Why do I love weddings? Because of love! It is the one thing everybody in the world has in common, the desire to love or be loved, the most beautiful thing in the world which manifests itself in so many different ways, in ways we never thought possible.
From the gentle kiss upon the cheek to holding hands in a moment of sadness, it is the tiny things that matter, not the public displays of passion. What would I rather? My husband stand up on stage in the middle of a gig and say 'babe this ones for you' or a cuddle when he comes in from work? I prefer the cuddle just as when looking at each of my clients the things that touch me most are the little moments, from a look in her eye to the way he strokes her hand, the small more private displays really are the ones that show exactly how we feel.
We all have different relationships, some of us lead completely separate lives to our other half's but come home to each other and some of us, like myself and my husband, like to do everything possible together, even if it is just going to the shops.
From a recent wedding, reviewed below, my favourite moments of the day was when my couple disregarded my presence and behaved natural, giggles and smiles, happiness and joy!
So simply, here is to love, I wish it for one and all, true and everlasting!
When I met the girls at Tony & Guy hair salon in Naas they were surprisingly calm. I watched in awe as the make up artist applied the finishing touches to some of the best make up I have ever seen! It is all in the detail girls, from the attention to the eyebrows to a vintage inspired head piece the detail is what sets the day apart from others.
A beautifully elegant lace gown, which I was sure a child would even have trouble fitting in to, accompanied by the stunning fresh roses, ivory for the bride and a mixture of ivory with a wonderfully dyed blue for the bridesmaids. As I said, detail...
Arriving at the quaint village of Two Mile House, the boys anxiously awaited Sarah's arrival. I thought to myself, this may be the most relaxed groupo I have met in quite some time.
However relaxed and calm though, Sarah and Ross gave me everything I needed to ensure a great result. From their choice of venues to, yes, their detail but most of all their attitude when having their photos taken. Both Ross & Sarah relaxed completely, enjoyed their little moments together as I stood back capturing them and were completely at ease as individuals and as a couple.
To be chosen as the photographer for any wedding is an honour, it is an invitation to view a couple in my own way, to see who they are but also who they are to each other.
Sarah & Ross, I thank you for choosing me, for allowing me to see what a fabulous couple you are and how happy you make each other. I hope that for the rest of your days you can look at each other as if nobody else were around, with genuine love and compassion, as you did despite my presence. I wish you all the best for your future together.
Maybe one day Ross, you can be the man standing at the top table, talking about a boy who once only said hello, is Sarah there?
This is one thing that brides definitely stress about. From music for the church, the dvd to the first dance, the band etc etc.
These days though, couples are becoming increasingly aware that their choice of music is what can set their wedding apart from others. Music is way to ensure that your wedding is tailored to your tastes, be it the band choice, the church music, even just the background music in the hotel.
People are quickly moving away from bands doing the likes of Abba and looking for something with a rockier edgy feel. Many pub bands are breaking into weddings because of this, take for instance Kev, my husband, who never thought he would do weddings with his band yet they are getting more and more requests. There is a simple explanation for it, we have moved on a generation, many of the couples getting married today were kids of the 80's and 90's, come on, we have to admit it, the best night dancing we ever have is when it is the music of our teens so the likes of Guns n Roses is now acceptable to be played at a wedding (we had November Rain play as we walked in to the reception) Bon Jovi is very popular also. With today's music reverting back to a rock genre this gives the rock bands the opportunity to stick in some new songs into their set also so everybody is happy.
The big question though for most, is the first dance. First we would think about songs we love, I for one LOVE Adele but lets face it, her songs are about broken romance, sadness etc so straight away they are out, it is very important to remember the lyrics should be relevant and the song does not need to be a slow soppy song, you can go for something upbeat, I went for Queen and you're my best friend but they have many options you can go for, U2's beautiful day is another, here is something crazy though, for our wedding dvd we used Adam Sandler (the wedding singer) singing I wanna grow old with you and to me, this is possibly one of my favoutire choices of songs to suit us, having said that we also used Highway to hell ;)
Just remember, the songs you choose are to suit you, not to keep others happy, yes you want a band that caters for all but when you choose songs for your dvd and your first dance make sure they relate to you both as a couple and to your taste in music.
Good luck with it, if you have any suggestions please do comment below as I am sure other brides would love to hear them.
So this may not be completely wedding related, ok not at all, but it may be something some of my clients, past, future or present, are experiencing.
Yesterday I came across a site (http://antievictiontaskforce.com/), complete with video of a deputy sheriff being denied access to repossess a house in Co. Laois. It goes to say people power can work. There are so many arguments to say how we the people should be given some form of debt forgiveness considering the bank bailout. Should we?
Going through the site there are plenty of true stories, people in trouble and I sympathise greatly. I believe the banks should be re-structuring the loans, they played a huge part in the mess up, we bailed them out so they should be helping us control our finances.
I bought my first house in 2003, I was a single mother working part time and I was extremely lucky to get a mortgage at all, but I could afford it, I was used to living on the bread line and despite being advised by a state employee to quit work, go on the list and claim rent allowance I thought no, if I can put a roof over my childs head myself, I will. Only 3 months later I met the love of my life and after another couple of years we bought another house. The mortgage was twice as big and we struggled greatly. After selling we intended building our dream house in the country but one thing after another prevented that and for the first time I joined the rental market. We are the lucky ones, we were given the support we needed when my husband was out of work, unlike friends who were only offered amounts to cover interest on their mortgages all the while receiving threatening letters from the bank. It is a stressful situation, although we recently had 2 months back with him out of work, when he is working we are ok, we pay our way and get the odd night out. Had we not sold that second house, well let me just say I would not be where I am, I would never have been able to afford to live the dream of becoming a wedding photographer, I would probably be doing some job that I hate and be so debt ridden my hair would be falling out.
My point is, reading some of these stories I often think, that could be us and although many people told us we were crazy for selling when we did, looking back the house was worth twice what it is now, I only hope those who own it now are not suffering. I often thank God that we made that decision, although there were times when we regretted it, we feel so lucky now.
Sacrificing is hard to do, be it your tv subscription, heat, even just a routine night out, it is hard to change your way of life when the bank balance drops and the bills increase. It is even harder when you see that many of the bankers who earned through your hardship are still driving fancy cars and enjoying life. I remember though watching the video and for a moment I sympathised with the deputy sheriff, he seemed like a genuinely nice man, he was doing his job, I suppose as we all would do int hese times, probably feeling lucky for the fact he had a job. Our whole system is messed up and that is not his fault, thankfully he wasn't dealing with an angry mob but an educated man who posed no threat to him.
We, in the traditional human way, feel angered by our misfortune and we like to find someone to place the blame on, be it the sheriff, the judge, the bank teller or manager. The truth is though, in this country we know who we can put the blame on and it is our whole political system. Our Taoiseach says the people of Ireland got greedy, well I believe the government led the greed, starting with a fame hungry Taoiseach, we were led to believe that our boom was forever, buy now or you never will. There was a sudden snobbery that became so overwhelming many of us felt we had to live up to the standards of our neighbours, otherwise suffer the laughter of others if we did not drive the right car or have the right size tv. I succumbed to it, I had the house, I had the fancy car I couldn't afford, I pretty much had it all. Did it make a difference? Ok so I would love the fancy car again but I am a lot happier now and less stressed without an ever increasing mortgage and trying to keep up with the Jones' as they say. Thing is I have hindsight, I made that decision to sell at the perfect time, I am lucky, how many of me are there? The pitiful thing is, I actually do not know of anyone else in my position, all I know is there are people out there who are in such dire straits they have been broken beyond repair.
The question I have though is this, should the houses be re-valued and the loans reduced? Ok there are few things I look at in this world in a black and white view but this is one. We made the decisions to purchase, to take a specific amount in the loan, an informed decision, looking at our finances etc and we went ahead and did it. So we stupidly believed that our politicians were Gods but is it right to assume that the loans should be recalculated? I mean if one family is in trouble with their mortgage so their loan is revalued shouldn't the loans of all people be revalued, even those who are not in trouble. How much worse off do we want our country? To me the only fair way to go ahead is re-structure the loans. The only problem is there are reports the banks are not willing to do this, they want what they want and if they don't get it then tough luck.
I say fair play to those who are working to help people who are in need through no fault of their own. We as people should not feel ashamed that we need help, there are people there willing to give the help needed, to work alongside us and help us figure out a way through the mess.
Sounds like a fairytale right? All I can say is, if the tears are anything to go by, Christina really did marry her prince charming.
I started the day bright and early, the sun beaming through the blue sky. Cold, fresh air waking me up and getting me ready for the day ahead. Arriving at the house I was led into a bright sun room where the girls were having their makeup done, excited but quiet, anticipating the day, the future, the rest of Christina's life.
Guests were treated to some stunning music at the church, a quaint old country parish in Co. Wicklow. I met Ann a few years back, believe it or not at the local swimming pool where our kids had lessons together. She continues to impress me with her immense talent and really is the perfect addition for any wedding. Christina walked down the aisle beaming, her eyes streaming tears of joy with Quentin completely mesmerised by her beauty. They stepped forward together, as they would for the rest of their lives.
To me, Quentin and Christina fit, there is nothing seperate about them, they are one of those couples where I feel no matter what life throws at them they will stand together, as one.
I pulled up at the hotel and had a brief chat with Martin, the videographer (www.myweddinginhd.ie) both of us amazed that we had made the 1 hour 40mn journey before any of the bridal party, when we saw a car pull up to the entrance. Seeing the ribbon we assumed it was family so made our way to the door to await the arrival of our couple only to be shocked that in fact, Quentin had decided that he wanted to drive to the venue with Christina, spending some time alone, rather than travel in the wedding car. It was a lovely idea and even though I had never come across it before I thought to myself, why not, on the one day of your lives where you completely give yourselves to one another, declare life long love, trust and devotion, why not take any opportunity to spend some time alone together.
Although surrounded by loving family and friends, I am sure both of you will find plenty of time in your lives to devote solely to one another and reflect on your journey, not just your trip from church to hotel but your whole journey from the very beginning, I wish for you that on those occasions you feel the happiness, warmth and closeness you felt on that one journey.
A picture like this is worth a thousand words, right? Yes there are weddings where to me, one pic above all others stands out. Others where I have 5 favourites, 10, 20 and so on but for me it is not only the image, it is the story behind the image, the story encased in the album and the memories of the experience. From the very first meeting to the last, occasionally the continued relationships that stand afterwards. For me, wedding photography is not a job, I know I say it all the time but it is a way of life.
I have a few clients who I retain regular contact, be it through continued work (hi Adel) or the odd email saying hello(Fidelma that is you!), a facebook chat pop up(you knew it was you Fiona) or just passing by locally at the school (hi Susan) but there are also clients who I may never meet again that hold special memories.
Here is a list of non photography things I have done in the last few years when covering a wedding, off the top of my head:
- Bringing luggage to the hotel
- Driving the mother to the church
- Fixing flowers
- Sewing buttons
- Fixing hair
- Doing make up
- Minding babies
- Cleaning tan marks
- Soft talking a priest for a late bride
The list goes on, the thing is though, these things are among those that make my job what it is, I'm not just the wedding photographer, I am the go to on the day if something goes wrong because after all at any wedding it is usually the photographer with the most experience. Wedding day stress??? What stress, lol, here is to many many many many many more items to add to the list and to 2012, my busiest year, looking forward to many more fun experiences with all of my brides and grooms!
I made a commitment to update the blog and facebook regularily. I know that.... My intentions were well meant, you know that and I have kept the facebook side quite well but sometimes life just gets in the way. I feel very lucky though that over the weekend I had 1 very productive day giving me a few album designs, especially since the last few days I have suffered awful insomnia.
Christmas is long gone now, even though my lovely husband refuses to take down his beloved rope light, love you chicken, my quiet time is coming to an end too. Although January was wedding free there were remenants of editing and album designs to be completed so do not pity me, I was not just sitting around waiting for something to do but I have enjoyed down time yet I am rearing to get going again, best under pressure I LOVE a heavy workload.
One thing I do have to say though is this, when life gets in the way of well meant intentions, isn't it great when life can look like this:
Yes it has been a while, and I did promise to be more consistent with my blogs but I have been trying ever so hard to get my new website up and running. Yes, it is almost a yearly thing at this stage getting a new website but sure why not?
Why not? I have plenty of reasons why not actually. The fact that I have to wait hours, even days to see if I have successfully pointed my url correctly, that I have to converse with 2 separate companies to ensure I am taking the correct steps and the fact that if it is still not working each company always blames the other!
I am slowly been driven quietly insane, well not so quietly insane, more so you should all feel sorry for Kev type of insane ;)
You know what though, I am not sorry I started, I will not be sorry when finished, Kev might be, I won't. I am not sorry for the simple reason that my phone rang all day yesterday, all day! I have passed out a temporary link to the new site on facebook, which is www.rachelfox.photoshelter.com and it seems that people are impressed, the diary is filling with bookings and meetings which means I am smiling quite a lot, in between ranting about my url that is.
So when this is finished then fingers crossed I will be able to take the time to write up on more recent weddings but until then my peeps, take care xxx
So the last couple of weeks I have been quite quiet right, that is so unlike me! I met with someone today about a job I am doing for my dads GAA club (congrats Dad on making chairman again) and one of the first things Cara said to me was, Rachel your dad tells me you are a bigger waffler than him!!!! Thanks Dad, but it is true, I do get it from him though. So I haven't waffled much lately and I have had a hell of a lot to waffle about, what is going on?
CHRISTMAS IS HERE
The last few weeks my mind has been completely consumed with Christmas, really. I have spent a ridiculous amount of money on decorations but it is soooo worth it as I now have not 1, not 2 but 3 Christmas trees in my house. We have one in the porch for the passerbys to see, we have the tackfest in the playroom as there was never a hope in hell of the kids decorating the main tree and then we have the main one in the living room.
Finally the time came when I could get THE tree, whatever tree I wanted, I worked hard this year so why the heck not....? Then when it came to it I couldn't help but say, do I really need to spend €250 on a tree? No I didn't. Still though, I went to homestore and got a fab tree for €100, 7ft of artificial beauty and adorned it with the most gorgeous decorations, poinsettia flowers, red glitter butterflies, gold stars and snowflakes and oversized bows tied by myself and my little Kelsie, poor Nikki just couldn't quite get hers right and gave up as soon as she started.
This year I decided to go ahead and do them when Kev was out working. Well, I had 2 choices, do it while he was gone or do it while he was home. Previous experience has told me that best let him off altogether as he gets quite upset when I redo the tree after him. Thankfully though there were no arguments over it, last year for once I gave Kev full reign, he wanted tack I said ok, do what you like. It was a lesson learned though as after a week or so he did admit that all previous trees looked better and I was right, he was wrong.
Wow girls, don't you love it when they admit you were right, I mean admit without pressure, just out of the blue.
So yes, I took my mind away from weddings for the last few weeks a bit and focused on my favourite time of year, but boy am I happy sitting here beside this piece of beauty!
As we were shopping last night I noticed a novelty mug, I asked my hubbie who did he think would buy it for me for Christmas. He laughed as we both know someone will, it was one of those along the lines of 'we can't all be a domestic goddess'. It is so true though, that cup is destined for me. I have a friend come and clean for me because I just can't do it, I took a tracksuit out of the clean washing this morning to find it not cleaned, I only washed it!!!! Somehow I can manage to make a nice stew, lasagna and bolognese but I do quite often burn the pasta or overcook spuds.
Why am I telling you all of this? Walking around the supermarket with Julie & Celine this morning I was starving, the smell of bread makes me so hungry, I thought no, not today! Then in my boredom waiting for Julie to stop yapping I looked at the cheese aisle and thought, that's what I will do today..... make a cheese filled croissant.
When I was a kid I looked forward to meeting my nanny in town on a Saturday morning, true every kid would look forward to ice cream from their nanny for breakfast and that did play a part but mainly, right next to the elevators to the car park was La Croissanterie, yes, my dreams would all come true when my mam said, come on and we get a croissant, and so I did, every week. Being a teenager eventually it was no longer cute to bring me along, thankfully though another branch opened close to my home. I loved the girls in that shop, especially when they upgraded me to a large size croissant. Then it closed down... Then the one from when I was a kid closed. Now there is one left, every couple of months we venture in sadly though, last time in the rush I got a take away, only to open it in the car and realise everything was different, I couldn't eat it, I was sad for days...... I have yet to find a replacement so I thought you know what, I will learn to do it myself.
I melted the butter, I had no plain flour so used self raising, no cream so used milk to create the most disgusting looking mixture I have ever seen. But it was ok, stashed in the back of the press was a sachet of white sauce powder. As it bubbled I added the cheese, stirring slowly, filled the croissants and topped off with some more sauce. When they came out of the over I thought, nobody is going to believe that I did this, not me so I grabbed the camera. With the plate by my side cooling down I started to upload thinking yes, I have just kicked la Croissanteries butt!
Butt..... but I haven't. Not a hope. So I sit here disappointed looking at what appears to be my perfect croissant sitting next to me, thinking of how I could have written this with pride about the perfect texture and taste, but I can't, instead of what was to be a moment of pure excitement and delight I have now realised I have wasted the last hour and a half of my life!
From a recent wedding, reviewed below, my favourite moments of the day was when my couple disregarded my presence and behaved natural, giggles and smiles, happiness and joy!
From a recent wedding, reviewed below, my favourite moments of the day was when my couple disregarded my presence and behaved natural, giggles and smiles, happiness and joy!
