Shutterboo Photography

Quick Facts:

• who: Susie & Cliff
• what: a wedding
• when: this past weekend
• where: Nelson County
• why: because they love each other?

I thought I’d bust out the accessory flash and try to learn how to use the blasted thing at Susie’s wedding since I was so pissed about my failure at Emily’s wedding.  But I did want to stay out the professional photographer’s way – who, by the way, is a Louisville native and did a FANTASTIC job.  Who am I kidding – she does a FANTASTIC job all of the time… more on that later.

So yes, the flash and I decided to make up and become friends again.  But I still stumbled with the darn thing.  Arg.  Anywho, I did manage to get a few nice shots.  Most of which are of the toasts.  And the cake.  Speaking of…

Hello, Lover.  Did I mention it was chocolate with ganache?  A cake after my own heart.

And the groom had his own cake.  Cliff’s a firefighter – his cake actually produced smoke.  I did not eat his cake so I cannot attest to its goodness.  I had already filled up on hot brown casserole and ganache.  Nuff said.

Everything about this wedding was beautiful.  Susie had fall colors of oranges and reds and pinks and browns.  The roses were stunning.  The bridesmaid dresses were pretty.  Susie was GORGEOUS!

Funny story about those two pictures up there: it’s the toast, everyone wants to watch and be close as did I.  But I also did not want to get in Courtney’s way as she was the professional – I’m just some ding-dong with an annoying flash.  So in every picture I have of the toasts, you can see a man’s bald heading peaking out at the bottom.  Funny, no?

And my favorite of the night – Susie looks so happy.  And she was.  Probably still is as she’s on a beach somewhere sipping maitais and doing things that newly weds do like feed each other chocolate covered strawberries and hold hands when they walk everywhere and kiss every 10 minutes and glow because they’re so in love.  That’s OK, they can have their fun.  Reality will set in soon enough.  You married people know what I’m talking about.

Look!  A successful father & daughter dance photograph!  Much better than the photog fail in September.

After this, I packed up the camera because I was ready to boogie and get down with my bad self.  And VJ of course.  And let me just say that I think we have a fine taste in music but when both of our requests played that night, the dance floor emptied.  I kid you not, internet, no one in that room had the appreciation I have for Livin’ On A Prayer and VJ could have very well been the only person in the whole county who was excited about Come On Eileen.

When Shania Twain started playing (we live in Kentucky, it will always happen) and Susie grabbed the mic and began singing Any Man of Mine, I went and got the camera.  Because it was too funny to pass up.

It was a very fun night, VJ and I had a blast dancing all night even though we were filled to the gills with yummy food.  If I could have made it out that place with a tier of cake, I would have.  Even if it meant sneaking it up my skirt.  I’ve been having dreams about that cake.  Nom.

Susie,
I wish you and the Cliff the very best.  You two compliment each other so well and deserve all of the happiness in the world.  “Seek a happy marriage with wholeness of heart, but do not expect to reach the Promised Land without going through some wilderness together.”  Best Wishes, friend.

The Reason Why I “Stay Out Of The Way”

Back to the professional photographer.  Courtney Reece Photography of Louisville is amazing.  Courtney always takes such beautiful photographs and I love the journalistic approach that captures emotion with every shot she takes.

If you want to see truly amazing photos of Susie and Cliff, visit Courtney’s site (www.courtneyreece.com) as she already has two – count them, two – posts up about the wedding.  The wedding was Saturday, as in four days ago.  And Susie is stunning.  I’m repeatedly amazed as I read her blog often and scribble notes of what I should try to fail at next.

And to think 20+ years ago, I stood next to her and her twin sister, Kelly, wearing huge paper collars and singing Christmas carols for the kindergarten holiday show – and I have a picture to prove it. ;)