I’ve been trying to figure out what I can say about Jake and Maria’s wedding. There’s so much I could say…. want to say… and don’t know how to say. What I do know for sure, is I’ve been going around telling everyone it was the best wedding I’ve ever witnessed…. and telling why get’s difficult.

First, you must know Jake and Maria, because they are amazing. Jake is one of 5 kids in his family and Maria is one of 10. Knowing that there were 15 siblings present… not to mention countless nieces and nephews, I knew from the start it would be a family affair. I first met Jake in college when we were both on the same mission team in Jamaica. He had such a passion and zeal for the Jamaican people. During this trip he pretty much was there with the intent of becoming a seminarian for Jamaica…. where he could live out the rest of his days as a priest. He even took a year to live there and minister full time to Jamaica. Also on our mission team, was Joe… Maria’s “little” brother. Joe was pretty sure he was going to one day get married … Well, God had other plans in store for these two! Joe is now a seminarian studying to become a Catholic priest and Jake married his “big” sister. It truly is amazing how God works in our lives.

It was very evident how much God is present in and through Jake and Maria. The entire day was focused primarily on the Sacrament that was taking place. From amazing worship lead by talented Catholic musicians/siblings Martin Doman and Alicia (Doman) Hernon, 6 Priests, 4 Seminarians, 29 bridesmaids/groomsmen/flower girl/ring bearers, and around 200 family and friends… how can it be anything but epic?  Every single person in attendance worshiped with all their heart along with Jake and Maria and the joy was probably felt down the street….

I’m sure I have a lot more to say, but let’s begin with the pictures, shall we?

I guess we have to start with the rehearsal. Jake and Maria had a holy hour following the rehearsal. Her brother, Martin led praise and worship while every prayed, praised, and even had an opportunity for confession.

Following the actual rehearsal, they held a pig roast at the brides family home. Her family has a HUGE “backyard” complete with play equipment, lots of space I imagine has been filled with football and soccer, and a zip line. We’ll get to the zip line, later They strung up some gorgeous lights and I have to say, it made a GREAT venue!

The next day, for the wedding, I met jake and his groomsmen at their hotel.

OK, When I was going through the images, I pretty much busted out laughing at this one.

Reason number 1,456,233 Jake and Maria are awesome. They prayed for perfect picture weather. I.e. Not too hot and enough cloud cover. Thank you both, I couldn’t ask for better outdoor conditions in the middle of the day!

Of course, then it was time to check in on Maria.

How awesome are her shoes!

Maria dropped the back of her earring and everyone tried to get it. Of course, they soon stood up and Maria got down herself to reach deep under the dresser. Love this girl!

Her mom and Grandmother took this exact picture with this exact dresser/mirror on her mothers wedding day!

One of the things that I love about Maria’s family, is their love for each other. Being one of 10 children, being one of the younger ones, and having a LOT of nieces and nephews it goes beyond just family love. The entire family is very close and always looks out for one another. You would never know that they don’t all live in the same town or state. There is a comfort and love between all members that is very evident.

OK, I had briefly mentioned the zip line… The week before the wedding when Maria sent me her “wish list” of shots, she had mentioned something about wanting a picture on the family zip line if possible. Well, as soon as I read this I was pretty excited. Of course I would do anything possible to make this wish a reality for her! The more “offbeat” the idea the more I love it! We scoped it out the night before and then right before we left for the church (she’s one brave lady!) we began the orchestration of getting Maria…. in her dress… up a ladder, onto the zip line, and rigging it and us up to prevent any accidents or dirt/tears in the dress etc. It was a one shot kind of deal and if you ask me, the risk is pretty much always worth it. I’m so glad we got to do this, I LOVE the result!

This is Fr. Stan. He was the celebrant of the mass, and was in Jamaica with Jake and I. Pretty much one of my favorite priests of all time. He spent the year in Jamaica with Jake as well when they went back. If you want to know about missionary spirit, this is your man. I don’t even know if it’s possible to count all the places he’s ministered to in the world.

As if you need further proof how awesome Maria’s family is…. I think this is my favorite family picture of all time…. So fun!

Left to right, youngest to oldest. (+ Jake)

Jake also comes from an amazing family! You really just couldn’t help but feel the love!

This is another picture that just makes me laugh. I still have NO idea what the blue bear was about… other than I’m thinking a ploy from the brides brother to dance with her… It worked

This couple has been married just shy of 50 years. They still look at each other like it was their first dance…. I love it!

I know, this was long post, but I couldn’t help myself! I could go on and on about so many moments through the day…. little things that were said… but I’ll leave it with these images.

Jake and Maria, It was an immense blessing to be there and witness your wedding and meet your families. I can’t wait to see what else God has in store for you.

There’s so much I can say about Sean and Sarah. Their smiles in every image says a lot already. I’m personally especially fond of the joy on their face during their nuptial mass. The love was felt way in the back where I was! Amazing details, amazing love, amazing venues, and amazing family and friends make for one amazing weekend. Congrats Sean and Sarah, I was blessed to be a part of your day!

OK, a lot of you had awesome things to say about John and Kristina. Well, don’t let them stop wow’ing you. Saturday the forecast called for scattered thunderstorms. I checked the radar as I noticed drops start falling and sent Kristina a text. Basically, I asked to double check and make sure the schedule was the same and if any changes were being made. She replied back, “So far no change, see you at 4, the Future Mrs. Berney! <3″ Do I really need to continue about why I love them?

Of course, the rain didn’t start until she was making her approach down the “aisle” at the beach. Sure enough, it pretty much stopped when they had their first kiss… I love shooting in the rain, so I didn’t mind, and it’s always great to see two people have such fun with it! After the ceremony on the beach, we went to the brides parents house for the reception. What a fabulous backyard! Lot’s of kids + Pool + Awesome DJ makes for a great, laid back, and fun party. It was the perfect celebration for these two and for me, a nice change in pace from the norm.

This will in turn be a “different” blog of images than normal…. I hope you enjoy. I sure did!

We met at the brides house to get ready and then headed to St. Matthews in Virginia Beach for their Nuptial Mass.  After we headed to The Chamberlin in Hampton for photos and their reception. What a great and interesting venue The Chamberlin is! It’s gorgeous, it’s on the water, it’s full of history… and provided the greatest cave to escape the ridiculously bright and hot sun!

Okay, enough words, I know you’re here for the images .

First of all, I flew into Houston and had this amazing Engagement Portrait session with October clients, Justin and Christina. I have a special place in my heart for my firefighter clients, as my brother works for the Houston Fire Department… and BOTH Justin and Christina are firefighters. Of course, we had to do a few at their fire station… and christen their stations brand new truck… but we started at the gorgeous Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Gardens.

Let me just throw out, I am TERRIFIED of snakes! Terrified may not be strong enough of a word. It doesn’t matter where we go, they find me. As a camp councelor in college, no one EVER saw a snake in the Georgia woods…. except me… weekly. When I moved to Va Beach no one ever saw snakes… until I came along. I even used to kayak, asked a local expert where to go and not see snakes and I saw four of them on a river he has never seen a single one on. I sold my kayak after that trip.

Needless to say, I wasn’t to happy when I got to the gardens. There was a sign taped to the rail that I saw in the distance. It looked like blurry little words and then in BOLD, LARGE, and UNDERLINED letters…. SNAKES!  I had to take a deep breath, lol. (I totally forgot to take a picture of the sign! I had meant too!)  So I walk a little further scoping out locations for when Justin and Christina arrive and I find this sign…

Yes, on top of snakes, we apparently needed to watch out for the bee’s.  Luckily, I’m not allergic so I could care less about the bee’s. I quickly forgot about snakes and bee’s though. Mercer Arboretum is beyond amazing and gorgeous! Ooooh, and did I mention it’s free to the public and photographers? Many botanical gardens require a sometimes steep portrait fee. All they ask is that you don’t crush the flowers .

Christina and Justin arrived, and we had an awesome time. They are so easy to shoot, completely relaxed, sure of themselves and their love for each other. As we began to shoot, we found some great locations… and I kept my eye out for the snakes.

The whole time we were shooting in the bamboo and leaves I had my eyes and ears peeled for snakes. Of course, as we left to walk back into the woods, another guest in the garden calls out to us and points to us a dead baby copperhead. (WHY would you do that!) Then they tried to explain that it was only a baby and they saw another live one not too far. Um, babies are dangerous too…. lol.  I’m happy to report we never saw any alive snakes. (I’m seriously happy to report that). Unfortunately, I saw another snake the following day.  Thank you mom for pointing that one out…. not long after I shared the above story with you.

I think the one below is one of my top favorites from the day.

After we finished up and the Mercer Arboretum closed for the evening, we still had plenty of light left. I had noticed that right next door to the gardens there was a completely empty field… the future home of a neighborhood in Spring, Texas… not far from Bush Intercontinental Airport.  I figured because of snakes, that it looked pretty heavily brushed. I didn’t think we’d be able to go very deep into it for safety reasons, but it actually resembled more of a west texas desert than a gulf coast marshy field. I was VERY happy to discover that, and loved the results.

After having some fun in the field, we made our way to their firehouse and took out the newest truck.

So, I hope you enjoyed their engagement images.  I enjoyed every single moment of our session and was sad to see it end. I can’t wait to go back to Houston for their October wedding.

Past clients, Emily and Brock (click the names to view their wedding) introduced their new little boy, Jack to the world on 4/9 and the next day I got to meet him! I didn’t get to stay long… or even take many pictures, but I figured I’d show off this little ball player a bit

So, we met up Friday, which was so incredibly sunny! I feel like I haven’t shot in full on sun in so long, summer is right around the corner! We went out to the old abandoned (and dismantled, aka safe) train tracks that run through the area and then out to the beach.

These two fun loving people will be getting married in Cali soon, and Justin is about to drive back across the Country! So, while we’ll miss them, here they are! (ps, the first few are favorites from some of the different area’s we hit up, I always love when we get to do a few different “feels” to the images.)

I should add, they also have EXCELLENT taste in rings! Krista and I both share a passion for the wide flat bands, and Justin also shares the same taste in Men’s rings that Thad does… I love it!

Also, thanks everyone for making Comments for Haiti successful. It’s been nice to see everyone’s comments and know that each one would go to help orphans in Haiti. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

HAPPY EASTER!

We really were blessed on Sunday. The weather all week was threatening horribleness. Sunday was GORGEOUS however! Wouldn’t you know that when we got back over towards little creek after we finished it was SOAKED as it had poured! Go figure today it’s all cold and dreary again!

We, and by we I mean Charlotte, Jake, the officiant and I (along with their puppy Jaeger) – met down at the water for the intimate ceremony. Afterwards, we had so much fun taking pictures. I was feeling really giddy on the inside all evening… I knew we were rocking out the portraits, but in uploading them that night, I could no longer contain my excitement! I’ve been itching and dying to get these out on the blog! I mean, for real…. check these out!

Jaeger was pretty excited to see Charlotte. She hadn’t seen her all afternoon! She makes an appearance throughout the rest of the blog, see if you can spot her.

And, Of course an outtake from the evening

And of course, this is the one I taunted many with! I’m seriously so stoked about the below image. For more info on it, see the blog post right below this one.

Charlotte mentioned that she loved that she felt I was “up for anything.” It’s true, I am… but when my clients take dares and go to the extremes…. like their willingness to get soaked by 40 degree ocean water in March… it really pays off.

Don’t forget, this is officially the last post where you can comment to donate $1 to Haiti.

This wedding, this entry and the one that follows with the rest of the images will be your last opportunity to comment for Haiti. So, any comments you leave here on the blog will give you a chance to donate $1 for free to Haiti.

The setup!

They got married in front of these rocks. After the wedding we shot images all over and then for the grand finale came back to the rocks. A few things to note!

1) Safety is ALWAYS first. They were the ones who wanted to climb up the rocks and my clients dictate their comfort zone. In this and all cases, their guts paid off for an AMAZING image! I also watched what the water was doing the entire time we were there. By the time we were ready to approach the rocks, we knew just what section was the safest.

2) The water is still in the low 40’s. They came prepared with blankets and towels. I was standing in the water as well, so as my feet went numb I was better able to tell what they were feeling, although, they got it SO much worse

3) I can’t wait to blow this image up.. I think it’s quickly becoming a HUGE fave of mine!

Enjoy! Hope you love it as much as I do!