Happy Wednesday

One of Astin's favorite things to do in life is this:



He will happily follow the sunlight around the room all morning. Of course, he doesn't mind a good ear scratch every now and then, too.




"What are you looking at?"


"Can't you just let me sleep??"


Hope you're having a great Wednesday. Got any plans for the holiday weekend? I'm looking forward to photographing two weddings!

Old Economy Village and the Mattress Factory

So, you're probably wondering what the title of this post means..

Well, last Wednesday Jay and I took the afternoon off to celebrate our anniversary. Being the general history nerds that he...er we are, we drove up to Ambridge to the site of the Harmonists' Old Economy Village. The Harmonists were a religious group that fled persecution in Germany and came to Pennsylvania in early the 1800's. From what I gathered, they functioned much like a communistic enclave but had capitalistic connections with the outside world. And they promoted celibacy (which, no surprise here, caused them to die out in the late 1800s). Sorry, just a bit weird in my opinion. Nonetheless, they were hard working folk, and they left some great buildings to explore.

Ok, history lesson is over. In the evening, Jay and I went to the Mattress Factory art museum on Pittsburgh's North Side. I must say that this was one of the most fun art museums I've ever visited. It's definitely off-the-wall and hands on. If you live in Pittsburgh and haven't visited it yet, you should definitely see it.

Lastly, we dined at Bangkok Balcony in Squirrel Hill--yum!









Jay and I were definitely 20 years younger than the next person on the tour.




The Harmonists liked their wine and grew their own grapes on site. They still have some vines growing there.


Pretty amazing architecture for its time.










In the Mattress Factory museum.




And this was a 20 second exposure taken in a dark room where you are supposed to sit in for 15 minutes to see what is there. Hmm...interesting.












A crazy attack stapler.








All in all, a fun adventure.

And This Makes Four | Happy Anniversary

I lay wide awake, staring into the darkness of my roommate's bedroom. I just couldn't stop thinking: "This time tomorrow I will be married!"

I had a habit of thinking about time like that--especially during finals week in college. "In 24 hours this will all be over" would sometimes be the only comfort had to get me through the end of the semester.

Well, I never could have imagined that in four years from that sleepless night I'd be where I am today. I can honestly say that I love Jay more than I did on August 20th, 2005, but that is only because of the grace of God. Being married to him is truly a blessing--and I need to remember that more often!

So, happy anniversary Sweetie! I hope we have 40+ more anniversaries together.

And now you may be wondering about my wedding photos. Well, ironically, that's one of my biggest regrets about my wedding--my photos.

You're probably asking, what happened? Well, for starters, I was only at the hobby stage of my passion for photography, so I didn't know then what I know now.

Mostly, I blame myself for not planning ahead more--for not THINKING more about what I wanted. I really regret not allotting any time for photos outside of the church. What was I thinking?? Also, digital photography wasn't what it is today four years ago.

I must say our photographer did do a great job with our getting ready shots, but from there things don't go too well. There's a lot of missed shots of us during the actual ceremony and reception. I'm not sure what happened there.

Now, I don't want to end on a sad note--I'm still very happy that I married Jay, and photos or no, you can't take that away! And I do think we've got some good shots. Plus, my experience has been a tremendous inspiration for me in my work--I strive that much harder to make sure none of my brides have any regrets about their wedding photos. And I hope that shows in my work!

We DID have very nice engagement photos.


I'd forgotten how loooong my hair was.




My favorite.


This was my bridal portrait. I was going for the vintage look, so I converted it into a black and white photo. P.S. My mother made my dress!








That's my sister helping me out (thanks Martha!).


And my mother, brother, and grandmother...hmm..sounds like a rhyme to me.




Ha, thanks Kara!


I love this shot of Ha, Ha, Jay's grandmother. She passed away about a year after we got married at the grand old age of 95.






And that's about it for the ceremony photos until "the kiss." The groomsmen are giving an Aggie "whoop!"




We had our reception at the Astin Mansion in Bryan, Texas, for which our dog Astin was named.






Our groomscake, made by my friend Ashley--yum, cheesecake!




And although this photo is grossly over exposed, it's still one of my favorites.


This is also a favorite.


And this shot was taken by my mom-in-law's point and shoot camera.


And they lived happily ever after!