Anna originally booked me for her June 26 wedding in Philadelphia, but like many brides, she quickly became overwhelmed with the planning process, which has a reputation for causing SO MUCH NEEDLESS DRAMA. I know I went through it, and wish I had hired someone like my good wedding-planner friend Danielle Pasternak (www.52productions.com) to just avoid it all. But anyway, what happened was the couple ended up moving their date waaay up to March, 4, 2010. In spite of having another wedding booked two days later, I was totally sympathetic to their stress and happy to accommodate the date change.

With less than two weeks to go until their wedding, we scheduled their engagement session for as soon as I could squeeze it in. I hauled butt to get their photos to them way earlier than my normal deadlines, in case they wanted to use them for anything wedding related.

During the engagement session, I learned A LOT about the type of couple that IS Anna and Eric. They are definitely some very unique personalities. From what I could tell, they were completely down-to-earth and kind-hearted, not to mention extremely playful. They definitely put my photojournalistic style to the test as they spent the majority of our e-session just enjoying each other and concentrating on having fun. Here is a little bit of what went on:

When their wedding-day came, I was grateful that they were a little more willing to pose for a few shots.

A day without a little goofing off, however, just wouldn’t have been them!

The rest of the photos were taken in my typical photojournalistic style, including this one of Anna’s would-be bridesmaid bustling her gown.

What a beautiful gown it was too by the way!

I also loved the spiral basket she had acquired in her travels… she had been using it for fruit, but I had another use in mind.

Her other would-be bridesmaid put on the finishing touch to the bride’s ensemble, a simple white carnation in Anna’s hair.

It looked just lovely against her milk-chocolate brown hair.

When she arrived at the location for her wedding and reception; the cozy little Sam’s Morning Glory diner, her mom had yet to arrive. I had asked a bridesmaid to point her out when she did, but as I was taking pictures of Anna greeting her guests, I saw the emotion on this woman’s face, and didn’t need any introduction to know it was her mother.

The ceremony was a simple one, and it was easy to tell the pastor had a strong connection to the couple based on the touching words he had to say about them. There was also a lot of celebratory singing, which every one of Anna’s 26 guests were happy to participate in. Considering that half the people who attend my church don’t even sing along with the choir, I think this really showed a lot about how much Anna’s wedding meant to each and every one of her carefully-chosen guests.

The pastor announced the couple husband and wife and there was just something that stood out to me about this “kiss-the-bride shot” … I had seen the couple kiss before during their engagement shoot, but there was something about THIS KISS that had so much more feeling in it.

After the wedding, we hoofed a few blocks around the diner, looking for any spots that would lend themselves well to photos, which is where we got the first three wedding photos I posted. To my surprise, Anna and Eric wanted to take pictures inside… wait for it… a beer distributor. Hey, I don’t knock it, I just try it, and maybe I’m as playful as them, but I actually kind of really like this photo!

At the reception, it looked like they were going to be nice with the cake at first, but then their smashing turned hardcore and Eric got her good! Couples who smash are my kind of couple!

So to Anna and Eric: Here’s to staying true to yourselves and having the capability to see what truly mattered that day… not the venue, the food, or even the photographs (well, maybe the photographs :P), but your commitment to each other and the love that brought you together. Cheers!