The Trinity Wedding: Judith and Stephen

When Jordan's mother and her long-term partner of twenty years (!!!!) decided to get married, we were endlessly excited about their choice of venue--Newfoundland!   Another opportunity to go back and spend some time in this beloved province of rugged coasts, soggy weather and breath-taking vistas. While we were surrounded on either side of the wedding day with unbelievably sunny weather, the day of the wedding was dark and grey and full of clouds heavy with the promise of imminent rain.   But I suppose rain on a wedding day is good fortune, which this couple will now have in spades.

It isn't a common experience to watch a couple get married after 20 years, especially when they are your parents!  As my relationship grew with my husband, we got to to watch their relationship evolve over time as well.  We witnessed the proposal, shared in their excitement and were a part of the wedding and in its planning.

The wedding was near seamless.  It was those little details that really made a big difference, like all staying on location for days on either side of the wedding.  We had dinners with various family members or swung by their rooms.  An evening of music the night before the wedding meant that we got to connect with friends and family beforehand so that the wedding day was not the first time we would see people.  Judith and Stephen are fortunate to have such a supportive and loving group of friends and family in their lives.  A short write-up on each couple or guest attending helped us keep each other straight and gave us a starting point for conversation.  What a fantastic idea! 

On the day of, Stephen looked so proud as he tightened his tie in the mirror before heading out to the church.  Judith was glowing and all smiles.  They were as excited as any other about-to-be-wed couples I have ever met.  It was kind of really adorable.

We arrived amidst the rain to bagpipes and walked down the aisle surrounded and supported by family and friends who had all flown in and drove especially for the occasion.  "It was a small affair" the locals said.  But there is beauty and warmth in an intimate wedding, now isn't there?  The old wooden church had some personal significance for us.  Stephen's great-great grandfather was the local bishop at the time and oversaw the construction of the church many years ago.  And Judith's mother grew up around the corner.

The vows were personal and eloquent.  And as Stephen recited his vows, there was barely a dry eye in the church.The children were incredible.  Gabriel was darling and kept shhing Magdalene who decided that the middle of the wedding during Judith's vows was the best time to start singing away at the top of her lungs.  I stuffed them full of crackers and juice and biscuits and raisins and chocolates.  I scrambled trying to find something other than a mint covered in purse lint to keep them as quiet as possible.  But we were able to stay for the entire ceremony!  

 

Dinner was delightful--parsnip soup, salad and fish while Leonard Cohen, Madeleine Peyroux and Glenn Gould's Goldberg Variations played in the background.  And for dessert, a ginger cake.  There weren't long speeches, only Stephen's daughter, Emma and Jordan.  And if I might add that Jordan's speech was the best of his entire speaking career--well written, well executed replete with poetic referencing and political poise, peppered with humour.  (I mean, doesn't he just LOOK like a senator in this picture???)  Sadly, Magdalene could not stay, but Gabriel did for most of it before we sent him to bed under the watch of a local sitter.

Jordan and I stayed until late into the evening, while we played DJ.  We sure got some people moving on the dance floor right away and late into the evening.   A little CCR, the Beatles....  You've got to know your crowd!  Let me tell you, the whole event, was really something.

 

Congratulations ChouChou and Fizey!!  An unforgettable wedding!!

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Tips for Photographing The Littles.

1. Get down on their level.  The tops of little heads and the ground aren't nearly as cute as seeing their faces and the world that as they see it.  You can be sure if you scrunch down low to the ground, you will get some of those lovely backgrounds, such as fall leaves, too. 

2.  Seek natural light.  Turn your flash off and try not to look back. Big windows work wonders and if at all possible, get outside.  Having said that, being outside isn't always possible.  So, position yourself close to a window with your back to it but not blocking the light on your little one's face.  Scrunch down low and get them as they play in the light through the window.  No direct sunlight is necessary, just natural indirect light.  You'll see that their eyes look sparkly.  **If you shoot with your little one between the window and you, you will most likely always get a silhouette, which can be cool sometimes, but mostly...  doesn't let us get a good look at their features. 

3.  Watch your backgrounds.  When you get down low and have your back to the window, what do you see?  That pile of books?  The big cluster of plastic toys under a heap of laundry.  I know houses can't always be tidy.  But if you are intending to shoot some photos, clear the clutter from your background.  Or pile your stuff in another room that doesn't have as much light. 

4.  Be playful.  You don't always need to have your little one looking right at you.  Catch them in their natural environment just having fun or being focused on an activity.  Try to avoid saying "Look here, look here."  That gets pretty annoying when you are asked to stop playing and look at the camera every five seconds.  Instead, let them play and move around to catch their eyes or have another adult being silly with them.  If you want to catch some photos outside, then set up something fun for the kids to run around and do.  Try bubbles or playing catch, throwing rocks, or running through a field or down a hill.  Otherwise, your little one is going to start forcing those smiles and saying "No more pictures mommy!"

5.  Take a million photos.  You will get 900,000 blurry ones, looking the wrong direction or with their eyes closed.  You can always deleted them.  But you cannot keep a shot you never took because you didn't keep shooting.

6. Zoom in.  Don't make the mistake of zooming out and then planning to crop later.  Zoom in on your little one.  Sometimes the best shots are close-ups just their upper torso or face and sometimes even just the eyes and nose and mouth of a cute expression.  Zooming in allows for more interesting depth of field, meaning that your child is in focus, but the background is nicely blurred.  Zooming out does not give that to you. 

7.  Choose and Edit.  You don't need to keep all your photos.  Pick your top photos and try not to select similar photos.  Then edit. Most photographs will require some sort of editing.  But be careful not to overdo it.  I have used iPhoto for years until I outgrew it and now use Aperture, an apple application.  You can retouch, and play around with many aspects of your pictures, including/decreasing the black, the contrast, saturation and vibrancy.  As well as various black and white filters.  Not sure what to recommend for PC users, but I hear Picasa is good.  Lightroom is very good; however, you have to be prepared to dole out $9.00/month.

8.  Use the Rule of Thirds.  Often when editing, I use the Rule of Thirds, which means that I slightly off-center the focal point of my image which makes it more eye-catching.  For more on the Rule of Thirds, click here.

9. Learn something new.  If you new to the SLR world, it's all about playing around with your camera.  But as you try new things, if you are not getting the results you want, pop into a local camera shop and have them teach you one new specific thing while you look around at equipment.  The other day, the shop owner showed me how to change the camera to "Aperture Priority." Blew. My. Mind.  Where has that setting been all my life?!??!?!  Also, tons of stuff online but sometimes a little overwhelming.  It's amazing what your camera can do that you never thought it could!

**These photos were taken on a Nikon D7000 55-3000mm with the lowest aperture setting being f4.5, so apparently an ok lens but not amazing quality, I was told.  BUT, I set it to "Aperture priority."  This gave me the blurred background and big pop of colour from the leaves behind.  FYI, it was a cloudy day and none of these photos were photo-shopped.  That's the beauty of Aperture!!

It's amazing what your camera can do that you never thought it could!

A Lot to be Thankful For.

Having just landed in from Newfoundland after a lovely/crazy/adventurous week away, we were too tired to grocery shop last Sunday evening.  So Monday we found ourselves with an empty fridge.  Of course, almost all grocery stores are closed on Thanksgiving Monday, but we did finally come across a Rabba that was open and purchased what we could to create a little makeshift Thanksgiving dinner WITHOUT a turkey.  It was either that, or ordering Indian food, which, although tasty, may be a bit unconventional for the holiday.  We did manage to put together all the fixings including a homemade french baguette and pumpkin pie and it felt just like a Thanksgiving day should.

Aside from the traditional things we are thankful for, family, friends, happy marriage, healthy kids and all the various other blessings we focus on not taking for granted, there are some special, more recent things I am thankful for this year:

1) The birth and growth of our beautiful Magdalene Grace.  Although the transition to having two children has been harder than I expected, having this sweet, cheery darling in our lives is beyond-words a blessing of enormous proportions.  I cannot imagine life without you, Maggie!  And now it's your first Thanksgiving.  How time has flown!

2) Jordan finishing his Masters.  Ok, not quite there yet, but so close I can taste it.  Wow, finally four years of toiling will have come to an end.  Phew!  What ever are you going to do with all your free time?

3)  Our most recent trip to Newfoundland that really exceeding my expectations.  I cannot remember even once thinking about sleeping in my own bed at home or the kids sleeping in their own beds, despite the fact we were on a pull-out coach, had to give up our bed for Gabriel, borrow other people's washrooms once Magdalene was asleep in our bathroom and, despite all that, be up several times a night with both!  It was 100% worth it!  Having traveled with the littles a lot, we knew it would be a little bit crazy, (isn't it always the way with young children) but we just chose to lean into it and embrace the adventure/chaos of it all.  So glad we did!!

4) Second to that, I was so glad that no one got seriously sick or hurt while away.  The kids got scratchy throats and runny noses but nothing that stopped us from flying.  Unfortunately, I took a serious tumble on the slippery rocks at the beach while trying to pull an Ansel Adams meets Dancing with the Stars while taking some shots of the new happy couple.  Sadly, my camera took the brunt of the fall, and meant that I had to buy, yet again, another new lens.  :(  And I banged up both knees and boast a wicked "sw'elbow."  But nothing that couldn't be fixed.....

5) The friends we've met since coming to Toronto--in particular my moms groups both through the church and in our community.  What would I do without you?????  I feel like this year has really shaken my beliefs about parenthood and raising children.  But your words of advice, your encouragement and stories have helped me to keep some perspective.

6) New ventures!  I'm excited to have the support of family and friends in some new ventures.  It is exciting and a little bit nerve-wracking at the same time, to focus on building a bit of a small business.  But I am thankful to have the luxury to follow my passions and a husband who supports me in finding and developing what I love.

Hope your Thanksgiving was a good weekend of relaxation, good food and a time to reflect on the many blessings, less we become complacent and take for granted the gifts we've been given.

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