Wedding Photos - Part 2 + Commentary

Okay. Sorry about the lack of commentary on the first batch of photos. I was uploading them to the blog as I edited them & I ran out of time to put captions under each photo. However, I think most of them are pretty self-explanatory.

The wedding went very well. Thanks to every one of you who prayed for me, I felt much less stressed than I thought I would. I was able to get behind my camera & forget about everything except capturing the events of the day. That being said, there are some lessons that I learned & a few things I would do differently if I were to have it to do over. For example, post-ceremony shots didn't go quite as smoothly/efficiently as I had hoped, putting us behind schedule. But... considering my inexperience, I think it went as well as could be expected.

Daniel Walter & Ryleigh Stratton

I know I'm completely biased, but Ryleigh was simply the cutest flower girl ever. ;-) To put it mildly, she was the evening's entertainment. She practically pulled Daniel down the aisle, bouncing along & humming some unknown tune to herself. Then, as soon as she got up to the front, she went & got candy from Mandy & made a show of popping it into her mouth. After standing there for only a minute or two, she went over & sat down on a small pew nearby. There must have been some books there because several people heard her say "Look - a book!". She & Daniel sat there looking at books pretty much the rest of the ceremony. When it was time to go back down the aisle, she started down & then realized that she had forgotten her books, so she shoved her flowers into Daniel's hands & went back for the books. ;-) She had no idea that she was being so amusing - she was just having fun playing with Daniel. She fell asleep just moments after we left the reception, but she woke up later when we were putting her to bed & said "I wanna be a fwower gore tomorrow!"

Ryleigh's flowers

Aytha Stevens (Martha's sister) getting Daniel all fixed up.

Ryleigh was so excited when Daniel finally arrived & could hardly wait for him to get ready so they could play together.

Martha with two of her best college friends, Danielle & Brenda

Jenna Walter - the progam attendant

Rev. & Mrs. Joe David Davolt Jr.

Martha & her two sisters, Mandy & Aytha

Jenna

This is exactly how she pulled him down the aisle! ;-)

Wedding Photos - Part 1

Putting on "wips" (chapstick) is a very important part of getting ready.

1403 pictures later....

Martha & Joe David are happily married, I'm dead tired & I'm headed to spend some quality time with my pillow. I'll be back later with edited photos & commentary.

Techie

Trial Run

Just a few photos from rehearsal tonight. I had a major curveball thrown at me... the lighting in the church totally changed because it's been rainy today. So the settings I had practiced on earlier were all off & I had to do a total switch. Thankfully, my husband was right there to help me keep from totally flipping out! ;-)

The happy couple. They were so calm & collected - much better than I was at my wedding rehearsal!

Ryleigh & Daniel did great! I'm just holding my breath & hoping that they do just as well tomorrow.

Can you say STRESS?

You'd think I was getting married all over again for as much as I'm stressing over this wedding. Okay... maybe it's not quite that bad (definitely a good thing that it's a once-in-a-lifetime event), but if you think of me I could sure use some extra prayers! Friday night is coming all too soon & I don't feel nearly as prepared as my perfectionistic nature would like to feel....

This is too funny!

I came across this article & had to share... this guy sounds like he's been talking to my husband! ;-)

Photography Tips

Thank you for all of your kind comments on the photos I took of Alicia. I posted them in a photography gallery & was able to get some constructive criticism & a few pointers on what to do to correct the problems.

I have always had an interest in photography, but it has especially grown within the last few years. I would love to eventually take some classes to learn more, but in the meantime, I have discovered a lot of information online. Here are a few of the things that have helped me the most:

• Study the owner's manual for your camera. This is very important! I had been taking pictures for several months with my point & shoot before I read my owner's manual. I was absolutely amazed when I discovered all of the things my camera could do!
• Look at other photographers' work for ideas. I love to browse photographers' websites (i.e., Sadie's Photography, Renee Oakenfull Photography) photo blogs (i.e., Tara Whitney, Rachel Ludwig, Jamie Waters, Paul Johnson, & Candice Stringham) & other photography websites (i.e., Digital Photography School, Photo.net, Flickr, ilovephotography, 2Peas Photography, BetterPhoto, & WedPix). Seeing what other people have captured with their camera, inspires me to see what unique things I can do with mine. It also helps me to develop an 'eye' for what will look good.
• Read online articles to learn about the technical aspects of your photo taking. Here are just a few that have helped me: Aperture/Shutter Priority Modes, Wedding Photography 101, Natural Light I & Natural Light II). Candice Stringham also has some helpful photography videos.
• Practice, practice, practice! As Mom always said, "Practice makes perfect."

Freezing Corn + Family Time

One of my favorite things about living in Pennsylvania is the fact that (miracle of miracles!) BOTH of my sisters live nearby. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that we get to see each other every other day, but it does mean that we do get to spend a lot more time together than we would if we each lived in different states. This week, Brenda & I decided to get together to freeze corn. Neither of us had ever done it before, so it was kind of fun to learn together.

Ryleigh really had fun helping us husk the corn.

Don't know how it happened, but I looked up to see Grant shoving a handful of corn silk into his mouth. He wasn't real impressed with the flavor/texture, though.

Making progress....

...and a big mess to clean up!

Grandpa & Grandma Warden came over for supper & the weather was so nice that we were able to sit outside for awhile.

As usual, Ryleigh warmed up pretty quickly!

Grant meeting Great-Grandpa Warden.

Aunt Brenda loves rocking Grant!

Grant meeting Great-Grandma Warden.

Ryleigh loves to play in the little playhouse @ Aunt Brenda's house.

Showing Ryleigh the picture of herself (she helped herself to a ripe tomato from Brenda's garden - yeah, she REALLY likes tomatoes!).

Alicia's Photo Shoot

I found a willing subject for my camera. Alicia hadn't gotten senior pics done, so I volunteered to see what I could come up with. We had so much fun driving around, finding cool places to take pictures! Here are a few of my favorites:

Isn't she so pretty & photogenic?