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!

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!

Elegant Wedding Reception

Earlier this week, I met someone whose job is installing escalators.  For some reason, this struck me as really cool!  I had never met anyone with a job like that, never even occurred to me that someone had that job (because obviously the new escalators just magically appear).  But it got me thinking - how many of us actually work in a field we planned on?  I know I never considered photography as a career until 2008.  In kindergarten I wanted to be either a doctor of a garbageman because "doctors help people and garbage men get to ride on the back of the truck."  (good thing I didn't go for garbage man because now the truck does most of the work and the guys don't even ride on the back of the truck!)  In 5th grade I wanted to be the President of the United States.  And in middle school, I decided I wanted to be a band director.  My opinion hardly changed after that - I finally found my calling.  I wanted to teach band in a public high school.  And when I went to BYU, I got accepted in the Music Education program and worked very hard towards it.

But life threw me a curve ball and I had a sudden onset of health problems that changed my path.  I was unable to finish my music education degree and instead found a more flexible way to spend the time I wasn't in bed - photography.  What a blessing this has been in my life.  There are still times when I ache to be in the teaching world, but then I get to work with an awesome couple and I'm reminded how lucky I am to be a photographer.  Each event is so unique, so well put together, so full of personality.

Working on this wedding was a great reminder for me to see how amazing it is to have two people commit the rest of their lives together and also have an elegant reception to celebrate that!  And I got to be there to photograph it.  So without further ado, I present: Alicia & Craig's Wedding Reception at Highland Gardens

The decorations were gorgeous...

 

The kids adorable...

 

The photo booth lots of fun (thanks Dustin Izatt)...

 

 

The cake was delicious and so unique...

 

The bouquet toss was fun...

And the dancing made me smile...

 

All the pieces came together beautifully for a perfect wedding.  Congratulations Alicia & Craig!

Amber & Shane- Wedding Highlights at The Point Restaurant

  A couple months ago I did some quick wedding highlight shots of Amber and Shane after their ceremony and before their reception at The Point at the Huntsman Institute in downtown Salt Lake City.  I was going through my galleries, and realized I completely forgot to share them!  I was only there a short time, but managed to get a couple of shots to show off how happy and awesome these two looked.

Joelle & Brett- The Reception

  Before the reception, we got a couple of additional newlywed photos on the grounds around Magnolia Grove.

 

 

 

...and then the party got started!

 

  

  

 

Be sure and check out the full galleries for Brett and Joelle's wedding day and reception here.

The Grand Finale: Wedding Reception at Vineyards at Chappel Lodge

  Here are the final set of photos from the amazing wedding festivities in Austin.

The grand entrance!

The toasts!

  

Katherine sang the song she wrote for Matt.  She really is an amazing songwriter!

Katherine's brothers also sang a song for Katherine.  This family is so unbelievably talented, it's not even funny.

Ok, maybe it's a little funny.

Wedding Pie.  It's where it's at.  Tell your friends, it's like liquid cake.

The first dance.

Daddy-daughter dance!

Now it's time to party.

  

  

The grand exit.  Bubbles!

That's all folks!  Be sure to check out all the different galleries here.

Tiff's Treats, Tiny Pies, and Top-notch Planning

  Katherine has managed and organized all kinds of events and spent a lot of time directing theatre productions (we actually did a pretty impressive child's theatre camp together with a production of The Jungle Book at the end of the week.  She is an amazing director!) So she put together a reception was both well thought out and planned.  They thought of everything!  My favorite, of course, was the variety of food.  Not only was there a dinner, but also a whole table of treats.

I love this!  Instead of a wedding cake, they had a wedding pie.  And why not?  You can cut a pie just as easy as a cake.

...and extra little pies for the guests.

 

Amaaazing cookies from Tiff's Treats (where Katherine used to work).

 

A fruit bouquet.

And they had the incredible flowers done by Sherri Toler (Chelsea's mom - remember Chelsea and Dan and all their amazing flowers?)

 

It was also neat that they had so much history together (growing up together, dating as young teenagers) and they brought this into the reception.  There was a whole timeline of events and gifts given throughout the years.

And a life size chess set.  (I was hoping they'd let me take this one home... but I probably couldn't have gotten it on the plane anyway ;D)

And then the venue.  Vineyards at Chappell Lodge is just dynamite as a reception location.  So much character and beauty.  It looks good during the day, but my favorite (as usual) was when the sun started to set.  This patio was gorgeous in the blue hour!

 

It was an amazing party.

Italy in Texas

  Spending time with the Gees is like being in a Broadway show. Literally, they randomly break out into song (often original music) and others join in with harmonies. It's quite a unique experience. The serenading started at the wedding dinner at Little Italy in San Antonio, Texas.

Katherine's brother Matt sang to the couple.

  

Then Katherine sang to Matt (the fiance, not the brother).

 

Then people talked, gave toasts, laughed, and sand. And there was much rejoicing.

 

 

  

Tomorrow we'll post the ring ceremony from Austin at Vineyards at Chappell Lodge.

Kara & Chris: Wedding Reception at the Devereaux Mansion

  Here are a few highlights from Chris and Kara's wedding reception.  The more I look at the photos and the more I remember shooting there, the more I liked the outdoor patio they had most of the reception in.  If you are looking for a venue in downtown Salt Lake, definitely consider the Devereaux.

These little strawberry cookies were divine, and I wasn't the only one who thought so. :D

  

  

  

The bouquet toss is always challenging, always different, and never quite goes the way you expect.  I love having Thomas along or another intern/assistant to get that extra angle for it.  It really helps capture more of what is happening....

  

Check out more of Kara and Chris's wedding photos here.