe for her to drive anymore and they decided to invest in a new one. So they did... A Chevy Impala. And it's a pretty sweet ride.

Their purchase just so happened to occur at the same time Andy and I were realizing that our one car was bound to present a problem when our schedules clashed. We were ready for something a hair more reliable anyway. So we shopped around and found a really good deal in town. Wouldn't you know, it was a Chevy Impala, the only difference to Gabe's being one year and it was black (a hair more snazzy).

We had a look at it, we fell in love with it... But Andy wasn't quite ready to make the purchase. We checked out many other deals in town, even test drove a really cool Jaguar. Surely he wouldn't have to be just like Gabe with his car too, right?! But none of the other offers nearly measured up to the specs of the Impala for the price it was at.

So as fate would once again have it, there's a pair of Impala's out in the parking lot now.

(from one Impala to another)
But that's ok. I fell in love with a guy who reminds me of my brother more and more... And I really don't mind. The only difference being he's sweeter and somehow more lovable.