I love my job! Here I am working hard...a beautiful wedding at the historic Altamonte Chapel!!

Peek at Jason and Jackie's Wedding

 

A beautiful, intimate wedding...with lots of locations, laughter and a few tears! Our day started with photos of the loveable Bride and Groom at the Embassy Suites in Altamonte Springs, Florida followed by group shots at the ever-so-popular Cranes Roost Park!

Then we headed to the historic (circa 1885) Altamonte Chapel and then off to Antonios for a five star reception! Thanks a million to the incredibly entertaining and ever so kind couple and their just as great family and friends! We hope you all enjoyed us as much as we did you!!

Thanks again!

William & Rachel

P.S. ~ Can't wait to show them all off!

Jenn, her best friend Joey and a Special Story

These beautiful photos are of a very special "couple". Jenn and Joey have been together for well over a decade and shared many memories, and Jenn wanted to immortalize her love for her companion and sweetheart Joey (and his little brother Rudy).

I had the pleasure of meeting and working with Jenn last year when I photographed some of the dogs for the rescue she helps to run, A New Beginnings Pet Rescue. Bill and I set up our equipment in the back of a busy PetSmart in Orlando and photographed as many little ones that we could...the experience was hot, sweaty and furry, but we're proud of the photos we took and of the connections we made with the people of the rescue.

People like Jenn amaze me. She skillfully and lovingly rescues, fosters and adopts four-leggeds that need a forever home. She GIVES her time completely and that is a beautiful thing, to give. She and so many others give so much of themselves to these animals and they all deserve a bright shiny gold star to wear everyday. Like myself, many of us can only handle one pet...for Bill and I it's our Jenny that we "adopted" last May.

We found Jenny at Animal Services in Orlando. She was laying quiet and still unlike most of the other dogs begging for attention. We took her out into the "yard" and she chased a ball. She was kind and gentle but seemed so sad. She played for a few minutes and then went and laid underneath the bench in the yard.

Bill and I spoke to her like a person and she seemed to hear just what we were saying. Jenny came home not long after that and she has so quickly dug such a deep place in our hearts we are not sure what we'd do without our Jenny...

So when I heard from Jenn to take photos of her and Joey, I was so pleased. However, the shoot was bittersweet. Jenn had just received word that Joey's health was deteriorating and that he wouldn't be with her much longer. She wanted pictures, she wanted MEMORIES to see with her eyes, not just with her heart. We photographed this shoot at Lake Lily in Maitland, with Jenn, Joey and his little brother Rudy. Jenn wanted some shots of all the things she considers special...Joey with his favorite toy (a paper towel roll), their walks together and their car rides.

Jenn is a stand-up chick and one that I admire. They've been lucky to have each other for so long. I hope Bill and I are fortunate to have our Jenny girl for at least that long.
Here is our Jenny now...happy, WELL-FED and spoiled...hmmm I guess we should get a family picture soon!!
Until next time...
Much Love & Many Blessings!
Rachel & Bill

Signs and Whispers

They are all around us...the tiny whispers from the wind, the sun, the trees, the ocean, the thunder...and the quiet. After a busy day I found myself driving home, missing my family, wondering about my mom, hoping my dad was safe and praying that my babies don't miss me as much as I do them...I never want them to feel this emptiness. I drove parallel with a storm in the distance and I turned the radio off. After I did it, I laughed at myself and thought, "why would you turn the music off?"

And then it hit me...I need to hear the world's music, the quiet, the rush of a passing car and the far off thunder. I needed to SEE the view I caught in my rear view mirror of the setting sun and the silhouettes it created off the City Beautiful's landscape. I smiled a lot, I cried, just a little, because I remembered the times I rode with my Mom and Dad in the Monte Carlo...all of us in the front seat together, sandwiched close and full of love. Mom drinking a cold Coca-Cola out of glass bottle and Dad with his arm around her.

Mom and Dad used to try to get me to take my headphones off, or whatever it was I had in my hand to keep my mind occupied. They wanted me to be still and SEE the world, really SEE all the tiny things that with my young eyes I took for granted. Dad would pull off the side of the road and point out a marvelous cloud, Mom would smile at the setting sun and I'd roll my eyes.

I suppose as we grow up, we grow out too. A landscape I would've never noticed or a sound I would have never heard, I now see. I now hear. My parents are no longer together and as a child them NOT being together just never seemed possible, so it's hard to know they no longer share the love for each other they once did.

Growing up in Ohio, Memorial Day weekends were always a time for family. Grilling, Frisbee, lawn darts, swimming, laughing, bonfires, fireworks and time together. I'll soon be 31 years old and I find it so hard to swallow at times that those moments were so fleeting. Much of my family is split and gone in so many different directions, as life often does. Yet it still hurts my heart and soul that we're not all together.

Memorial Day is meant to be in observance of our dedicated military men and women, which much of my family is or has been and I'm proud of each of you and thank you a million times. However, each time I hear MEMORIAL DAY, whether it be an over-zealous commercial for a furniture store or as a salute to our troops, I REMEMBER...and I remember in abundance!

So for all the time Mom and Dad wanted me to stop and see...I hope that they both know how much they really did teach me to SEE. So much so that now I strive to help others SEE and preserve their priceless memories.

Happy Memorial Day! Be Safe!

Rachel (and Bill)

One of our latest weddings! Mrs. Pagan should write a book about beautiful weddings on a budget! She is a mastermind and a now a beautiful wife! Congratulations Jared and Vivianne!

 

I narrowed my search for boats once I saw the "LoriBlu" boat...for my friend Lori, who's obsessed with any and everything water and beach related! Of course...I had to put my own creative spin on a regular "shot"! See, Lori -- still think about you all the time!!

XOXOXO

 

This photo is one of too many favorites taken at last weekend's powerboat races in Cocoa Beach...our assignment was to cover any and everything about the races and how easy it is to be so close to NASCAR on water :)

Celebrating Spring's End and the Beginning of Summer

 

Here we go...another end, another beginning! Our summer is all about LOVE! We love each other, we love our friends and family, we love our clients and we love what we do! Starting June 1st, Thirteenth Moon Photography is proud to say we'll be FEATURED on page ONE, UNO...the first one of THEKNOT.COM! Of course it's the first page for Central Florida vendors but still FIRST PAGE AND FEATURED...we're stoked and ready for the opportunities to arise from such a blessing! We've had a busy winter and spring and even though our weddings slow down a bit, we're going to use the next month or so to regroup, rest and sprout up again by August!! Much Love & Many Blessings! The Team at Thirteenth Moon

WHAT A WEEK!!!!!!!

You know sometimes I just need to vent and it's been a week, no..MONTH to vent about! We're pleased to have started working together as a contract photog and professional assistant for an AMAZING National Company which travels here and there photographing rugrats all over! We essentially work from home and drive all over the great state of Florida making children laugh, cry and hopefully smile!!

Thus far we've encountered crying babies, laughing toddlers, rude preschoolers, huggers, lovers, amazing teachers and some brutal parents...but we just keep on smiling and doing great work! It's worth it when we return to the schools and show the photos and those same rude parents cry and say "thank you"!

On top of adding to our already busy lives, and traveling and going in and out of schools filled with an abundance of children, with whom noses need wiped, hair needs brushed and sometimes we just get sneezed on, we've both been wicked sick! So on my last day of antibiotics I wound up with one of the worst bouts of pain I've ever felt -- a lovely early morning trip to the ER introduced me to my new kidney stones! All I can say is God Bless great doctors and the best husband I could have ever hoped for... because Bill picked up my slack and got me through the rest of the week! HE'S MY SUPER HERO!!

So now, our freelance work continues to grow and we've scheduled two more consultations next week with two lovely brides! We've had a long run of destination weddings recently, but both of these brides are local! So I look forward to meeting them beforehand and wooing them with consultation gifts and my witty and charming sense of humor!!!!! What can I say, we like to give!!!

We're preparing for a busy bridal month in April, starting off with a BEACH WEDDING with a fantastic couple from New York! How could we not love a bride/groom who emailed us and identified themselves as BONGOBOB?? Sounds like our kind of people, eh?

So anyways, I did want to share this really cool posting I found earlier today while researching some online proofing galleries! THANKS TO BIG CITY CATERING for this shout out back in late January -- I guess I missed it in the mix of it all!!




So, for our local friends -- get out there and enjoy this amazing weather and for our not so local friends -- WE CAN'T WAIT FOR ANOTHER VISIT!!! The flowers are a-bloomin'!





Much Love,

The Team at Thirteenth Moon Photography

WE'VE CHANGED

Within the last few months so many things have happened! I had recently started this blog to share stories and experiences and then some very unexpected things happened. The space we thought we had to call "home" ended up not being so much a home as a starting point. Well, we'd started in January 2008, but the space on N. Thornton was our LAUNCHING POINT...yea, launching point. Anyways, with just a few months of being there and meeting some AMAZING PEOPLE (Leah with Misty Forest and Julie with Dandy) we ended up moving in another direction. We left the building and decided to just keep swimming!

Just as we felt like giving up we started getting more and more emails. A question here, a comment there lead to one wedding consultation to TWELVE! Our advertising campaign with weddingwire.com was taking off and then POOOOOF, a connection we made at an expensive (and what we thought was a waste of time) bridal networking luncheon contacted us! Stefanie from Westgate Resorts thought that our idea of keeping beautiful photography affordable and her venue's affordability would make a great match, and then we started work with Westgate Resorts in Orlando Florida!

From there it just got better and better! I nailed a "full-time" gig as a contracted children's (traveling) photographer with a national company during the week, which allowed me to start consulting with brides and booking weddings for the weekend!

Bill and I just celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary this Valentine's Day and we couldn't feel more blessed and on our way!! We spent a very long weekend at the Happiest Place on Earth and even had brunch with some of our favorite characters! But even in the midst of our celebration weekend we snuck in a few hours to cover a uber cool wedding at Westgate Resort! Berret and Manda were BY FAR one of the coolest couples we've met! I mean, come on...a bride in a black dress and a Super Mario wedding cake (by the fab team at Westgate Resorts).

SOOOOOOO through it all we're making it! We're adapting and changing! We're taking the good with the bad and excited about all the possiblities that are waiting for us!

By the way, please wish the other half of Thirteenth Moon a great big GIANT HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Bill turns 35 today (and even went with me to another wedding consultation) and I'm blessed to have him one more year! I laughed so hard as he described his philosophy for the rest of his years, that I had to share! "Just like the armadillo said, Maybe I will just curl up and roll down this side!" Weeeeeeeeeee

Gotta love the ride!!

Many Blessings...

The Team at Thirteenth Moon