Just a heads-up... This blog post will be more personal in nature than practically anything we've shared online before. As much as we love wedding photography and the relationships it allows as to enter into with so many truly awesome couples, our writing style in the blog tends to run more along the lines of "just the facts, ma'am!"
But recently, we experienced a sequence of events that, plain and simple, rocked our lives to the foundation. And we feel compelled to share their significance with you - hoping that some text on a blog will somehow be as meaningful as possible!
Last month we enjoyed an incredible time of photographing the wedding of my (Jonathan's) brother. You might recall Bryant and Hannah from their
engagement photos earlier this year. They are truly a joyful couple!
Because Bryant had invited me to join in as part of the wedding party, we enlisted the help of
Chris Becerra, a friend and amazing photographer in his own right, to help shoot their big day. (As much as I would have loved to catch photos from the up-close-and-personal perspective of a groomsman during the ceremony, there was just no subtle way of going about it! :-)
My 19-year-old brother, Landon, traveled up from Bakersfield, CA, to serve as the best man. Landon is an amazing guy, experienced and wise beyond his years.
Yours Truly is shown on the far left in this photo, and Landon is on the front left, kneeling:
Landon did his position proud by giving one of the best toasts at a reception that I've ever heard. (No, I'm not biased. At all! ;-)
We were very fortunate to spend some really special times over the weekend with Landon. Since he moved to California, we're not able to see him very often any more. But, he went out of his way, even with all the chaos and details of a big family wedding, to make everybody feel special.
Although, at the time, we took much of it for granted, we no longer do.After Landon left to travel home, our family received a phone call that changed everything. Driving to California after the wedding, he had fallen asleep at the wheel, crashed the car into a tree, and died.
Nothing puts life into perspective like receiving a call at 3AM from the coroner.As we went through and processed the photos from the wedding, you cannot imagine how meaningful they were to us. To have a record of Landon's last weekend on earth documented in literally thousands of photos... it was truly incredible. Many tears were shed in the hours spent making mundane adjustments to color and lighting with Photoshop.
These photos are now some of the most treasured memories we have of Landon. Of course, they hold significance for us as a record of Bryant and Hannah's wedding, as well! But, to be able to look back at Landon in his prime and remember him through these images... words cannot describe.
Here he is again, playing Peter Pan & Captain Hook with our 2-year-old son at the reception:
We meet with many families about their wedding photos and family portraits, and sometimes they choose not to use a professional photographer, or decide to delay portraits due to timeframe or budget concerns. We're never offended by that -- everybody has their own priorities and comes to their own decisions.
But, after experiencing what we have this year, I urge you to do this:
Create memories. Document them. Cherish them. Share them.
Because, as we discovered, you may not have another opportunity.
