HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

One year ago today was the wedding of Emily and Nick Ruby that I had the honor of capturing in Tavares, Florida. Emily is like a little sister to me. Her older sister was one of my best friends in high school and I spent a lot of time around their family over the last 16+ years. Being included in this day was such a special moment and blessing for me for that very reason. She's a Colorado gal that moved to Florida to pursue her dream of working for Disney and fell in love with the most amazing guy.

My first opportunity to meet Nick was Christmas 2020. We had an extended family session planned for Emily's clan and he was just a hoot and a half. Making everyone laugh and just have fun the whole time. Just one reason why I know he is so perfect for Em. We took advantage of this time to get some engagement images too which is so prefect for us photographers to get to know our couples a little more before the big day but can sometimes not happen as a traveling photographer so, this was extra special.

The Shower

St. Patrick's day week 2022 Emily came back home to Colorado to celebrate her bachelorette weekend with a Justin Bieber concert, Denver pub crawl on St. Patty's Day and ended here trip with her bridal shower. It was a bitter sweet day as she had just lost her mom a month prior to cancer. This hat she wore was her mom's hat that her mom had warn on her wedding day. Such a beautiful touch to add to a day where mom was surly missed. Her sister threw her an amazing RUBY themed day and it was yet another fantastic moment for me to get to meet some many ladies that would be joining us all for the big day in Florida.

Traveling Photographer Perks

When I got asked to photograph Emily's wedding she made sure to let me know that I should bring the whole family and of course I agreed. Traveling for a session is extremely nerve-racking, especially for a wedding. Because of this I actually gave myself a buffer in my travel days before and after the wedding just in case anything went down. The wedding day was smack dab in the middle of our trip. I loaded all the gear into my carry on, backed up the rest of the family and we headed out on our first plane ride post C19 (CC's first since she was 6 months old). After having no travel issues getting to Florida we got our rental car and headed out on our vacation/work trip adventure. First stop was the beach! The girls have never been before. We went to Daytona for a couple of nights before heading in to Tavares. There we got some family beach photos done by Grey Ann Photography and just soaked up as much sand and water as we could.

The Big Day!

Magical! Can I just tell you how much I loved everything about this day. First of all, we all stayed in the same hotel right by the venue, so I was able to be right there the whole time, and walking distance from the bride and grooms getting ready spots, the venue was in right around the corner too so there was no fear of forgetting something and it being too far out of reach. Everything went smoothly thanks to the Ruby's wedding planner Emily (yes, there was a lot of "Emily!" flying around that day), We had an absolutely blast at this stunning, on the water venue. The best part, these two love birds sealed their lives together forever in front of all their family and friends. Check out this slide show I made for them of their day, set to a song that Nick had written for Emily as a gift.

After Party - Day on Lake Dora

Yet another amazing moment that unless I was traveling with the couple getting married this may not happen. The Bride and Groom got everyone together the day after the wedding to have a day on the lake on a river boat cruise. What a fun time, mixing and mingling with all the friends and family and just relaxing after a busy day and night the day before.

Cherry on Top

Of course I can't take my whole family to Orlando without making a stop at the Happiest Place on Earth! What a crazy, but magical 2 days it was! Magic Kingdom on day one, followed by Park Hopper tickets for Epcot and Animal Kingdom day 2! Thanks to Emily and Nick for the amazing opportunity to be here in Florida and helping us get into the park. So beyond grateful too for my amazing travel agent who is an expert in Disney, for planning this entire trip for me so I could focus on my job for the wedding and enjoying this time with my family. Melissa Cheshire of Adventures With Cheshire LLC even ran my Genie+ for me from all the way back in Colorado while we were on rides and waiting in line. Lifesaver!

Grateful for these opportunities my job has created. Being able to document such amazing moments in great friends lives, traveling and seeing places with my family in tow and just doing what I love with a camera in hand every day.