An Autumn Affair

As I mentioned in my last post, November is a refreshing time of year to be in Cayman. There is almost no place I'd rather be right now. I've barely been able to walk outdoors lately without overusing the words "ideal" and "gorgeous" and "outstanding" and "perfect", all of which are accompanied by over-exaggerated deep breathing and uplifted hands and audible "ahhhhhs". November makes me remember why we moved here in the first place.

But in the weeks leading up to November - namely, October - it's generally rainy, muggy, buggy, and hot. I'd rather be almost anywhere but Cayman. And if I had to pick one location to be during every October for the rest of my life, it would be Pennsylvania. 

I think I can make my point with just one photo. Presenting: The incomparable colors of autumn.

This October, we had the privilege of traveling back to our home state for my sister's wedding, set on a private property in rural Troy, Pennsylvania.

An acknowledgement must first be made to the property owner - a family friend of the groom - who was beyond generous and accommodating while we took over her oasis of a property for the weekend.

I was honored to be part of the photography team documenting the weekend's festivities. For most of the day, I functioned as a second shooter (my favorite role!), but during the pre-wedding prep, me and my Canon had exclusive access to the bride.

The primary photographer, Kate Marcus of Paper Heart Photography, arrived in time to do A&A's "first look" photos before the ceremony. From that point forward, I mainly ran around getting alternate angles and candid moments, which basically translates into me having lots of fun with hardly any pressure.

This elegant lady made every moment from every angle worth capturing.

First Look: The bride approacheth.

It's a special moment when the groom first sees his bride in all her radiance.

[ click photo to enlarge ]

As I said, Kate called the shots and was in charge of all the poses, so I can't take full credit for the rest of these photos. I so enjoyed working alongside such young, creative energy, along with James & Madeline Kolb of Kolb Visuals - it was like a reunion of faces I've known for 25 years, all while doing some "serious" photography work.

A least one person in this entourage was bound to have captured every moment.

The most refreshing and reassuring experience I had during the whole wedding weekend, while traipsing through the woods in tall boots (awesome!) and carrying what seemed like half my body weight in camera equipment (annoying!), was getting to see my sister smile so much. For those of you who know A, you'll likely concur that this smile has been under wraps for quite a while. It's finally getting dusted off and put to good use again.

That's not just plain old run-of-the-mill happiness, folks. That's joy.

And her husband's smile was just as big as hers. Seems like this joy thing is contagious.

Another personal wedding highlight: Setting myself up for a perfect shot of my dad and the bride as she walked down the outdoor "aisle", with no bystanders to block my camera's view of this symbolic journey.

What a pair!

The ceremony was simple and meaningful, with close family sitting near the bride and groom to witness their vows and commitments.

The minister - the groom's pastor and friend - officiated a beautiful ceremony, including a worship song about loving and glorifying God that really echoed the hearts of A&A.

This was followed by a special prayer circle, when A&A were surrounded by their parents and pastors, each individual praying a blessing over their lives and their new union.

I had to seriously swallow back some emotions at this point to stay on task.

And then they were declared man and wife!

My favorite ceremony photos are always from the recessional.

Candidly overjoyed!

As a family member, I had to jump into a few obligatory family photos, so N's sister took over my camera while I cuddled up to my sister.

Since this is an "artistic" post, a quick word about my new post-processing routine these days: Over the summer, I finally took the plunge (after about a year of consideration) and purchased two VSCO Film packs for Lightroom 5. I now have more presets than I can count with VSCO Film 02 and VSCO Film 05. These presets are powerful options to have in one's creative toolbelt, featuring certain colors and bringing out the rich tones that we see with our eyes but the camera doesn't always accurately capture. For this wedding, I primarily used VSCO Film 05's Kodak Gold 100--, which highlighted the golden hues of the season without converting all the rich reds to orange (one of my complaints with VSCO presets.)

Anyway, thought you might be interested.

Back to the family photos.

My camera was hardly missing in action with this group of paparazzi and their handheld devices.

I'm in love with this shot, and am pretty sure Kate's version from front and center will need to be framed.

During another camera handoff to my youngest sister, EH captured this gem:

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So to recap: My beautiful home state in its favorite month of the year once again successfully showed off the results of its bountiful harvest, creating a perfect backdrop to celebrate the love and joy of this dear couple.

Another huge thank you to Kate Marcus of Paper Heart Photography for directing all photography efforts. She's based out of Charlotte but was willing to travel back to her hometown to shoot my sister's big day. Kate did an outstanding of job of finding so many beautiful ways to capture my gorgeous sister!

The autumn harvest backdrop was the perfect canvas for capturing these newlyweds on this important day. I pray for God's rich blessings to surround A&A, as they begin their new lives and move into this exciting new phase.

And for their second honeymoon: I propose a trip to Cayman. In November.