CJ and Brenda, March 25, 2006

Ceremony: St Stanislas Parish, Milwaukee, WI

Reception : The Historic Astor Hotel, Milwaukee, WI

When I met CJ and Brenda to see if they would retain me for their wedding, CJ casually said “I’m a musician”. Okay, cool, I thought. And we all just clicked. Artsy right brained people seem to gravitate towards each other, and it was a good fit. It isn’t always…there are some clients that I meet with that I know within nano seconds it’s not ever gonna work. It’s kind of like a marriage, silly as that may sound. I have to “get” you to be able to photograph your wedding. I’m with you all day…I’m let into the “circle of love” to paraphrase DeNiro in “ Meet the Faulkers”. I get to see the drama, the emotion of the day and I’m allowed to document it for you. And if you don’t “get” me and how I work, then we are probably not a good fit.

A special thanks to Josh Johnston, my friend from Captured Memories Photography in Peoria Illinois who drove up here on his dime to shoot this wedding with me. We’ve been buddies for awhile and this is how photographers learn and grow, by shooting with other pros to see how they do things. He captured some amazing moments and angles. He may have learned things from me, but I learned from him=old dog, new tricks.

And Brenda. Impossible to take a bad picure of Brenda. A photographer’s dream. Funny. A good sport, and just enough “I am a bride and a diva” that made her vamping for the pictures both awesome and hysterical. She was lovely, but never took herself too seriously. And boy oh boy, does her daddy love her. His speech at dinner had everyone teary-eyed.

So…what a great wedding, right? For sure. But let me tell you this photographer’s big thrill. Most of my clients are…*ahem* a bit younger than I am. But any of my friends who know me well know that I am a HUGE 80’s hair band freak. Give me some Whitesnake and I am a happy girl. So, we go to the Pabst Mansion for pictures. CJ has told me ahead of time that he has a song he would like to sing for Brenda on the classical piano at the mansion. Okey dokey. Brenda sits down, and CJ begins to play, and I immedietly recognize the song, and give him the thumbs up. It’s “I’ve finally found the love of a lifetime” by Firehouse. A favorite of mine. It’s on my ipod. And he says “ Do you know this song?” I roll my eyes and say “Dude… Of COURSE” and he starts singing it.

It’s then that I get it. He’s a musician. And the lead singer of Firehouse. I tell you, I hope I did not jump up and down and hold my lighter over my head. Instead I *think* I jumped up and down like it was 1985. Thank God Josh was there, he actually got some decent images J

Congratulations CJ and Brenda and your love of a lifetime. I’m so glad I got to be there. ROCK ON!!!!!!