Engagement Giveaway!

I’m leaving tomorrow morning for my trip to Scandinavia, and I’m in good spirits.  So it seems like a good time for a contest!

Here’s my inspiration: I was having dinner with a friend the other night, and any time I mentioned a couple I either knew personally or was working with she would ask me “How did they meet?”  I found it really cute because my friend is currently single, and it seemed kinda like she was looking for ideas.  But it also got me thinking about all the cool ways people tell me that they’ve met.  I’ve heard some good ones in the past – summer camp sweethearts that reconnected years later, a couple that survived a carjacking together, and one that met while running on a trail in Forest Park, just to name a few.  I love a good story.  So here’s where the contest comes in.

I want to hear the story of how you and your fiance (or soon to be fiance!) met, or what caused you to start dating.  You don’t have to write a 6 page saga (unless you’re creative), but give me all the fun details.  Even if you think it’s kinda lame, send it anyway – it could be better than you think!  If your story is the best, you win a free engagement session and an 8×10 print!  Email your story to me at sixeightythree@gmail.com.  I’ll read through them all when I get back from my vacation on August 6th and choose a winner.

The only rules are that you must be available to have your session during the month of August, and you must be willing to take photos that are a little out of the box (the session will be more like a date, less like sitting in front of something in Forest Park.)

I’ll share the winner’s story when I get back – and hopefully some cool vacation photos!!

Laura + Bryan: Married!

It was almost chilly on Saturday for Laura and Bryan’s wedding – what a gift in July!  We didn’t have to sweat it out during the outdoor portraits, most of which were taken near the couple’s house in the Central West End.  I love taking portraits near something important to the couple.  It makes them so much more meaningful.  And how could I forget to mention that they rode from the ceremony to the reception in the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile!  Definitely a first for me :)

Bryan’s family has Macedonian roots, so in addition to the American tradition of the cake cutting Bryan and Laura participated in the tradition of breaking the bread (there may be a more traditional name for this that I missed!)  Basically all of the reception gets out on the dance floor in big circles and dances around, taking turns to pay $1 to dance with the bread.  At the end, the couple breaks the bread, and the individual who gets the larger side is said to be the one who will be in charge of the household.  Turns out these guys broke the bread dead even down the middle!

For more images from their day (so many good ones!), the SLIDESHOW IS HERE.  Thanks to Kelly Park for second shooting.  I imagine I won’t hear from Laura and Bryan for a while – their upcoming schedule is chaotic.  A two week honeymoon in Thailand (so jealous!), a second wedding ceremony in Ohio, and moving to another state to start new jobs all within the next month!  Best wishes to them with everything they have ahead :)

Elizabeth + Dan: Married!

Elizabeth and Dan are a goofy couple…mostly because Dan is a goofy guy.  I’m pretty sure the expression he made when Elizabeth came down the aisle was for my benefit (he started getting emotional after that), but it made for a pretty funny image.  I think he made crazy expressions in most of the photos I got of him during the day.  And when he wasn’t making a crazy face, he was doing something to make Elizabeth laugh hysterically (like trying to feed her the entire slice of cake.)  That sense of playfulness led to a lot of crazy dancing at the reception as well, which made for a good party with a lot of energy.

Check out their SLIDESHOW HERE to see more photos from the day.  Thanks to Michelle for second shooting with me – and congrats to her on her upcoming wedding next month!

Arens Family – Meet Noah

I photographed Sarah and Kevin’s wedding last year in August, and I remember at the reception hearing Kevin predict that they were going to come home from their honeymoon pregnant.  About a month or two after the wedding I got an email from Sarah exclaiming that they had, in fact, fulfilled on that prediction while honeymooning in Italy.  And now they have little Noah, who is just one month old!  I love the “Made in Italy” onesie, which apparently Kevin had specially made for their little one.  So fitting :)

I love so many of these photos – thanks guys for thinking of me again, and letting me move around all of the furniture in your house to get good light!

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