I am playing catch-up a bit, I’m afraid. The holidays have been very busy for us. We spent Thanksgiving in New Jersey with my family and Christmas in New Orleans with my husband’s. I wanted to write a quick post about our time in Jersey.

We flew in just in time for dinner and joined my mother, my grandmother, my aunt, my uncle, my cousins and my oldest cousin’s husband and her two kids (who were the ring bearer and flower girl in our wedding). We had a lovely dinner and handed out our Christmas presents. My husband spent a lot of time playing with the kids.

Evan and I have begun a project for our families. As Evan has pointed out, our generation records everything. With Facebook, Twitter, Blogs and other social media, we have recorded our lives as we live them. Our parents are even getting into it more, but our grandparents are the lost generation. So much knowledge, personality and history will be lost when they are gone. Thus, we’ve decided to interview them about their lives and photograph them. Evan brought a bunch of his recording equipment out to Jersey. It was wonderful to be able to hold a conversation with my Granny as we cranked up the volume on her headphones and she could actually hear well for once. I wish we had done this project a few years ago, but it was still impressive how much she remembers and how much personality she has at 96. We also discovered that day that she likes smoothies. I love my Granny so much.

I plan to make a multimedia project out of it with old photographs I collected and scanned and new photos of the family that I have taken. Here she is looking at a photo of her sister, Gene and Gene’s boyfriend. Gene was my grandmother’s favorite sister. She died in a car accident when she was 16.

We still have a lot to do on the project, but I will post it when it’s complete.

At the end of the trip we spent a day with my cousin Sara and her boyfriend Mick. We walked around a state park that was beautiful- coming from New Orleans, it really felt like Fall weather.

Once one of the lavish estates of a now largely forgotten, wealthy family of the early 20th Century, the land and its preserved structures are now held in trust by the state of New Jersey for the free enjoyment of its residents and guests.  The property features multiple artificial lakes, a planned, yet unfinished mansion left as a relic of the owner’s aspirations and what was one of the premier orchid greenhouses of its day.

I flew back from my Ecuador adventure one day early to make it to my good friend Eric’s wedding. Eric married Alicia, a quirky and sweet law student. I’d met her twice before this wedding- once while visiting San Diego with friends and once at my own wedding and I just love her. They’re perfect for each other. Since Eric is in nursing school, they’re pretty much mirrors of Evan and I- nurse and lawyer and lawyer and nurse.

I was feeling exhausted, but truthfully pretty hardcore, since I went out salsa dancing with my new volunteer friends and some locals my last night in Ecuador. I ended up staying up all night because we got back a mere hour before my taxi came to take me to the airport. I was so tired when I got to my gate, that I set an alarm on my phone and took a nape while hugging my bag- yes, this was in a foreign airport and it was probably not the smartest thing I have ever done. Luckily I made it to San Diego safe and sound and it was the perfect way to wind down after Ecuador. If I could count on anyone to have a fun and low key wedding, it’s these two. I arrived in time for the rehearsal dinner, which consisted of pizza and beer from their friend brewery. After eating, we gathered around the bon fire and caught up. The entire affair was located at the same place, a beautiful house right on the beach.

Even the preparations were more relaxed than your average wedding. The girls gathered upstairs drinking mimosas and doing each other’s hair and makeup. I loved Alicia’s headband and “shoes.”

Eric did a few finishing touches himself and then headed outside. My husband (next to Eric on the left in the second photo) was one of the groomsmen. It was such a treat being at a wedding for someone who I can truly say is a good friend of both of ours.

The ceremony was short and SWEET. The couple wrote their own vows, causing Alicia to tear up, and the officiant was a friend of the family. Instead of flowers, the girls carried parasols. Eric’s little sister hand painted them all with different designs and animals. The men wore collared given to them by the groom. It’s the true emotions in these completely candid photos, how I always approach weddings, that are the most meaningful.

Although it was not the best time of day for portraits, with the sun beating down on us, it worked out really well for the group shots and I even got a few unexpected shots I liked of the couple.

My best advice to beginning wedding photographers, is to never ever put your camera down and always be alert. While I was shooting the portraits, people got a bit distracted, but I kept snapping and got a few fun shots. I use this philosophy a lot. Posing people for portraits is fine, but some of the best images (like the ones of the couple further down in this post) are the real moments that happen between people when they forget they are taking a picture.

One of Alicia’s bridesmaids is from Hawaii and she brought traditional leis for the bride and groom.

The light was so beautiful that I brought Eric and Alicia back out to the beach twice to get some of my favorite shots of them.

The reception featured catering from their favorite local restaurant, cheesecake, beer, steins, speeches with the sun setting on the deck and good company.

I am standing right next to Tami here. We gave a quick speech on Eric’s behalf, as old college buddies. I borrowed their rings for a bit and had some fun with different backgrounds. There were a lot of options for ways to shoot the rings at this wedding. I think the first one is my favorite. I just happened upon a rainbow being cast on the stairs, but the one in the sand or with the purple flowers (the bride’s favorite color) might be more indicative of this wedding. It’s important to always keep your eyes open for details.

First dance

It was lovely wedding and we truly had such a wonderful time. It’s been a while since I photographed the wedding of someone so close to me, but it wasn’t stressful at all. I had a lot of fun and I was very happy with the images as I think they capture the memories of such a special day. The following are some photos of my husband and I with each other and the couple and a group shot of college buddies in attendance.

Cheers to Eric and Alicia- dance on my friends! I love you guys! XOXO