New Photos Posted: Seth and Keesa Reception

Been long enough since we last posted photos, eh? Well, I've got some news for you. We've got some photos to share! First things first, let's start with that last wedding we posted about so many months ago. Really, a couple that translates "meant-to-be" throughout each and every series of photos we've done for them. These photos were taken on the evening of their reception. It rained the day before and the day after, I believe. But, somehow it managed to be the most perfect day for an outdoor wedding reception. Here are some of my favorite photos from the series (again presented to you courtesy of the couple themselves): 

           

New Gallery Posted: "Sarah and Kevin: Maternity Session"

I made the mistake of watching romantic comedies the day I edited these photos. So, if tears weren't suddenly coming to my eyes while editing pictures of my beautiful sister, then they were most certainly streaming down my face due to some silly part in one of the movies I was watching. And while I'm not a very emotional person to begin with, it is nice every so often to indulge a side of sappiness...

I edited these pictures the way I would have liked to have mine edited had I been willing to let anyone take pictures of me with my big, pregnant belly. And, let me tell you, it takes quite a bit of courage to let someone take pictures of you while you're pregnant. Eric got one, I believe, of my bare belly while I was pregnant, and I think I wanted to kill him. Especially when he told me I couldn't delete it. And, me being the good wife that I am, I kept it. But every time I look at the photo, I just think to myself: "Who in the world would be attracted to that? That unnatural looking disfigurement of a woman."

Well, maybe I'm just not attracted to pregnant women. And maybe Eric was. Makes perfect sense except for the thought of what lies in store for this husband after his pregnant wife has had his baby...

No, I'm joking... For the most part.

Ever since my experience with Colette coming into my life, I look at pregnant women differently. I look at children differently. Because there truly is something magical about it. And then every so often I have the thought, "What would it be like to have another one?" Sarah makes it look easy. She looks gorgeous in her third trimester and truly does have that pregnancy glow. When I was that far along, I believe I looked like I do now... tired and strung out.

So, I'll just leave it to other women out there to endure the nine months of pregnancy I'm not willing to put myself through again. And then, if I get lucky, I'll get to take pictures of them and experience for myself, however briefly, what a truly content pregnancy should look like. I'll entertain the thought of doing it again for a minute. And then I'll throw the idea out. Because really... how could I ever do better than Colette? How could I ever dream of having another one just as good as her, and how could I ever imagine being able to love another one just as much as I do her?

These pictures of my sister though are evidence enough of a child that will rival my own. I look forward to meeting her!

From the Archives: Pumpkin Patch / Corn Maze, Oct. 2009

On Saturday, we will be celebrating our daughter Colette's fourth birthday (amazing how fast children grow up!) by taking a trip to a local corn maze and pumpkin patch. Last year, we visited this same pumpkin patch / corn maze in Farmington and decided to make a yearly tradition of it. So, this year, we thought it would be fun to include with that tradition Colette's birthday celebration and invite friends and family to join us in one of the best activities for this time of year. Cheesy, sure, but that's what you can expect from a couple of sappy parents like us. As a demonstration of the great fun we will have though, I thought it would be nice for our "From the Archives" post today to post some pictures from our venture into the corn maze and pumpkin patch last year:

I'm very much looking forward to this year's visit. It should be a blast, and I can't wait to see what costumes people will be wearing!

Mr. and Mrs. McCue

It seems not so long ago that I was sitting with my brother at our grandmother's house bemoaning my relationship problems. He had tried (and failed) to find someone to keep me company, and then he found someone for himself. It was not too long after that however that Eric and I hooked up, and for both myself and my brother, that would be it. We had each found the people we would be with for the rest of our lives whether we knew it at the time or not.

It took my brother a much longer time than it did for me however for him to finally tie the knot with the one he was meant to be with. And then when he was finally ready to propose to Lacey, it took them even longer still to set a date. It's hard to believe that that date has already come and gone. I expected it to seem much like everything else has seemed in their relationship. Maybe some day they would get married and then maybe some day they would get a house and then maybe some day they would have kids and then maybe some day... yeah, some day has now come and gone, and I can now say that my brother is married. We're still waiting on the kid part, but I'm sure that some day when they are ready that will happen too.

My brother really means a lot to me for reasons that are difficult to go into without hurting any of my other siblings' feelings. I really don't intend anything mean by it because I love all of my siblings, but my brother really has a special place in my heart because he is my brother. Long story... hard things to talk about maybe because it is really difficult sometimes to talk about a parent that's completely out of the picture.

But there's really more to it than that. All our lives, my brother and I have been really close - most of which involved picking on our other siblings. And then one day we didn't spend as much time together. We were growing up and trying to find our places in the world. We didn't have as much time to spend with each other. Some of that has changed over time, and some of it has not. Working as much as I do, I don't get to see my brother as often as I would like. I very often wish that we could get together on a Friday or a Saturday evening and celebrate with a couple of beers or, hell, even a shot of whatever shit I can take down without puking in the sink. Maybe I'd crash on his couch before giving up in the middle of the night and hauling my ass back to my apartment (I like my bed. If you have ever slept in it, you'd understand why). Or maybe we'd stay up until dawn however unlikely it is these days that Zach can stay up that long...

As I've edited these pictures, I've thought a lot about my brother, about the good times that we have had together, about the good times we will have together in the future. It pains me almost to see him all grown up as it does all my brothers and sisters. I will always remember them as kids and not as the adults they have become. But it makes me proud to have each and every single one of them as my sibling. And it makes me proud all of the individuals who have become a part of our family over time as well. Eric. Kevin. Lacey. We are a strange family, but you all fit right in. And, for that, I am truly very grateful!

I feel like there's more to say, but it's just not coming out... just consider me a proud sister who's incredibly happy for her brother. And, as a proud sister, this is my gift to my brother: I took a ton of photos on his wedding day, one thing I can do which might have some sentimental value attached to it. On Facebook, I mentioned that I didn't edit these as Awen Photography. I edited these as me, and that is true. One reason for that is that I want both Zach and Lacey to know where these are coming from (when I say "I", I mean, of course, myself, Eric, AND Colette). They are not coming from us as a business. They are coming from us as family.

But also another reason for not editing these photos as Awen Photography is that I can understand how difficult it is for a photographer who has been hired to shoot a wedding when other photographers are out there shooting pictures as well. It can make you feel completely useless. Why have you even been hired to shoot a wedding if everyone else is taking photos as well?

Anyway, I've gone on long enough. You can find any of these photos on our Flickr page, and we will try to make them available to our family in other ways as well! Congratulations again to my brother and to Lacey! You may or may not read this, but I feel better still having said most of what I wanted to say!