Happy Birthday, Heather!
Apollo Fields Photojournalism | Farm Wedding Photography | Wedding Writer | Adventure Wedding Photographer | Colorado Wedding Photographer | New York Wedding Photographer
Heather’s Birthday Post – November 15, 2018
Happy Birthday to the woman who has taken the best parts about me and brought them to the surface. Without her, I wouldn’t be a published author, small business owner, or husband—AKA everything that means something to me at this point in my life. I honestly have no idea where I would be without her—and I look forward to all of the places we will be together that we do not yet know.
Heather is the kind of person to triple book herself, crush each event, then ask for more. I’m the kind of person to bring her a bottle of whiskey and an empty tumbler. That’s how we differ yet that’s why we work. In a constant state of give-and-take, we spin through our days like ice in a mixing glass, swirling around our personalities like flavors, combining our contrasts into a well-balanced drink—smooth yet strong, and the lingering taste leaves you asking for more. It’s not perfect but it does keep us happy.
This time last year we were driving to an AirBnB tucked in the mountains, safe from the chill with a cozy wood-burning fireplace. This year we’re riding the LIRR to carouse about NYC and enjoy a different side of life. Seemingly always on the same page, Heather and I are writing our story together with a pen we share, speaking different voices onto the page with the same ink. Every year that passes every take stock of all of our experiences and each year exceeds the last. I’m just grateful to have a partner to explore so many worlds with.
In the last month we moved cross country, made all the food for our wedding, got married, took a honeymoon to Jamaica, and settled into our interim home in Long Island. Just writing that made me tired, yet at no point during it did I feel fatigued. We approached each day as a team, working towards a shared goal in each of our imperfect ways. By sharing our individual energies, we rejuvenate each other along the way with jokes, side dishes, and healthy dollops of silliness. It’s like when you work with someone behind the bar long enough that you know where they put the Maraschino cherries, only when you get there the jar is empty and you look up at them to see them making a ridiculous face. Everyday of our lives is like that and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Somehow on her birthday I started talking about the great things about us and strangely enough, I don’t know a better compliment for a person. Heather is a facilitator, a happy haggler, an absolutely messy chef, and will be an even better mother. When I think about the journey of life and how each year represents so much yet so little, I remember the infinitude of infantile moments we’ve laughed through and the major milestones we’ve high-fived to. It’s entirely too easy to get lost as we move through different stages of my life, but this day has me grateful for Heather’s face, happily illuminated over her birthday candle to help guide my way.
Wedding Photographers in a Wedding Party
Wedding Photographers in a Wedding Party
The night before my little brother Matt’s wedding, Heather and I held the rehearsal dinner on the porch of the farm style home at Handsome Hollow in Long Eddy, NY. Hands reached across the table, snagging pieces of charred corn on the cob while friends and family snickered over stories and helpings of nostalgia. It was the first time Heather or I were in a wedding party and it was enlightening to view the wedding experience from the other side of the lens.
I never knew how it felt to stand at the altar during the ceremony, looking into a crowd of people as they stare intently, listening closely to a story of love, each person waiting for that one line to fall upon their ears and strike a chord inside their respective hearts – well now I know that it feels awkward. “Does the way I’m standing look weird?” “Should I put my hands behind my back or lock them in front?” “Who should I be looking at?” All of these thoughts prodded my mind, sending my body into an awkward shuffle in between the vows and traditions and it made me realize how all of our wedding parties must feel.
As wedding photojournalists:
...We see people in their most intimate moments, vulnerable and exposed, and it’s our job to bring their emotions to the surface and capture them as accurately and as beautifully as possible. Experiencing a wedding from our client’s perspectives helped us empathize with the subtly awkward moments of the day, whether it was standing at the altar or allowing someone to photograph you while you put your pants on. These funny memories will help us help our future clients navigate their own insecurities assuring that we will be snapping away when their souls start to smile.
As wedding guests
...We sought to make the jobs of the vendors as seamless as possible; rounding up wandering family members for formals, keeping track of the bride and groom, and worst of all trying to keep my father, Jim, our oblivious “Uncle Bob” from popping into all of the photographs. Lucky for us the photographer, Monika Eisenbart, was very go-with-the-flow, allowing my embarrassing father to double-click his time-stamped photographs in all his glory while she professionally snapped away. Many guests overlook the hospitable hand that wedding photography requires and we were happy to help the hosts and vendors in any way we could.
When it comes down to it, weddings are about vulnerability and accessing emotions that are typically dormant in our hearts. Whether you’re attending a wedding or photographing one, do your best to empathize with those around you and enjoy the awkward shuffles that happen on the dance floor, the altar, and everywhere in between. That’s what love is all about.
Guanella Pass Campground Wedding Photography in Colorado
Emily & Ole's Wedding In The Woods | Colorado Campground | Apollo Fields Photojournalism
Emily & Ole's Wedding In The Woods | Colorado Campground | Apollo Fields Photojournalism
DIY RUSTIC WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY | CAMPGROUND INTIMATE WEDDINGS | ADVENTURE PHOTOGRAPHER ERNY PHOTO CO
Emily and Ole had a laid back wedding at the Guanella Pass Campground this past July. Celebrating with close family among the aspens and evergreens, their Colorado campground wedding was nothing short of perfect.
During the ceremony, Emily read from her own personal journal, opening up her heart and sharing her intimate thoughts and feelings from when she first met Ole.
And I couldn't help but notice the leaves she had tucked inside her journal pages, dried out and preserved for years to come. As a nostalgic person myself, this made me love being a part of their day even more.
And then I found out that Emily's bouquet, in all of it's beauty, was the dried version of the very first flowers Ole ever gave her. It turns out she had been saving them for this very day. I can't even put into words how amazing that is and how much I adored it!
After the wedding, we drove up to the top of Guanella Pass for some intimate couples portraits of just the two of them. As soon as we arrived, you could see Emily and Ole relax. It was obvious that they felt most at home in the quiet of the mountains. Mt. Beirstadt stood tall in the background, which while unplanned was also awesome since that was one of the first 14ers Emily and Ole ever climbed together.
This was their perfect wedding. From the do it yourself touches, to the breath-taking views, to them including their adorable French bull dog, Winston, and his adorable red bow tie. If they could do it all again, I'm not sure they could do it any better.
Emily and Ole's Colorado Campground Mountain Wedding
Photography: Apollo Photo
Journalism: Apollo Journalism
