Wedding Rewind…Lauren and Justin in Rockford

We are in the middle of our slower season for shooting. We book a ton of weddings this time of the year, but don’t shoot that many. So, I thought I would post some photos from a wedding we shot last year before we started the new blog (feels very odd to refer to 2010 as “last year”).

These are photos from Lauren and Justin’s wedding. Lauren was a friend of my sister’s when they were growing up. They danced at the same dance studio, and Lauren became like a little sister to me. She was so sweet and fun, always cared very much for her…part of the ‘brother” side of me that most big-brothers have. As my sister and she grew older and saw each other less and less, I saw her less as well. I had only had a few random exchanges with her over the years…here and there when our paths would cross. When I found out that she was getting married, I was so very excited for her. We talked loosely about me shooting her wedding, but there was nothing set in stone. Some months later, she called me one night to ask me about my calender. I was thrilled. She said that even though they had a wedding scheduled much later in the year (September, I think), they decided to move things up and do a family-only wedding at the courthouse and to have their scheduled wedding as a reception-only celebration with the rest of their friends.

It worked out that I was free for the date. Actually, it was only 8 days before my own wedding, so I had my whole calender free. Shannon was not too thrilled at first about taking the work on when we were trying to get our own wedding in order (especially when it required , but when I told her how important it was for me, she was totally fine with it. In fact, she decided to come with me (even though she had a ton of her own work to do).

We made the drive up the night before and stayed in a hotel, and early the next morning, we got started. We met at their apartment while they got dressed, and after some fun time there with the family, we headed off to the location where we would be doing most of the photographs. It was such a great place. It was a collection of very old buildings and house from Rockford’s past. They were all arranged as they would be in a late 19th century town center. It was awesome…right up my alley. Granted, it is always possible to make wonderful photographs even in average places, it is always so much more fun to have the chance to shoot in new and different environments.

Here are some of the photos from the day. We had such a wonderful time, and even though it was the least traditional wedding of our year, it was also one of the most enjoyable. I am sure it helped it a bit that I was so thrilled for my friend. Oh, how they grow up! 😉

Congrats (again) to Lauren and Justin!

Joel