When it comes to connection and this new couple, I am lucky and…

I have Mrs. Cheryl Saito to thank for our introduction. She’s a local wedding coordinator whom I’ve collaborated with and created professional photography for in the past, including her oldest daughters wedding. After introducing me to Amanda and Cash, the couple decided to book their photographer a year in advance. To all new couples out there, I highly recommend this for two reasons. One, you guarantee you get the photographer of your choice and two, you have time to develop a relationship with your photographer – something I am lucky to have time for with many of my couples.

Our first meeting was at Abuelo’s and I quickly found out that we had more in common than I could imagine, we had all worked in the restaurant/service industry, liked margaritas, and had the same taste in music. They wanted to put most of their investments into making their wedding fun. Their most important aspects were the photography and having a live band. Talk about lucky, when I heard Tru Sol Band was their choice, it was just meant to be!

We put together a customized package, and Amanda created a Pinterest board to show me her tastes and style. Having plenty of time to discuss all of their ideas and working with them for Engagement photo’s made it super easy to work with them and it allowed me to gain their confidence in my style and professionalism.

Amanda and Cash were initially shy when it came to the camera, believe it or not, I had the pleasure of shooting their first professional portraits together. I couldn’t believe it was their first time! They were so nervous about what to expect, but as we walked through the session, in downtown Conway, they started to blossom out of their uneasiness. By the end they were joking, having a good time and they were noticeably more relaxed.

Then the wedding rolled around, it was so fluid that the day couldn’t have gone any better. We already knew one another, they were comfortable with me, and we all just moved together through their sacred day. It was lovely capturing a traditional Greek Wedding ceremony at The Breakers Resort. The reception? Total party animals! The groom became the party stopper with the wicked dance moves. Where oh where did that shy guy go!. The bride was beautiful and having a blast, and the brother….well the boy was the comedian, that’s for sure!

The most memorable part of their celebration was the line of communication and connection. The father of the bride hit every heartstring in the room, mine included. His toast wasn’t designed as a tissue moment, but everyone was crying as he told the story of him and his wife’s first date. He symbolized how special he thought this new union was going to be. “How special he knew his wife is, and how he felt the same way about Cash being the same person for his daughter.” The he presented the new couple the most unexpected gifts, the very same gifts he exchanged with is wife so many years ago – A wooden yo-yo and a rabbit’s foot.

Lucky tokens handed down from the past to the future. It was a coming together of a new family, a new future, and I was lucky enough to bear witness to the intangible emotional presence amongst us. If there was anything at all that connected human to human, it was there in that room. At that moment and for a split second, all there ever was, was love.