as wedding photographers, eileen and i have come to realize there is only one part of this job we hate:  having to turn down a couple because we are already booked for their date. believe me — no fun at all. especially when you really connect with them. unfortunately, since most of our wedding clients book us six months to a year in advance (two years in advance on one occasion!), we find ourselves having to dirty our hands with that unpleasant business quite a lot. so, when julie contacted us this august about her wedding, the first sensation i felt was a knot in my stomach. not because julie is the type of person to cause nausea. no, quite the opposite — i think anyone who met julie would pretty well have to love her immediately. actually, a few tummy-tightening factors were at work here. first, their wedding was scheduled for september — the very next month. i couldn’t imagine we had any open weekends so late. yet julie and dennis are exactly the kind of people we love having as clients:  enthusiastic, romantic, lovers of art, and up for anything. of course, eileen and i knew all of this because we had worked with them already on this wonderfully memorable family session. dennis was still planning his proposal at that time. (by the way, side note:  the engagement happened in paris. that’s france, fellas. take note. major man points!) so, after the family shoot, we met to discuss their wedding. sadly, as is the case sometimes, the photography they really wanted just didn’t quite fit their budget at the time. but it was cool — they were super happy with their portraits, and we got to keep up with them, including julie’s super-cute daughter, as friends on facebook.

then came the august e-mail, and the other reason my stomach was in knots. their previously contracted photog just didn’t pan out as they had hoped. now on a last-minute hunt for a photographer, julie said they immediately thought of us and the “blume experience.” i must say, that made me blush — particularly julie’s newly coined phrase. we were honored. but, man, it was gonna be terrible having to tell them we weren’t available, i thought.

i thought i better check the calendar just in case, as a formality. that’s when i realized julie and dennis were meant for eileen and me. 😉  i guess it had to be. our only weekend without another wedding! we had stuff scheduled, but nothing that couldn’t wait. i was so relieved. finally, a chance to reply with good news to a last-minute wedding. the whole day was beautiful. julie’s and dennis’ families were as fun and sweet as we knew they would be. and the whole day went off without a hitch. (well, there was the one hitch — between the bride and groom. but of course that was intentional.)

second only to her mother in wedding-day glow, carli seriously looked like a princess as flower girl. her poise was perfect. (although she could still make crazy faces with the best of ’em!)

one thing’s for sure about this posse:  they know how to have a good time. (they just haven’t been able to agree on a uniform gang sign for themselves yet.)

so much was in full bloom at the botanic gardens — berries included. i confess, i was a little tempted to put the camera aside and take a break to feast on these raspberries.

now that is the face of a man in love. i love seeing that! it’s always pure inspiration to me.

sudden torrential downpours washed out our original plans for portrait locations after the ceremony. but there’s always a plan b. and the soft glow we got when the rain let up for a minute was so nice — well worth it.

i remembered carli as being amazingly creative during our first shoot with her and julie. she was constantly coming up with location/posing ideas that were actually cool — and not just for a kid. at that time, we just ran with it and kinda followed her lead for much of the time. now, at the wedding, there she was with the camera in her hands! a photographer in the making if you ask me. when she becomes great, just remember she was our protege in the beginning. 😉

congrats again, you two! here’s wishing you all the happiness you can stand — and then some!

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