Erica and Johnny
I would like to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Kryst! Absolutely as cute as can be, and I have been happily working through so many images of their beautiful day. I'm not quite sure how to put it into words when one of your closest friends asks to hire you to photograph her big day. It's honoring, it's trusting, it's amazing. I was right there with them for almost every minute of their big day, and I feel so, so lucky. Thank you Johnny and Erica for asking me to be a part of this. You two are going to lead such a fantastic and fun filled life together.
Sending you all my love.
Enjoy the sneak peek!
Erica's family farm.
Sigh. Sweet dads are perhaps my favorite...
FANTASTIC wedding party.
I made that...
What a reception! Live band, full dance floor (all night!), and so much energy.
Okay, so below is a Polish Bridal Dance. Similar to a dollar dance but with more tradition...
I knew Johnny would need to break his way into the crowd, but holy smokes! I had to run and push my way out to not get trampled, grab my stepladder and thankfully my friends Greg and Allie held both sides of the ladder while I snapped as many photos as possible. Total mayhem and amazingness! The floor was shaking with all the clapping, stomping and polka.
I wish you two the utmost happiness.
The full wedding photos will be available by July 30th at http://www.bethwallacephotography.com/clients.html
and the password will be Erica's maiden name.
Christina and Ben
I was lucky enough to be asked to photograph Christina and Ben's wedding, and it was such a treat for me to get to be back in Orono again. Christina and I worked at UMaine together for a few years, and I even had the chance to live in the same hall as her and Ben for a semester. They were the best neighbors! Christina is hands down one of the nicest people I know. I kept saying that at the wedding, and everyone agreed wholeheartedly.
She and Ben met while she was at UMaine, so they found it fitting to get married up there. It was just a beautiful wedding day: great weather, super nice families and friends, and plenty of happiness. Such a fantastic way to kick off wedding season.
Here she is getting ready:
Some sisterly love!
Then we journeyed off to the Littlefield Ornamentals garden, which just may be my favorite place at UMaine. Ben and Christina opted to see each other prior to the ceremony. I always love it both ways. Seeing each other here first or walking down the aisle! Both great. It was super fun to have time with just the bridal party in the garden.
More sisterly love!
And then we're off to the ceremony at Webster Park!
This shot below might be one of my favorite ceremony shots ever. The ring, grandpa officiating the service...Love it!
Thank you Ben and Christina for having me join your amazing day. I have so many pictures for you. It was nearly impossible to figure out which ones to post for the blog! Your gallery will be up by July 17th, 2012 at http://www.bethwallacephotography.com/clients.html
The password will be Christina's maiden name.
Day 7
Oh, my Madden. Well, he’s not really mine, but he was for about 2 hours on Tuesday! Michelle had stayed the night, so she hung out with Madden a bit while I put Holden down for his nap. Then I had Auntie/Madden time, which I realized we really haven’t had in a long time (if ever!). I see Madden a lot (at least once a week), but I don’t think I actually had time just to play and talk with only him.
We read books, played with bubbles, and mostly, I helped free his hands and feet from being totally eaten by the couch cushions. Very dangerous work you know! We had a great time hanging out, and I got to get some sweet snaps of him, which is fitting because he truly was my model as I started this venture a few years ago. I absolutely love these top four photos. They all strongly reflect his personality. Thoughtful…curious…goofy…sweet…kind…
The last picture is for Yazzie (Holden and Madden’s Grammy). She had a knee replacement the day before, and Ho, Josh and I went to visit her that night and brought these lilies. Wishing you a fast recovery Yazzie!
Day 6
Day 6!
So, day 6 was really last Sunday but I gave myself a freebie. I had planned on taking photos that day…I had sent Josh away for a pre Father’s day gift to golf with 3 of his buddies, and I hosted the ladies and babies here for brunch. I went to grab my camera once, but with 6 kiddos under the age of 5 running around, I decided it wasn’t worth digging out the camera. Granted, my camera would have loved that many babies, but I enjoyed just being in the moment.
On Monday my friend Michelle came to visit. 3 of the photos are pre-visit.
A clean floor is a beautiful thing, even if I dislike actually doing it, I always appreciate a clean floor (for about 3 hours until it’s snack or meal time again).
My very good friend is the Crock Pot. She makes it possible for me to feel like I can provide decent meals for my family (and friends!). This dish was an orange turkey dish. We had whipped sweet potatoes and a spinach, strawberry and goat cheese salad to go with it (on the porch!).
Some of our daisies. We have a lot of flowers around our house, and even though we don’t know what greens are flowers and what are weeds…this season it’s been nice to see random flowers blooming. Daisies are my favorite.
I refer to Michelle as the professional Auntie. She’s awesome! Full of life and energy, Holden was drawn to her. We had a wonderful visit and even got to go out on the town for cocktails and then gluten-free chocolate cake. Awesome!
Day 5 was a great day
Day 5 was a great day! Much better than any dentist could be. We woke up with no plans at all for the day. We decided to rally and start our weekend ritual of pancakes and loud 80s music. I guess I didn’t get a shot of the pancakes but I did have fresh strawberries. My absolute favorite fruit ever, but they must be fresh and in season!
We headed to the park (this one is about 20 minutes away) to catch at least the end of our nephew Madden’s t-ball game. He’s a great hitter…and obviously keeps his eye on the ball while he’s in the infield…
We ran into our friends Mya and Lloyd with their grandparents at the park too. What a fun surprise because Holden’s first name he can clearly say besides Momma, Dada and Poppa has been Mya, usually at top volume. Sometimes he has called Madden Mya too, but he definitely knows who Mya is now. What I’ve really enjoyed is that he’ll be in the backseat saying, “Mya, Mya, MYA! I love Mya.”
We went on a train ride through the park, which was very cool. As we were headed out of the park, I texted our friends Scott and Erica to see if they’d want to come over for a BBQ. I wish I had gotten some pics of their cute kiddos, but I did snag this shot of the swing that may make for a big piece of art in our house someday.