Rusty & Jessica - A Couple filled with Love & Light

Ohio holds a very dear place in my heart!  I was born and raised in the beautiful All-American City of Kettering, Ohio (just outside Dayton)...I love my OSU Buckeyes...I love the weather, the trees, the grass, the cows, the pumpkins, the snow, the festivals, the sidewalks, the air...I LOVE IT!  I love Orlando too.. and being a Floridian now for 11 years has made me appreciate the differences.  I'm blessed to be able to take my life and what I've made a success in Florida and bring it back home.  It's the best feeling in the world.  My goal is to split my time between Ohio and Florida equally with maybe a "vacation" in Tennessee and North Carolina (what can I say -- I'm def an East Coast girl)!  I'm blessed to have a husband who supports my countless dreams and just smiles and says "let's do it" when I come up with a new plan!  Soooo with that being said Rusty and Jessica were our "first" REAL wedding couple since we started our official advertising in Ohio as Thirteenth Moon Photography...besides a gazillion family and friends...these were people that put their faith in trust in our marketing, our past reviews and our promise of giving them the best photos IMAGINABLE...and yes we came through!

Rusty and Jessica...WOW..I mean what I said when I titled this entry "A Couple filled with Love and Light"...they are a couple grounded in their love of Christ and wanting to share nothing but smiles and their passion for living with everyone they meet!  Anyone that knows me knows that I am the biggest CHEESE BALL ever...but I met my match with Jessica and she made me laugh so many times and so hard that I had to pull away the camera to wipe the happy tears from my eyes!  We brought along my sweetheart cousin, Lisa...who will soon become the OFFICIAL Ohio Thirteenth Moon Photography REP and we started TEACHING HER RIGHT!  Lisa and I were so moved to tears throughout the day that we both had to remind ourselves we were "working" and had to stop! (Below is some of our "Behind the Lens" photos from the day)

Here's Lisee making sure Jessica's dress is PERFECT!

Here I am having too much fun with the blindfolded Bride & Groom

 At least I let them sit for this series :)

I can't explain this one -- but I know I make these faces often (but not ON PURPOSE)

 And My Bill -- taking a knee during the reception!

ANYWAYS....

Jessica's "preparation" photos we're the best and most fun I've ever been able to capture.  Her girls laced her dress and checked over every detail just as good bridesmaids should!  The bride had fun with it and made them laugh and I was lucky enough to capture it all!

One of Jessica's creative requests was to be able to hug and kiss her hubby-to-be before the ceremony...but they didn't want to see each other.  With this light-hearted and fun family we had a little fun with it and blindfolded the two and made them FIND each other.... we put them in a back hallway at the church and had them seek each other out (what a great metaphor, huh?)!  Needless to say, it didn't take but a minute for them to find each other.  Rusty said, "Jessica, you feel so beautiful!"

The ceremony was memorable and beautiful...Jessica's flower girl was ready to go and became the icing on the cake for me as she was a picture perfect and handed me some of the best flower girl pictures I've ever had!

With such a big sanctuary and the many guests, Bill took time to set up plenty of off-camera lighting and it really worked well!  Bill photographed from the balcony and got some amazing shots thanks to his technical engineering!

And I stayed as close as I could and zoomed in....

The reception was classic, filled with everyone that loved the bride and groom!  Rusty and Jessica showed off their mad dance skills and thanks to each of them it wasn't just their feet that caught our attention, but their animated faces and loud bursts of laughter!

Cutting the cake and ending our time with this couple was bittersweet! 

We hope very much to stay connected with Rusty and Jessica, have the honor of taking belly pictures and soon-there-after baby pictures...and as much as they'll have us around for!

Thank you, Rusty and Jessica for making US smile!!

With Much Love and Many Blessings....

Your Photographers for Life,

Bill & Rachel

Backyard Sunflower Wedding

Iyesha hired us to cover her wedding set to take place in her grandmother's backyard on a beautiful lake in Central Florida.  The property had been in the family for generations and Iyesha and Jeff wanted a beautiful earthy, summery feel!  She wanted sunsets and uniquely beautiful photos!  We love that so many of our clients that hire us really get that spark that fires us...seeing things differently and executing our photography to see something that most people don't.  The bride wanted to capture the history in the house and we started out at her grandmother's vanity!

Thank you Jeff & Iyesha!

We wish you a million, trillion blessings!!!

Your Photographers for Life,

Bill & Rachel

Mike & Dawn's Engagement Photos

Bill and I had the absolute pleasure of being booked by Mike and Dawn for their Christmas wedding at the Walt Disney World Resort.  We recently met up with them while they flew in to finish up plans and we shot their engagement photos from The Grand Floridian to the Boardwalk Resort!  They presented us with some "challenges" for with I will credit Mike's brother-in-law who told him the engagement photos would be one of the most uncomfortable experiences of his life!  WELL, so sorry for him we didn't photograph their engagement photos otherwise I think Mike's brother-in-law would have been whistling a different tune!!  We got Mike and Dawn laughing and sure enough they finished like pros!!!  We can't wait for the wedding and to spend some more time with them!!

Gio, Sabrina and Family at Crocker Memorial

This past weekend Bill and I had the pleasure of hanging with Gio and Sabrina and their family at the adorably, historic and oh-so-romantic chapel, Crocker Memorial in Sarasota, Florida.

Bill and I got in the afternoon before the big day so that we could attend the rehearsal and get a feel for the lighting.  We've photographed some church weddings with strict rules and regs regarding photography so we wanted to make sure we had all of our ducks in a row this time.  We were ecstatic when we pulled up and saw the beautiful white chapel adorned with funky bright red doors!  My creative mind began rolling immediately and I was off with Bill unloading all of our equipment!  The venue coordinator was beyond polite and helpful (Thanks Linda) and I immediately felt the good "vibes" at this place!  I really am all about listening to my gut and feeling an energy from people and places and I was instantly comfortable at this venue!

 

 

Sabrina and Gio made it even warmer by placing brown and lavender arrangements at the front door with a hand painted "Welcome" sign!

The rehearsal was fun and pretty stress-free.  We joked with the family and worked out all the kinks (not that there was many at all)... and I threw in my opinion, but only when asked!  The whole family coordinated and we had a chance to get some photos for them too!

The ceremony was set for a late morning start and when we walked in over an hour ahead of time Sabrina was already completely dressed and ready to go!  Gio and his best man relaxed in the chapel while everyone kept the bride sequestered in an amazing historic cottage that sits adjacent to the chapel!  The cottage was beautiful and made for a perfect backdrop for some formal shots of the bride and family while we waited to get started!

Her little sister got bored... and her Dad took a teeny nap :)

The cottage was filled with amazing vintage items from handheld mirrors to beautiful lanterns... it was a paradise for me and a bride who really wanted to see the details of history!



And all of the windows just had my head running and there wasn't enough time to take all the photos inside this cottage that I wanted...eventually I had to let her go and get married :)

So the wedding went off without issue!  Rev. Glynn from Sensational Ceremonies preformed the ceremony and it was beautiful and light, just like I know Sabrina wanted the whole day to be (at it was)!

We knew there were a few shots we wanted and we had them planned out the night before... with two shooters it really eases stress for each of us and we had the opportunity to run outside and "peek" in!

The ceremony ended and we were able to get a gazillion "formal" shots outside the church in front of the fabulous red doors!!

One of my personal favorites...Sabrina with all of the beautiful women in her family :)

We had only a short time and it was SOOOO hot but the chapel sits on park grounds and we had some many photo opportunities it was great!

But eventually we had to let them go!  But there will always be birthdays, and babies, and anniversaries and holidays to get my fill of this incredible family!!

Here's to wishing the two of you all the love and blessings you'll ever need!!

Your Photographers for Life,

Bill & Rachel