Featurette: Pablo and Holly

With every wedding I shoot and edit, there's something different that strikes me about each of my couples. With Pablo and Holly, it was all the attention they both paid to the details. Pablo was just as excited to tell me about Holly's green shoes as Holly was excited to tell me about their choice of wildflowers for their reception centerpieces.

Pablo and Holly both got ready at the German Village Guest House. The guys upstairs and the girls on the main floor. Pablo adopted Holly's family this day because his close family live out of the country. The couple's close quarters on their wedding day allowed Holly's family to be just as much a part of Pablo getting ready as they were for Holly. Another indication was the touching dance between Pablo and Holly's mom (standing in as Pablo's mom for the evening).

I think "innocence" is the word that best describes this day. Everything was so laid back and simple that it carried an extra elegance because of it. I hope you're able to pick up on that theme as you watch Pablo and Holly's Featurette. I wish them both the best and so enjoyed being part of this family affair.


Ceremony location: Frank Fetch Park
Reception location: Grange Insurance Audubon Center
Photography: Emily of Joe's Daughter Photography
DJ: All Sounds Unlimited

X and Y Coordinates: The Larger Family

Videography is my forte. I love capturing emotion and telling stories in moving pictures. The camera I film with happens to be a photographers camera, which means I get confused for a photographer at many, scratch that, all of my weddings.

And so I daydream. What if I were a photographer? Well. My hair would look awesome. I would wear trendy clothes and everyone would feel I was their best friend and confidante. If I were to pretend I was a photographer, I would be a family photographer. Why? Because there's just something about getting family together to capture a specific moment in time.

Maybe family portraits are somewhat reminiscent for me of weddings. Maybe it's that I feel more comfortable in groups. Maybe because kids respond REALLY well when you also have grandparents and aunt and uncles in the mix. You can physco-analyze why I'm drawn to families to your heart's content and let me know what you find. Whatever it is, I thoroughly enjoy myself.

I met the Larger's at Inniswood Metro Park with a good hour or so of remaining daylight. The best part for me? Watching them arrive. I had been in touch with Debbie to help coordinate outfits and color schemes so everyone felt like a beauty queen (i.e. stud for the men), settled into their individual styles, and still coordinated between nuclear families. I made a few suggestions, sent over a few examples, and waited like a kid on Christmas Eve to see how it would play out.

I saw the family mingling at the entrance to the park and glanced through each of them. They chose teal (or blue), brown, and denim. As my eyes traveled from family member to family member, a big, goofy grin spread across my face. They had nailed it! I don't even need to go on from there as the pictures speak for themselves. Their personalities were as well coordinated as their clothing and just as soothing and natural. Ernie, Debbie, Matt, Jenn, Jacob, Marc, and Karin - you were all such a pleasure to take around the park. I'm going to have to use you all as my model family each year =)

Filming and Early Pregnancy

The morning after we went in for that first doctor's appointment informing us that, indeed, there was a little beating pea in there (and there was only one...and it was firmly implanted just where it needed to be, not floating out in my nether regions like a little lost sheep), my body and my mind were in agreement. I was pregnant.

Once the body and mind started talking, they hatched a cruel plan. Just like something out of a Marvel movie where the alien villains scheme for imminent destruction of the entire earth. My internal villains decided I would roll out of bed and immediately feel the urge to vomit. Each and every day for 8 weeks. I woke up to it and fell asleep to it. Rice cakes and yogurt became my frenemies and only mealtime acquaintances. By the time the nausea finally subsided, I figured I would be just as sick if I ever saw another rice cake again. In. my. life.

It was early spring and the filming world was blossoming. I was out 3 evenings a week filming lacrosse games (more like dodging balls) for a few hours at a time and weekends were beginning to fill with 8-10 hour days of shooting for weddings. I didn't know how I was supposed to hide this from my clients or anyone else for that matter (it was still "Top Secret" news).

To pull off the "I can carry all my equipment, run to and fro, and still look like a hundred bucks" appearance, here is my advice for you other lovely early pregnancy shooters out there.

Rice cakes, Cheez-it's, granola bars, and Preggie Pops (or any type of Vitamin C drop) were my best friends that came with me EVERYWHERE. Halftime at lacrosse games consisted of me choking down whatever dry food I had and then carrying hard candy (keeping my extra batteries and compact flash cards company in my pockets) during gameplay. I nibbled and kept my pouch full - like a mouse-kangaroo.

Smile. Nod. And nibble. That was the only way to stay looking professional. I learned the hard way when out filming lacrosse one cold, rainy afternoon after filming interviews all morning (without thinking of eating lunch). I about passed out from lack of nutrition. Trying to monitor gameplay amidst seeing stars and crouching to conserve energy was not the way to go. Oh, no. I wish I had a picture to show you of me in my long winter coat, hood pulled up around my face, sickly white complexion, squatting down amidst cheering parents and trying to operate the camera with my frozen fingers. A sight for sore eyes, I'm sure!

Sometimes I felt like I brought more food than actual equipment, but that's what us momma's got to do. Filming is quite physically demanding, and a growing creature to sap all my available nutrients means I have to stay on top of things even more. I'll be sharing more tidbits I've learned from each trimester of pregnancy (and divulging my embarrassing stories) over the next few posts. It's a whole new frontier!