2013 Comes to a Close... Weddings in Review

  The clock struck midnight and everyone cheered, kissed, danced, hugged...  My phone buzzed with messages of gratitude,  messages of well wishes for future, and  messages of love, friendship, reflection.  I had a few moments to sit and reflect as well.  While there's nothing particularly different about the moment of midnight December 31st than any other moment, I still like to join everyone in reflection - what made this year great?  Another 365 days of life.  What do I want next year to be like?   Reflections and Resolutions.   I am grateful for 2013, for the challenges, the growth, the learning, and the many people who have impacted my life.  I've photographed some beautiful moments and worked with many beautiful, loving people.  That's why I like to photograph weddings:  There's very little more rewarding than seeing the way a bride and groom look at each other, recognizing TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF OUR LIVES.  I believe this is true every day, but I love capturing the moments when people are so aware of it.  It's inspiring.

As I stated at the beginning of the year, we were only going to accept 10 weddings in 2013.   We aren't keeping the same limit for 2014, but I'm glad we did this.  We stayed true to the limit, though I did take a few photos at my older brother's wedding (I couldn't help myself!).  That was a special day.  Such a unique, emotional experience!  Sometimes I think it's easier to hide behind the camera so no one knows how sentimental I am - They might not be able to see the tears that way :)

Here's my brother and his wife, Nathan and Liz: Ceremony and reception at South Padre Beach, Texas

I want to thank each couple for contributing to my year.  Thank you for inviting me to be there to witness and capture such monumental moments in your lives.  I feel incredibly humbled and grateful that my job includes opportunities like this.  Here's a photo-review of each wedding day in celebration of you!

1. Mattie and Carston

Ceremony: Bountiful Utah LDS Temple

Reception: Wight House, Bountiful UT

 

 

2. Kiera and Brandon - Los Angeles California LDS Temple

 

3. Michelle and Sam - Salt Lake City LDS Temple

 

4. Kathryn and Merrick - Timpanogos LDS Temple

 

5. Britney and Taylor

Ceremony: Salt Lake City LDS Temple

Luncheon: Joseph Smith Memorial Building

Reception: Huntington Beach, California

 

6. Jordyn and Colton

Ceremony: Timpanogos LDS Temple

Reception: Sleepy Ridge Reception Center (Orem, UT)

 

 

7. Sarah and Brady  -   Ceremony and Reception: Big Cottonwood Canyon, UT

 

 

And yes!! They had a life-sized Jenga game :):):)

8. Alexis and Bret - Ceremony and Reception at Noah's Reception Center

  

9. Melissa and Nathan - Ceremony and Reception at the Alpine Arts Center, Utah

 

 

10. Angela and James

Ceremony: Salt Lake City Temple

Reception: Bella Vista Reception Center

 

Thank you all for a wonderful year.  Congratulations at this exciting stage of life!  We are looking forward to the future and welcoming in 2014.  As a good friend of mine said, "A book of 365 blank pages starts today.  What are you going to create each day... each moment?"

Happy New Year to all!

Lexi & Brett Formals

Lexi is one of the most incredible people I know.  And she's worked as an assistant for me this summer, so it was extra exciting to do the photoshoots of her and her wonder Brett :).  This was one crazy day, though, because the weather acted up last minute and we had to change our plans for location.  There was a 10 minute break without rain, so luckily we got a few beautiful outdoor photos too!

 

I always encourage my clients to add something to their shoot to make it more personal.  Lexi brought the most beautiful "something" possible - her little daughter.  The three of them interact together had some really precious moments.  *Spoiler alert* - little Lindy actually joined them for their first dance at the wedding reception.  So sweet.

 

 

 

 

I don't remember what the story behind this last photo was - maybe "my cheeks hurt from smiling so much, Whitney!" - but I love it!

Temple Square Formals - Katherine & Shane

 

 

 

A Bountiful Wedding

Today, Mattie and Carston are getting married at the Bountiful Temple!  I'm just packing up my gear and getting ready to drive there, but I wanted to post a few photos from their formals session to celebrate this day:

I often ask the couple if they have any specific poses or places they want photos.  When I asked Mattie, she got the cutest twitterpated look on her face and said "I want one of him hugging me like this."  That moment was precious!  It's fun seeing two people so flirty, so excited to be next to each other.  And they both have such beautiful smiles!!

 

Congratulations Mattie and Carston!  And may you have many happy years ahead of you.

Influential People In My Life

Hi friends.  Thanks for visiting my blog.  It's quite apparent that I've struggled keeping up with writing posts and updating this site... but I've just made a resolution that I believe will change this.  Yesterday, I had an amazing photoshoot, and then I met with some prospective clients that made me say "wow.  I love my job.  I get to work with some of the most amazing people."  So, here's my lightbulb moment:  The reason I love my job is because of the people, so I want to tell their stories here on my blog instead of just showing you the photos.  I have a lot of catching up to do and a lot of people to tell you about, but I'm really excited to write these posts now!  

Let me back up to 2012 and tell you about my little sister and her husband.

Angela is amazing.  She is caring, beautiful, talented, and extremely dedicated.  I am constantly impressed by her ability to work hard on school and work, even when it seems easier to give up...  I took this photo just for fun back in 2010 when they were dating, before she traveled to New Zealand as a missionary for a year and a half.

Now, through the years I have learned that while my siblings are quite grateful to have a photographer as a sister, it's also kind of awkward for them.  I remember putting a couple of these photos of Angela and Dallin on facebook and several people thought they were engaged - why else would you have professional photos as a couple?  But then, two years later, I took some more photos which actually were engagement photos!  What do you think?  Do they look older to you?

These were taken at our family reunion in upstate New York the DAY they got engaged.  How's that for pressure?  The boyfriend comes to the family reunion to ask permission for the daughter's hand and to propose to her there.  Wow.  But Dallin is so mature and respectful, he handled the pressure quite well.  It was so fun for me to do photos of them - to watch them let go of inhibitions a little bit and actually kiss in front of me!!  Of course I have to tease my sister a little bit about it... isn't that what siblings are for?   But I couldn't help smiling and actually got a bit emotional just to see how happy he made her.  In fact, if I can make myself vulnerable enough to admit it, I actually get tears in my eyes looking through the photos now.  I am so grateful she found someone like him who will treat her well and make her happy!

  OK Whitney... enough of that sentimental emotional stuff for now.  Time to see more of their photos!

 

Choosing which photos to put on a blog has always been difficult for me.  I know which photos look the most professional, I know which photos they put on their wall, which photos their friends comment on... but instead of the most professional photos, I want to show you the little bits of uniqueness, the reason why I love my job.  Every couple brings such a different emotion to it, a different personality and looking through photos like these - the laughing, the romance, the funny faces - it makes me smile.  Besides, Angela has a pretty amazing monkey face in this next photo :)

Ok, now this was just adorable.  I've done the "first look" a few times to capture the moment when the groom first sees the bride in her dress.  I have never seen a couple this cute, though.  Angela couldn't stop laughing and Dallin kept telling her how beautiful she was.  And it was true.  She looks amazing! These are some of the photos from the formals at Bountiful temple.

  

I feel pretty lucky to have the opportunity to capture such special moments as these.  It's really amazing that all I have to do is click a button and then that moment is recorded for the rest of our lives.  It wasn't hard to find moments with Angela and Dallin, though, they were so in their own world that sometimes I wasn't even sure if they knew I was there!  The day for this formals shoot was FREEZING too.  I am so impressed with how "cheerfully cooperative" they were.  (That's the phrase from my wedding contract that most people laugh at, but I think it's the perfect phrase.  I love to work with cheerfully cooperative people!

 

 

I'll often do photos at a few locations for a shoot like this, but Ang and Dallin said they'd rather have more photos with the temple. Not only does it make a beautiful backdrop for an evening shoot, but it gives more meaning to the photos as the location also represents the commitment they are making to each other.  I think this photo sums it up - the temple, the romance of the sunset, two happy and beautiful people.  I'm so proud of them!

As the year comes to an end...

  I apologize for my extended absence and my new years resolution is to catch up on the last 7 months so y'all can see all the adventures that took place in 2012.

One of the primary changes I made this year is to limit the number of weddings I will accept.  I decided to put a cap at 10 weddings a year so I can give more time to each couple, have better balance in my own life, and also focus some of efforts towards corporate and stock photography.  I am now a contributor on istock, you can see me portfolio here: istockphoto.com/whitneylewisphotography  But more update on that later.  I want to take you through each of the wedding couples I worked with this year.  There were many other people I did engagements, bridals, and other photos for, but these just showcase the weddings themselves.

Alicia and Craig

Ceremony: Timpanogos LDS Temple

 

Reception: Highland Gardens

Kenzie and Steve

Ceremony: Draper LDS Temple

Reception: Thanksgiving Point

Janaika and Chadi

Ceremony: Church Grote Kerk (Den Hague, Holland)

 

Reception: Castle Wittenburg (Den Hague, Holland)

 

Alexia and Gabe

Ceremony: Salt Lake City LDS Temple

 

Stevie and Conrad

Ceremony & Reception: Millennial Falls

 

Becca and Brigham

Ceremony: Provo LDS Temple

 

Reception: Cultural Hall

Amy and Derek

Ceremony: Oakland CA LDS Temple

 

Reception: California Backyard

Reception: Utah Home

 

Angela and Dallin

Ceremony: Bountiful LDS Temple

Reception: Home in Utah County

Reception: Austin Country Club (Austin, TX)

 

Congratulations to each of you and thank you for contributing to my year!!  My clients make my job worth doing, and I am grateful for you!

With this ring...

I love to share stories from my weddings, but sometimes overcoming writer's block and finding the right words prevents me from actually getting these blog entries posted!  I love the art of language - finding the perfect way to communicate exactly what I want to express.  Choosing my word to convey an emotion or tell a story. But I do not envy the people who write for a living.  Sometimes it's just hard!  This while this was a gorgeous ring ceremony at Highland Gardens and so much could be said... I've got writer's block.  No stories for now, just photos.

 

 

Check back tomorrow for photos of the reception!

Winter Wedding at Timpanogos Temple

  For some reason, I don't have many chances to shoot at the Timpanogos temple.  My first year in business, the most popular choice for LDS weddings I shot was the Bountiful temple.  Last year it was definitely Salt Lake.  I travel around to other states a lot too, so now it's more evenly spread out.  But the Timpanogos temple has a special place in my heart because it's where Thomas and I got married.  Alicia and Craig's wedding was a beautiful winter day.  Snow on the ground, but no precipitation from the sky.  An awesome group of people there, I love to photograph happy people!

From here we went to a ring ceremony and reception at Highland Gardens.

Nicole & Blake: Park City Engagement Photos

  Nicole and Blake drove down from Rexburg, ID where they both attend BYU for our engagement photo session.  We managed to get a beautiful and sunny day- even if it was a little windy and only about 20 degrees outside. :D  These two were awesome to work with!

 

Weren't Nicole's shoes cute?

 

I love shooting the historic old white barn in Park City.  It's such a landmark, and has some fantastic advantages if you are looking for different "nature" shots.  There's a great field, stream, some nice fence lines and this awesome historic farmhouse all in the same location.

 

Check out their full gallery here!  There are a lot more awesome photos of these two....