for you from me....

One of my favorite things to do is engagement photo sessions - they are always fun, they can be anything you want to be & the stress of planning for the big day has yet to be all consuming.

These sessions last for about two hours they are playful, energetic, & often happen on day break..

That being said, it is a beautiful way for you to get a custom to having your photo taken over a period of time.

I would like to offer some complimentary engagement sessions to couples who have booked their wedding date.. Please let me know when & where you are getting married by emailing me at:

info@thehappygallery.com

These sessions are available Wednesday to Sunday and usually commence at day break. 

I only book one per day so it will be a matter of first in.. This is not a competition, it is a way of me giving back and honoring the happy galleries name.

Look forward to meeting with you.

BJP

www.thehappygallery.com

The memories....

Today as i was spending some time editing i started to wonder what it was that people remembered most about their wedding?

Was it the smell of your flowers? Or the feeling of your heart pounding on your chest? The quiet advice people share before you walk down the isle? Was it the sound of the ground rising to meet your every footstep? Was it the look on your Grooms face when he saw you for the first time? Or the music being played as you committed to a life together, for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse?  

was it the touch of your husbands lips as he softly kissed you on a promise of a life forever?

i remember feeling an unquestionable peace knowing that i was going to be married to the only person in the world that i knew would love me my whole life no matter what.... i also remember thinking i have no idea how today will go, but it will go & i will be left with the photo's & the memories... we hadn't practiced our dance, but we knew what song we would shuffle too, we hadn't practiced our speeches, but we knew we wanted to share our happiness with everyone there.. 

As a wedding photographer, it is my job & anyone else that chooses to do so to ensure that each photo takes you back to a moment on your special day. Every time you look at a photo you should be able to remember the conversation, the feeling, the sounds around you, the details on your dress, the smell of your partner, your best mans speech, it should be there in front of you in pictures...

if you can spare a minute do you mind sharing what you remember most about your wedding?

the specialness of a wedding is as unique as the moment in time it was lived in... 

BJP

www.thehappygallery.com

I choose to believe..

When you have a dream and you have the desire to head in the direction of that dream you know there will be both the experience of many a good day & the hesitation that can slow you down of a not so good day.

Both usually visit when you least expect it, but the one thing i can tell you i am sure of is that the good has & will always outshine the not so good.

Push on, that's how it has to be sometimes & this week i have celebrated the good & spent time disagreeing with the not so good.  It does to me sometimes feel like the chasing of a dream is selfish.  Staying up late at night,  spending days away from my family, being on the phone, on the computer, seemingly constant distraction.

However this week when for a brief few moments I felt the gentle touch of my dream in the palm of my hand i knew that it was all going to be worth it. not for recognition, not for money, not for any other reason than the calm of self belief.  

Often people really do want to believe in you, often you really want to believe in yourself & rightly so you should. While you chase your dream you will walk with tiredness, you will visit joy as a friend but

 self belief is where you should live...

BJP

www.thehappygallery.com

little finds...

What is amazing about looking through the viewfinder is the incredible subtle details that you would otherwise miss..

It is the nerves of a groom in preparation, it is the giggles of a bride with the final touches of makeup being applied, a fathers soft words & a mothers tears, a grandparents quiet knowing of the life road ahead, the apprehensive wait for the car to arrive, the groom greeting the guests, seeing the friends finding their place to be witness to a promise of a life together.

The collective inhale of the wedding as the music commences & the bride first appears, the silent talking of the bride & groom as they grip hands at the alter, the exhilaration of the wedding party at their first kiss.

It is all there before you as you photograph through the wedding, but it is in the hours spent viewing the wedding afterwards that the moments truly unfold in the pictures that reveal the little finds in the moments stolen by the love of those two people that make being asked to photograph a wedding a very special responsibility.

BJP

www.thehappygallery.com