Wedding Photographer.

Today I had the privilege of photographing my very first wedding. The bride and groom were absolutely adorable and so in love. I am so glad to not only have gotten to take pictures of their special day, but to just be there to witness such a strong and sacred bond. My heart is so full. I was so excited when they asked me to be their photographer but along with the excitement came the nervousness. I have done little shoots for friends (engagements, family portraits, parties, etc.) before but nothing this significant. Nothing this meaningful. Nothing this sacred. I prayed many times that I would at least get some decent photos. One thing that I learned today was that being a photographer is not easy! The lighting (and temperature) conditions were less than ideal. It was flipping hot! and besides the fact that I am pretty sure I was on the verge of having a heat stroke by the end of it, I really surprised myself. I learned that I needed to be assertive. It's hard to get everyone to cooperate! I also learned that while everyone was miserable out in that heat (especially me) I had to put that aside and be happy, fun, and slightly ridiculous. There were times when I looked through my viewfinder all I saw were unhappy faces. I had to crack jokes and basically make a fool of myself in front of a bunch of strangers and friends to get them to remember (or at least look like they remembered) what a happy occasion it was.

Today helped me to realize a lot of things. As much as I love being behind the camera, I don't think I wan to do this as a career. Or at least the wedding aspect. All my friends keep telling me to start and "on the side" photography business. Don't get me wrong, that is a great idea! but today helped me to realize that photography will always be a hobby for me. I don't mind (and frankly, would love) to photograph for friends and family, but not for a career. For all you professionals out there, you guys are saints. It's not as easy as you make it look. Thanks for being the person to capture so much.

Congrats Phillip and Damaris!

Carli

Maybe I'll post a couple of the photos I took...

The Wedding.

My weekend was insane. And when I say insane, I mean histerically insane. My weekend was so huge that I will have to break it up into several blog posts just to explain it all.

Courtney’s wedding was Saturday. Can you belive she is married?! I cannot. I feel like it is a dream. All the time leading up to that one moment was something I will never forget, but never want to have to go through again. Can I just say this? Why do weddings bring out the worst in everybody? This includes me. Thanks to my buddy Kaitlyn I thankfully made it through to the end. Thanks my friend. I was so not prepaired for what I had to deal with. I almost gave up several times. I was so stressed that my body went crazy. But I am glad I pulled through because it turned out amazing. Courtney looked stunning in her vintage inspired tea length. Ben looked smashing aswell. I’ll have to admit, after all the bridesmaid dress drama, we looked pretty hott. Saturday morning was a blur, all the running around, speeding to the temple, and picture taking. Here are a few select pictures from the temple.

After the temple we had some lunch and then headed back to the place of the reception to finish the last minute details. I have got to say, I did not think that the decorations would come together, but they did. The reception was so Courtney. A complete reflection of her wonderful self. Here are some pictures of how wonderful the place looked.

I am so glad that we were able to incorporate the photobooth. It was a hit.

Do you see that kid looking through the mouth hole of the beard? Histerical.

Suffice to say. I had the time of my life…

I am so glad that it is all over… I am excited for my life to get back to normal and be less stressful. I don’t really know what to do with myself now. I am sure I’ll figure something out.

Carli.

Mocktails.

I cannot belive that my little baby Courtney got married on Saturday! It’s quite insane! Amongst all the stress of getting everything done before the wedding, all of us bridesmaids joined forces and planned a night of embarrasment for our beloved Courtney. Bachlorette party… We went to a little place in Provo called Spark. We drank mocktails, ate grub food, laughed, shared stories, and best of all made Courtney blush. She was so red… 

The night was awesomely fun. Never will I regret my kiwi margarita… Mormon girls have the best fun. 

Carli

Stress

Ahhh. I may be going insane. This week is literally kicking my butt. My question is why everything big in my life happens all at once. The raise and new job responsibilities at work, Courtney’s wedding and all that comes with that, and starting school and all that comes with that. I am just hoping this week will go by very fast. Not that I am not enjoying it! I am very excited to see my family and friends and to celebrate the eternal marriage of my best buddy. I am looking forward to the many memories we are going to make in the next couple of days. I am just really looking forward to when things get back to normal and I can relax a bit. I want to be able to go to bed at night without having a million and one things race through my mind. So today I took some time out of my busy week to do some relaxing. I have put together a list of some pictures from some of my favorite blogs and websites that make me feel good. I love to find pictures that inspire, entertain, and relax me. One of my many dreams is to cover an entire wall in my house with photos of friends, comic strips, inspiring photographs, and other such things, and call it my “Inspiration Wall”. Until then I will keep my inspirations here…

Great coffee table book.

Red lips are the best lips.

Love the mix of patterns & colors.

Uh. I need these.

Can I have them all?

Dream Vacation.

Oh, Jason.

I have been thinking a lot about record players lately. I don’t think I can live without much longer.

Will this get me through this week?! I hope so…

Carli