eileen and i first met nick and christa during robby and laura’s wedding in st. simons. nick was a groomsman. christa had a mix cd of euro dance music, featuring “i’m raving, i’m raving” to the tune of feel-good ballad “walking in memphis.” (just imagine “memphis” replaced by “munich,” and “do i really feel the way i feel?” replaced by “feel the sweat drops rolling down my face,” and you get the gist.) we immediately wanted to know this couple better.

luckily, we got another chance to hang out with them and their families in alabama the next year, for craig and susan’s wedding. the wonderfully unique thing about nick and christa (besides their taste in music) is the way their marriage links their families together. the praters and gilroys are, for all intents and purposes, one big happy family. we photographed them while they were all together after the holidays. and we were completely taken in by their fun-loving, open-arms approach to life. it wasn’t long before eileen and i felt like just another part of the family.

many of our earlier planned shots, which broke the praters and gilroys into separate groups, quickly gave way to grander portraits of the whole gang. in fact, when everyone was at our home studio this weekend to choose images for their books, i heard one comment repeated: “oh, i like the shot that includes all of us!” good thing for christa: when your families share this much love, life is a rave. (minus the sweat.)