Just last week, Sabrina said to me, "Mom? I'm really bummed. There's only a week left of school, and I never had a sweetheart. Which means I can never say, 'I married my high school sweetheart.'" I didn't feel the need to remind her that there were plenty of sweethearts begging to be hers, but she poo-poo'ed every one.
Can I say poo-poo on a blog?
Alex and Brooke were high school sweethearts. (They both went to the same school as Bre, where Brooke and Breanna were cheerleaders.) (Brooke tried out for American Idol once, too. I'll never forget during one of Bre's slumber parties, all the girls wanted Brooke to sing for them. Brooke was embarrassed, so she made them all turn their backs to her while they sat in our hallway, and she sang a country song for them. The girls loved it, and it was such a cute thing for me to see… although Brooke had no idea I had spied them.)
It was such an honor to be asked to photograph Brooke and Alex's wedding a few weeks ago. I snagged my Canon-sister Jaime to help me, and together we shot about 3,000 pictures in 13 hours. I realize this isn't a photography blog, but if you could please bear with me, I'd love to share some of my favorites from the day!
I love this shot… Brooke wasn't planning on wearing jewelry during her wedding, as she loves simplicity. Her mother won the argument, but couldn't get the necklace to clasp. Brooke's dad stepped in, and I just loved the way his hands looked, so gentle and fatherly. Once the necklace was in place, Brooke looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled. "I like it!" she said. (Mothers know best.)
Her oldest sister, Breezy, was her maid of honor, and did a wonderful job of helping her get ready…
Meanwhile, Jaime was photographing the groomsmen, and doing a fine job of it. The challenge with men is that they don't give doodly (an expression my mother uses frequently) about looking handsome; they want to look cool.. like they couldn't care less if their picture was being taken or not. (Bravo, Jaime! They look handsome and cool!)
(Btw, it was a very cold and windy day!)
Back in the bridal dressing room…
(The next one is truly what Brooke looks like most of the time…what a sweet young woman she is!)
The ringbearers, courtesy of Jaime…
We had to shoot the groomsmen separate from the bridal party, as Brooke and Alex didn't want to see each other until she walked the aisle…
A couple more from Jaime…
I love this shot of Alex… he was finally getting to see Brooke, and he looked so emotional…
Brooke and her dad…
Jaime had a lovely angle, as she was standing behind the pulpit, off to the side in a changing room…
The next photos were taken just after Brooke and Alex had walked back down the aisle and turned the corner, out of everyone's line of sight. The sun was shining brightly through an open door, and I felt quite lucky that I was standing close enough to them to sneak these…
This next one is my very favorite shot of the day! Jaime was standing outside, waiting for them to exit the church…
After the ceremony, we took a few of the bride and groom outside – but were forced to stop early bc it had started to rain…
The first dance…
…and then the father-daughter dance. I could barely keep the tears back to take these pictures.
Bre was third-shooting the reception with us…
Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. McKamy!
You may now say, "I married my high school sweetheart." 🙂
May the Lord bless you both.
12 Comments
joanntx
beautiful couple…beautiful bride…what a special day for a special couple!
and the pictures are great! there are so many good ones!
my favorite is of them kissing in front of the church!
great job steward photographer!!!
p.s. and why not post about a lovely wedding? PW does…she has her blog broken down into the different sections!
Ginny Smith
OMG!! I can not believe what beautiful photos you took. Of course I started to tear up at those of the bride and father dance…
The one of the bride that you took saying this is what she really looks like shows all of her life, her love, and her spirit.
I adore the photo of them hugging after the ceremony and the ring bearers…. And the one on their rings on the Bible!
You truly are gifted Paulette, and how wonderful that you are able to share your gifts, whether it be in stitching or in photography but they are gifts from God that make it so special for me to share through you.
karren hubrich
Beautiful–My favorite is the one on the steps of the church
Yvonne S.
Absolutely beautiful! You captured the heart of the ceremony and that’s what you want to remember and see when you celebrate that silver and golden anniversary.
Pat Matejcek
Absolutely beautiful pictures!!! What a beautiful bride. You did a wonderful job of photographing the wedding. The pictures are truly amazing!!!! What a keepsake. You are an amazing and talented lady…
Margaret
May I say you are a great photographer? Lovely photos –and a lovely couple! Congratulations to them!
Joanie
You’ve certainly captured the emotion of the day, Paulette! The photographs were beautiful!
Congratulations to the lovely couple!
I wish them God’s richest blessings every day of their lives.
Lynn
Paulette, you are an amazing photographer! You capture angles and shots that I’ve not seen done before. You manage to capture all the many emotions of the day. My heart tore when I saw the shot of the bride dancing with her Dad.
They are truly a beautiful couple and you’ve given them an amazing remembrance of their special day!
Cathryn
Paulette, I ALWAYS love seeing your pictures. They are so wonderful and so very often catch the MOOD/EMOTION of the moment. You are gifted!!! Thanks for sharing them. I loved, loved, loved looking. 🙂 Cathryn
Anna
Your photos are fabulous. But I must say to your daughter, looking back I am happy never to say I married my high school sweetheart. Some of those guys? Yikes! (Though I could be married to a somewhat famous actor.) Even the guys from college don’t compare to the dude. I married my grad school sweetheart. 🙂
Sheryl
great pictures. You did a great job
GingerCat
The photos are wonderful. As a lifelong member of the photo-impaired club, I am always in awe at how good photograpy can turn out when left to the photo-talented. Your pictures did indeed capture the day!