I've been busy tying up loose ends today. These are a few photos that I snapped of a really fun girl in New York City. Today I touched them up so that I can send them to her. It was nice meeting you, Wendy!

YAY! It's FRIDAY! During the wedding season, I get excited on Fridays because it usually means I'll be shooting a wedding the next day. In the off season, like now, I'm excited because it means that I actually get the whole weekend off. My husband Marcus works Monday through Friday so it's really nice when we actually get to spend two days in a row together. This weekend I'm actually going to try to avoid working. I am probably going to have a meeting or two, but for the most part I'm going to spend the weekend with my family.

In celebration of Friday, here are some photos from a trip that Marcus and I took to Zion, Bryce Canyon, & Valley of Fire last year. I went to Las Vegas for a photography convention/tradeshow. We just decided to go a few days early and take a little trip together. I was actually born in Utah so it's nice to explore that part of the country.

The full slideshow can be downloaded and viewed here if you have a fast connection and computer.

Warning!! This show is created for use on a PC running Windows. Unfortunately, if you have a Mac then you will not be able to run the show, and it may even crash your system.

Sunset at Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

Early morning at Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Sunrise over Bryce Canyon

Part of the Grand Canyon as seen from the plane going home

Closeup of some desert flowers

So what's in a date? How important is it to pick the perfect date for your wedding? We picked our wedding date based on what the venue still had available for the summer. I know that some people planning fall weddings are careful to avoid UT football home game days, and many choose their date to work with another event such as a move or graduation.

However, I'm sure that there are those who choose the day based solely on the numbers. Afterall, some anniversary dates would be easier to remember than others. For instance, this year we have 05/06/07 on the calendar, and it falls on the weekend. There's also 07/07/07 which has to be one of the coolest dates to ever land on a Saturday. If you're planning a wedding and think that this would be the perfect date, I have good news. I still have it available! In fact, Butterfly Gap Retreat (one of my favorite venues) also had it available the last time I checked.

Someone who wants to make their wedding plans really easy can have one of the best anniversary dates, best photographers, and best venues around. Just be sure to act fast!

Because I often work with out-of-town couples, I'm not always able to get to know my clients as well as I would like. Fortunately, Lois & Laramy live nearby in Maryville so we have been able to work together several times over the past two years. Their December 2005 wedding day was actually surprisingly warm, but the grass was brown and time was short. In the spring, they got dressed up again for more bridal and couple portraits. As with their engagement photos, they chose to do the session on the Maryville College campus.

Today I'm putting together their book from that session and wanted to share some of the layouts. (Yes it took her a while to pick out which photos to include, but it's difficult not to take a great pictures of these two) It's very appropriate to share this on Valentines Day as they both have such kind souls and make a very sweet couple.

On a side note, Lois is a teacher, and she invited all of her students to her wedding. In lieu of a flower girl, each child in her class carried a rose down the aisle during the processional. I thought that was such a sweet way to include them, and they were all obviously very proud and happy to be there.

The practice of not allowing the groom to see the bride dates back to the times of arranged marriages. The father of the bride was reportedly afraid that the groom might back out if he didn’t like the looks of his intended so they postponed the “unveiling” until the ceremony. Nowadays, you know each other, and you know what to expect when you see each other at the ceremony. Letting go of that old superstition and deciding to meet early has so many advantages that more and more couples are deciding to have a “first look” meeting.

If you opt to meet before the ceremony, you can truly make the most of your day. We schedule the “first look” to take place as soon as the bride and groom are dressed. You can see each other while you’re still fresh and excited; you aren’t tired from doing group formals, and you aren’t nervous about the ceremony. It’s a special, shared moment that you have to talk, hug, pray, and just enjoy being together. Then the two of you can spend 20-30 minutes “alone” together getting great couple portraits.

For your special “first look” meeting, you can even decide to put him at the end of the aisle and walk down to him. However, most couples choose to have his back turned until you’re ready to jump into his arms. That way you can still have the precious moment during the ceremony when he sees you walking toward him.

Some of my most emotional vow exchanges have been with couples who saw each other before the ceremony. They were more relaxed and able to focus on the words that they were exchanging rather than the butterflies in their stomach. They really felt like they were doing something together and felt connected in a way that you might not feel if you’ve spent the day apart.

If you meet at the altar, you have lots of eyes on you and can’t really enjoy the moment. So many other things are going through your head, and the excitement of the moment gets pent up until the end of the ceremony. When you finally do get a minute to talk to each other, it’s usually something really profound like, “Hey, we did it!” After the ceremony, you’re rushed and stressed to get the group pictures out of the way. Then at the reception, you’ll have the dance and cake cutting, but most of the time will be spent socializing with other people. Even if you can retouch your makeup and find your bouquet and veil to sneak off and do more photos together, you’ll be tired and feel rushed to get back to your guests.

Some brides are stuck thinking that it is more romantic for him to see you for the first time as you are coming down the aisle. It is romantic, and if that’s the way that you want it to go then do it your way. You can always focus on being with family and friends at the wedding and then schedule a newlywed session later to have more photos taken together. However, sharing that private time together and then enjoying the rest of the wedding without the extra stress is romantic too. The important thing is that the two of you discuss the alternatives and decide what is important to you. Do what you want. Then you’ll be happy, and the guests will be happy (even if they have to stand around and wait for a while at the reception) because you’re happy.