Honeymoon Roadtrip

With all the craziness of the past month surrounding my workload and our wedding reception, Val and I decided on the spur of the moment that we needed a little road trip. We love road trips. The day after our reception we threw some things in the car – a few cloths, snacks, drinks, camera gear – and hit the road. Our plan was to head west to the Mississippi River, then north along the scenic highway there. Little did we realize however that we were headed into the heart of flood territory. We had been so wrapped up in our work and reception planning that we hadn’t been paying attention to the news about all the flooding in SW Wisconsin.

When we reached the Richland Center area we just hit one “ROAD CLOSED” sign after another. State Highways, county roads, those little roads that your not sure are an actual road or someone’s driveway – all had spots washed out. We even ran into a roadblock where someone’s horses had gotten out during rains the night before. We saw about a half dozen men scrambling to herd horses back to the barn. Sadly we also heard from folks there that at least one horse may have been washed away.

At first the detours were a quaint bit of adventure, and a good exercise in map reading. However it soon became clear that we should probably change our plans. We headed back to Madison, not knowing whether we would just go home or continue on somewhere else. When we reached Middleton we decided to gas up and head north. We spent Monday night in Wausau, then spent Tuesday tramping around the area between Merrill and Eau Claire and finally headed home from there. It’s such a beautiful area up there, even when it’s grey, cloudy and rainy.

We both agreed that it was a nice mini-honeymoon. We don’t want to call it a full honeymoon though. We’ll probably need to use that as a good excuse to take nice long trip down the road!

Tiffany and Josh

Anytime it takes me more than two weeks to get wedding photos delivered to a client I start to feel like I’m getting WAY behind. Josh and Tiffany were married more than THREE weeks ago, so I’m feeling really behind these days. So much has been happening that I guess it was unavoidable.
Tiffany and Josh had a somewhat wet, but overall very nice wedding day. We missed some photo opportunities earlier in the day because of rain, but the clouds broke that evening and gave us a spectacular sunset! I think those are my favorite shots from the day. They were a pretty wild bunch out on the dance floor, so there are some great fun photos there too. Congratulations Tiffany and Josh, and thanks for the fun day!

Finally ... Our Reception!

Eight months and one day after the fact, Val and I finally had our wedding reception. It was last Sunday afternoon at the Overture Center, which turned out to be perfect for us. It was a tough process to find the right location, but it worked out just like we wanted - a relaxing atmophere, delicious food and drinks, and lots of family and friends to visit with. We definitely gained a new appreciation for what our clients go through on their wedding days!
Thank you so much to everyone who traveled from both near and far to be there. It was a very special afternoon for us, and it was so nice to visit with everyone. Val and I both felt afterwards like our marriage was a little more official now that we celebrated it publicly.

Shorts and Sandals party

Pierre and Anna of Pierre's Portrait Art held a backyard party Sunday
afternoon. It was so great to get a chance to hang out with other
photographers in the area, some old faces, some new. Val and I also
got to visit with a couple of the best DJs in the Madison too. Its
always nice to talk shop with other wedding vendors. Lot of food and
lots to drink, and a great way to spend a summer Sunday afternoon!
Thanks Pierre and Anna for a great time!

Angela & Michael

Angela and Michael were married on July 14 in Kaukauna and their reception was at High Cliff Restaurant, which was neat because the whole wedding party and some family members went to High Cliff State Park, for photos. My favorite images are of Angela and Michael on the top of the look-out tower. What a spectacular view! There was a fairly strong breeze coming off the lake, so I wanted to get some pictures with her veil blowing. I shot a few frames and then a gust came and stole it right from her hair! Luckily the wedding party was standing down below and picked it up quickly.
It was a real pleasure to spend the day with Michael and Angela and their family and friends. Enjoy the photos!

Nalalie and Alex - 7-7-07

It was the busiest day for weddings ever - July 7th, 2007, or 07-07-07. When I asked Natalie and Alex if they chose that date for good luck they said, "No, it just worked out that way." They were such a cool, relaxed couple to work with. Their ceremony was at the Paine Arts Center and Gardens in Oshkosh - one of my favorite places to shoot. It was REALLY hot that day, but everyone was so nice to work with despite being uncomfortable.

I think my favorite shot from the day was the photo I caught of Natalie through a window as she walked to the ceremony. It was just moments before she walked down the aisle. I love how it's just such a "real" moment. She's holding up her dress as she walks and you can just see the anticipation in her expression. I live for those moments on wedding days!

Time keeps on slippin' slippin' slippin'

I should be used to this by now, but when it gets to be the thick of the wedding season, life somehow gets put on fast forward mode. Seriously, I can't believe it's August already. I've been doing my best to keep up with work and life, but I always feel not quite caught up.
Val and I have been busy planning our wedding reception/party. Since we eloped to Las Vegas we are planning a reception type event for August 19th to celebrate our new marriage. It will actually be about our 8-month anniversary. We're planning on spending that Sunday afternoon with friends and family at the Overture Center enjoying some great food and drinks. I got a small taste of what my wedding clients go through to plan their reception. So many things to figure out!
We are finding time to relax a bit this summer though. We just joined the Princeton Club and we've been taking advantage of their spa area - hot tub, steam room, pool, etc. It's a very nice way to relax at night!
Anyway, that's an update on life here. I'll have photos to post very soon!