Kristy and Peter
In November I had the privilege to photograph the nuptials of Kristy and Peter. This wedding was filled with SO much love and laughter!
I had previously met them when I did their engagement session, and they were so fun and so in love!
I knew this wedding would be filled with wonderful images!
They were married at the beautiful Holy Cross Catholic Church in West Fargo. Presiding over the ceremony was the brother of the groom!
How cool is that?!
Peter and his groomsmen had me laughing throughout the day!
There was a stop at the Blarney Stone prior to the reception, which was held at the Holiday Inn.
To be surrounded by so much love and support from Kristy and Peter’s friends and family was a wonderful joyful experience!
I wish Kristy and Peter all the best in the future! Thank you for allowing me to capture your story!
It's All a Matter of Perspective
Yesterday my youngest was home with the coughy crud that seems to be hitting hard and early this year. As we sat across from each other watching our 743rd episode of Lego Ninjago (are they humans or snakes? I still don’t know…) we ate our lunch.
As he ate his soup, with the box of crackers between us, he said
“These little crackers would be good with tomato soup, because that’s what the box shows.”
“No honey, that’s chili I said.”
“No. It is really red. It’s tomato soup”
He was annoyed, that I thought he didn’t know what tomato soup was.
“Hon, chili is red too. It is lumpy and has beans but it is red.”
Now I’m thinking I need to make chili more often so this kid can identify what chili looks like!
“No, it is soup” he said with a finality I knew the discussion was over.
I grabbed the box of crunchy carby saltiness that is my absolute kryptonite.
I turned the box to reach in and saw …
We were both 100% right, but how would we have known what each others perspective was.
I believed I knew what he was seeing and was wrong. He knew what he was seeing and knew I was wrong.
And in fact, we were both correct.
How often do we truly think we know the perspective someone is coming from? But the reality, is we don’t. We know our own truth, our own path, our own reality. Even someone less than 5 feet away may be experiencing the world around them differently.
Choose grace,
choose kindness,
choose being happy instead of being right.
We can never really know through what perspective someone may be living.
Never Say Never
To the Seniors I photograph, if there was a piece of advice I could give you, it would be this: “never say never.”
I know most of you have your life planned out. It looks a little like this:
The reality, is in about 30 years, it may look something like this…. with more cats.
I don’t say this as an old crumudgeon, but more of a suggestion to listen for signs, for whispers.
There was one point in my life I said I would “never move to Valley City!”…. it has been 10 years now, And have no plans of leaving anytime soon.
I also Exclaimed emphatically “I am “Never going to Be a Professional Photographer!” Well… I’m going on about 5 years of that now, and the going is getting good…
Last night I got this message from a Senior’s Mom
It made me cry. For quite a while, and for a variety of reasons, I denied I had a gift.
But there came a point, after hearing a couple different sermons about “we are called to share our gifts,” some signs and some conversations, I gave in and gave it up to Him.
If you are not a religious person, I still say, listen… the Universe will send you signals. It usually whispers instead of taking neon billboards, but there will be signs. And they may lead you directly to the place or thing you said you would NEVER be or do.
And there will probably be more cats…
Beautiful Growth
Growth can be a funny thing. Sometimes it’s completely obvious, like when I try to put on shorts after a long brutal sub zero winter, only to discover that once again they have “shrunk.” Other times, it is so subtle I don’t notice it in the day to day… and then something will happen that will set me on my heels and say “WHOA!!”
During one of my Senior Sessions this summer, that is what I happened. I was reminded of how far I have come. I was reminded at how quickly time goes and those around us grow and change without us sometimes really noticing.
I have known Elizabeth since the Fall of 2014 when I took up Ballet. That spring had NOT been a good one for me, physically. I had a major physical set back and came out of it with a “life’s too short” attitude.
I decided at 40 that I would do something I had always wanted to do: Ballet.
Our class was originally 5 females: 3 adults and 2 teens.
(i.e one MATURE adult and the rest almost young enough to be my daughters…)
We were as they call it now the “OG.” In a twist of fate, I will photograph both of these young ladies senior images this year.
During this time in my life I adamantly expressed “I was not going to be a photographer.” But as I have come to realize, when you taunt God with YOUR plans that YOU are going to do, or not do… he laughs and laughs and laughs….
The Spring of 2015 Micaiah, the Ballet Instructor asked me to take images of the classes. I happily obliged, though I was still not a going to be a photographer. Here is Elizabeth as she has remained in my mind. Our sparkly, wonderful, carefree spirit, Elizabeth. There is truly no one like her and I have loved her through the years.
But sometime, when I wasn’t looking,
She grew up.
She is beautiful. She sparkles from a carefree confidence it has taken me almost 45 years to pretend to have. She is one of those people your life is better, having had her in it.
And I grew into my passion. After denying it and pushing it away for a long while, I came to terms with the fact God had given me a gift to use, and we are called to use our gifts. So I have. I’ve learned and grown and learned some more, and set my standards higher and higher… And sometimes I get to see just how far I have come.
I am so utterly grateful for being able to capture her then, and now, as she heads into her Senior Year.
Wherever life takes her, she will laugh and sparkle and dance.
That is just the Elizabeth way.
XOXOXO
