Becky and Ian

Wooo Hoo! Finally back to the blog! I had to take some time this week and work on some layout and spacing issues I was having with my blogger template. It was one of those things that had annoyed me from the start, but thought I'd get into fixing it when I had some extra time. Well, I realized extra time was not anywhere in the near future so I did it the other day! Hope you like the changes! Now, on to the fun stuff...

Becky and Ian were married last Friday in a ceremony Chilicothe, Ohio. They had so many friends and family coming from so far away, it was really touching to see all the people who gathered for their big day. The ceremony was held at the beautiful (and historic) Calvary Lutheran Church and the reception was at the Christopher Conference Center. Here are a few of my favorite shots...

I love flowers...


A quite moment for the bride...



This ivy covered garage didn't actually belong to the church where we were shooting, but it backed right up to it so I was going to try to shoot the girls there without being noticed. That was until the owner came out to get her car! She was only to happy to let us shoot there though... Nice people there in Chilicothe!

Becky...

A relaxed Ian during the ceremony...

Do I have to say more???

A big "Thank You" to my friend, Erin Smith who second shot with me! She got some great shots that day, here's my favorite. I don't know if the people in the passing car were guests or if they were random passers-by who just wanted to snap a picture of a bride and groom that day, but it's cute!

Thank You to Becky and Ian for having us! We were honored to be there for your wedding! Can't wait to show you the rest of the photos!

Testing...

Please bear with me while I try to make an even better heatherclaypool.blogspt.com for you! Yes, you!

Way to go 'Men'!!!

I'm not a huge t.v. watcher, and for some reason the shows that I do happen to get attached to often end up off the air in record time. I think back to Rags to Riches, a show set in the 1960's about a group of orphaned girls who are adopted by a frozen food magnate in true Daddy Warbucks style. It probably went off the air because it was the first-ever musical t.v. show. Looking back on it now, I agree...the concept was pretty corny. But back then, it was kinda fun to learn some classics like Rockin' Robin, Yakity Yak and the like.

So this past winter, while my one show was hit by the writers strike, I had a chance to check out AMC's Mad Men. Like Rags to Riches, it's set in the 1960's and it chronicles the lives of the men (and women) who work at a Madison Avenue advertising agency. Unlike R2R, it's not a musical (mercifully). It's a great show, and it really lays things out about the good ol' days of the 60's in an entirely new way. While the feminist in me wants to scream and yell about the blatant disrespect toward women in the workplace they depict, I also have to laugh at things like the scotch-swilling bosses at lunch time and ashtrays in every scene (did everyone smoke back then?).

I was worried that there may not be an audience for Mad Men and that it would be gone in a matter of months. However, yesterday I was proven wrong when the show picked up their first Emmy Nod! It's a show worth checking out; so if you find yourself not wanting to watch another rerun this summer, season 2 premieres on July 27 at 10pm!

Elizabeth and Brian...Married!

I wish someone could tell me why after so many years of attending countless weddings I still choke up when I hear Canon in D and the bride walks down the aisle. This weekend was Elizabeth and Brian's big day, and if you recall their engagement session, the weather did not cooperate with our plans. We had thunder and lightning all morning and then all of a sudden the skies cleared and we were able to get some great shots outdoors. Well, you might say that's been the pattern for Elizabeth and Brian. It's worth noting that rain was not in the forecast, so we had no idea where the downpour came from but it came! They had a garden ceremony planned, so it was heartbreaking to think about moving everything inside. However, just like with their engagement photos, the weather cleared just in time for the ceremony to be held out in the garden just as planned! The wedding was held at the Mooreland Mansion in Kirtland, Ohio. It's really a photographer's dream! The grounds are simply stunning and the interior of the mansion is like something out of Architectural Digest! Simply put, there was no shortage of great places to take photos! Here are just a few...

This was from a page out of the "Wedding Oracle", a book that was just sitting on the ledge at the salon where the girls had their hair done. This page says it all...

The flowers...




A shoe shot...It's not easy being a flower girl...

Mom helping her daughter into her gown...


The blushing Bride...

The Groom...


I love the use of selective focus. This little fountain was smack in the middle of the aisle!



Mmmmm...cake!

These deer stalked us at the reception...



The happy couple...

The mansion as we pulled away...


Congratulations Brian and Elizabeth! Have a wonderful time on your cruise, and thank you so much for having us!

DJ and Julie...the Wedding!

One of my favorite photographers recently blogged about the "trepidation" she sometimes feels when meeting a couple for the first time on their wedding day. I got a little taste of that this past weekend when I finally met a couple I've been talking to over the phone and e-mailing for nearly the past year! Like this other photographer, I was immediately put at ease (and hopefully they were too) when we met the day of their rehearsal. There was so much love and such a great sense of what family was all about, I just don't know if my blogging can do it justice. Imagine, a family so close that the groom's father was also his best man, the bride's twin sister the maid of honor, and the priest that performed the grooms first communion making the trip from Columbus to Indianapolis to perform the ceremony. It was a beautiful day in so many ways! Here are just a few of my favorites from this weekend. I played around with some different tones and effects...more so than I usually do. I just couldn't help myself!

Julie's perfectly simple ballet flats fit right into this little window pane in the church office where she was dressing...

The ladies attaching the train...

Blogger has size limitations, but in the full-size version of this image you can see DJ's face as Julie and her father walk down the aisle..


I don't know what I like more about this picture...the look on Julie's face, or the fact that she and her sister appear to have halos!


Doing a little happy dance out of the church!


I've never posed a car before, so it was fun to have the driver maneuver this classic car around...

I think this one is my favorite...A little on the dramatic side, but you see how truly happy they are!

Thanks so much to Julie and DJ for letting me have the honor of photographing your beautiful wedding! Congratulations!

Happy Birthday!

I know I've got a ton of pictures from last weekend's wedding to post, and I promise...I'll have them up later today, but in the meantime I just had to wish this guy a happy birthday!

Happy Birthday to my husband, Isaac!