In April, I, Sarra Snider of Fabulous Photos, teamed up with Liz Kaiser Beauty to do a giveaway. Liz resides in Huntington and travels to clients homes to provide hair and makeup services. The contest was held on Instagram and contestants simply had to follow our pages and tag some friends in the post. The purpose of a giveaway to is bring more eyes to both of our pages and this contest did exactly that! After a week, there were about fifty entries and with the help of a random number generator, a winner was picked! Valentina had won a standard portrait session and the choice of a free makeup application or hair styling. As a hair stylist herself, she chose the make-up from Liz Kaiser. Winner Valentina wasted no time in booking her free services. She wanted to utilize the session for Mother’s Day and take photos with her three daughters. I was able to find beautiful cherry blossoms in bloom which was the perfect location for her session. Here are a few of the photos from the session:
In March 2020, we experienced a global pandemic from the coronavirus also known as COVID-19. Aside from the obvious and unfortunate health aspect of it, I’m here to talk about how it affected those who were happily engaged and planning a wedding during this time. To be a couple who was planning their perfect day and then be told to stand by to even find out if their wedding could take place was so disheartening for many. Each day was uncertain and couples had no idea whether to tell their guests they were postponing or continuing to hope for the best and holding out for their original wedding date. Choosing a wedding date can be special to a couple. Perhaps they chose their wedding date because the number meant something special to them. Perhaps the venue provided that date for them, but that date became theirs. Perhaps they photographed and sent out “Save the Date” photos to their friends and family or perhaps they counted down the days until they’d say “I do”.
But now the coronavirus was making all of these happy couples feel uncertain. A day that was meant to be so important to them was put on hold with no answers. Each day would pass and they would hope more information was released about the rules and regulations to holding events.
I’m here from the photographer’s point of view. I had bridal showers and weddings cancelled on me. I completely understood. Non-refundable retainer fees were being transferred to new dates with no penalties. Small businesses were on standby of whether we would be showing up for our clients on this special occasion. We had to continue to keep the date completely open and know there was a chance we wouldn’t be paid for that day.
Each newlywed couple to-be had to make the best decision for themselves and their family. I would say, for most, couples kept their wedding date and they were married in a backyard surrounded by their closest friends and family. Some couples even pushed the BIG wedding out until next year.
I have to admit- As the photographer, I was absolutely in love with the backyard wedding idea. Big weddings are fun, but also a very long day! I photographed a handful of small backyard weddings this summer and they were so nice, so intimate and there was so much love surrounding each couple I photographed.
Bride Megan with her sister and mother in her sister’s backyard.Brianna and Philip after their backyard wedding ceremony. Paras and Daniel after being pronounced husband and husband in their family’s backyard.
A wedding is made up of: *Dressing up and feeling your best *Being surround by friends and family *Marrying the love your life *Promising to be the best partner to them for the life ahead
All of these can be achieved whether you have a huge wedding at a venue with tons of people or if you’re in a backyard with a few close friends and family.
Remember what the day is all about and what’s really important. If you were a couple who decided to have a backyard wedding, awesome! Don’t feel bad about it. A big party can happen whenever. This ceremony is about you and the person you are choosing to experience all of life’s opportunities with.
And if you chose to hold off on your wedding, that is okay too. If you planned for this to be the most amazing day it could possibly be and that means waiting until you can, you’re allowed to hold off until that is possible. It’s your wedding day and your choice.
There is no right answer here. My heart goes out to all the couples who had to stress and make a decision on what to do.
Let’s hope things can start getting back to normal soon.
This past summer, I was walking around town and snapping creative photos of one of my best friends. Although photography is a passion of mine, sometimes it’s easy to lose the passion when it becomes a job. Every once in awhile, I ask my friends to let me take photos of them to keep my creativity alive. (I’m lucky that my friends never seem to mind. In fact, they enjoy it.)
I was taking photos of my friend Danielle in a park when a woman walked by.
The woman was alone and stopped to watch the photo session in action. She was wearing sneakers, jeans, a jacket and a bandana on her head. She wasn’t carrying anything and didn’t seem to be headed anywhere in particular. She was completely amazed to watch us in action. She asked us what we were doing while throwing compliments at us.
Feeling her sense of excitement while watching us, my sarcastic self shouted, “Get on in there!” and with no hesitation, she unzipped her jacket, took the bandana off her head and sat right down next to Danielle. She was so excited to be part of a photoshoot.
She asked me where the photos would be posted, but noted she didn’t have a computer or a phone. I let her know they would be on my website if she was ever able to get around to viewing it. I slightly missed the focus in these photos being I was distracted by this heart-warming moment I was witnessing. There is no doubt we brightened her day. When a stranger smiles, when you know you’ve made a difference, you walk away with a smile too.
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