As promised, here is a recap of the first of the three weddings I attended in June/July (see the first one I covered here). The difference this time? I was the one providing the photographic coverage!

Those of you who know me know I am VERY much a fan of hiring the best photographer you can afford for your wedding. (Clearly – we hired Tanja!) There are so many reasons for not using a friend or relative, but I know y’all know them so I’m not going to list them out. That being said, my uncle and his fiancee had already decided that a professional photographer was not in the budget for them (it was a second wedding for both), and so when they asked me to step in and do my best, I obliged. I would have felt much more confident with John at my side and with both of us shooting (between you and me, he’s the better photographer :), but I’m pretty happy with how things turned out. I thought you might like to see a little peek at what I captured!

Note: All of these photos were taken with our Canon 35 mm film camera except the final one, which was taken with our Nikon digital camera (not a DSLR, but not a point and shoot, either). I switched back and forth between the two all day, and used about 8 rolls of 24-exposure film.

Love this one! Those flower girls were very concerned about not getting her dress dirty.

Though I’m pretty happy with this photo, the ceremony presented the biggest photography obstacle of the day. The ocean in the background was much lighter than the couple in the foreground, and when I lightened the photos enough to get a good look at their faces, the beautiful background ended up getting blown out. Ah well.

So cute :)

This one was definitely a lucky grab – I spun around and snapped with the film camera, and it ended up turning out well.

Really, really love this one, though I can’t take much credit for it! Their outfits are so cohesive without being matchy-matchy, and they all look so comfortable together! You know how I feel about family portraits.

S’mores on the beach… every wedding should include them, don’t you think?

P.S. Our foray into wedding videography

Hi, friends! Just a little note to say our invitations have ARRIVED!!! This was later than I expected them to get here, but I can’t complain, because they’re perfect. A tiny sneak peek:

I’m a busy bee getting these pretties out the door (with many thanks to my expert stamper and stuffer, John), but I should have a post up tomorrow with my photographs from my uncle’s wedding! (Yes, I was the “official” photographer!)

Hope y’all are doing well! :)

Friends, let me tell you a story.

For years (since at least as long ago as middle school), there has been one house that has been “my house.” You know what I mean. It’s my dream house. It’s the most beautiful house I’ve ever seen, with the most thoughtful architecture, the prettiest gardens, the most charming outbuildings, the loveliest porch… All of my friends and family members know which one it is, and can point it out on command.

A few years ago, in addition to vowing that I would one day own said house, I started telling people that I wanted to take my wedding photos there. Of course, the first question my levelheaded companions always asked was, how exactly are you going to make this happen? Why, I’ll write them a letter, of course, said I. It wasn’t like I wanted to pretend that it was my actual house (that would be embarrassing) — I would consider it akin to a more normal person wanting to take photos at a historic property or mansion.

So then I got engaged. And I promptly added “Contact dream house about portraits” to my Martha Stewart generated wedding to-do list (I use the online one – it’s great!). Month: July. And then a few months passed, and it was July. And I had to decide if I was really going to do this thing.

Since I wanted to be able to address my letter personally, I did some Google sleuthing to try and turn up the names of the homeowners. They are probably a variety of ways I could have done this, but luckily, I was able to find an article in my local paper from a few years back about a renovation at the house that mentioned the owners by name. And just like that, I had everything I needed.

So I did it! I drafted a letter, wrote it out in my nicest handwriting on my thickest note cards, said a little prayer, and popped it in the mail. I gave the owners my cell phone number and email, in case they wanted to contact me. And then there was nothing left to do but wait.

Three days later, I had a missed call and voicemail on my phone. The woman on the end identified herself as the owner of the house! She sounded a little confused, but encouraged me to call her back. A few days later, I did just that. We had a lovely conversation, and the upshot is that they’re going to let us use the house’s grounds and porch for portraits!! Y’all, I can’t tell you how excited I am about this. I know it will be just perfect for the kind of warm, casual, lovely photos I’m envisioning. I think it will be entirely surreal!

You know the coolest part of the whole thing, though? At the end of the conversation, just before we were about to hang up, she said (and I’m paraphrasing), “You know, I just have to tell you, when I got your note in the mail, it was just so strange. I grew up in your town [we went to the same high school!], and I have loved this house for so long. I used to walk by it, and take photos of it, and talk about it as my ‘dream house.'” [Been there, done that, said that, yes.] And now, here we are. Does this mean that in thirty years I’ll own this house, and be able to loan it to a bride-to-be? I hope so!

In the meantime, I’ll be looking for opportunities to pay it forward as soon as I can, and as often as I can.

P.S. I know y’all are probably dying to see the house, but out of respect for the owners, I’ve decided not to show a shot of it at this point. You will see it post-September, though!

Hi friends! Lately, I’ve been preoccupied with trying to decide what to put on our Paloma’s Nest ring bearer bowl, so I thought I’d turn to you all for some suggestions.

Melissa Schollaert

If you were getting a ring bearer bowl, what would you put on it? (Or, if you actually had a bowl at your wedding, I’d love to hear what it said!) Would you go simple, with just the date (that’s John’s vote)? Would you take a line from your vows, or a ceremony reading, or your first dance song? Let me know what you think – I’d love to hear!

P.S. Wouldn’t it be a brilliant idea for Paloma’s Nest to make a Pinterest board showcasing their custom ring bearer bowls from real weddings? They’ve currently got a board with their product photos pinned from their website, which is a great way to drive customers to their site, but this board I’ve got in mind would be more about inspiring customers like me, who are trying to decide on an inscription. With the hundreds of ring bearer bowls that have been featured online, they could pull amazing examples from all different wedding websites and blogs! And Caroline, if you’re listening, you’re welcome :)

P.P.S. Enjoy the opening ceremony tonight, friends! John and I are kind of Olympics nuts, and are so excited!! Also, be sure to check back in on Monday for the conclusion to a wedding saga that’s been years in the making…