We got to shoot Annie + Jonathan not just once, not just twice, but THREE times! Yes, we were there when he popped the question at Chateau Elan. We were there when we captured the season of their engagement and yes… we were there when they said, “I do!” How blessed are we to be able to witness such occasions and document it? I still totally remember nervously pretending to be just another guest at Chateau Elan in order to capture Jonathan’s surprise proposal to Annie. What an evening that was! It has now officially been two years since that moment, and we are so happy to now be presenting the photos of their wedding day!
You know, life throws obstacles at us sometimes. The ones that are capable of overcoming those obstacles are the ones that don’t let it bother them. They stay calm, face the challenge and choose to do what is right and do it well by giving it all they’ve got. That’s Annie + Jonathan to me. Rain on a wedding day is any bride’s worst case scenario, but the fact of the matter is, you have 50/50 chance of getting rain, and Annie did. But, did she panic? No…. Did she complain? No…. She had the attitude of, “Whatcha gonna do?” Gosh, I loved that about her and Jonathan! Because I mean…. what is anyone going to do about it? What CAN you do about it? NOTHING! But, what you do have control over are your feelings and your response to the situation. These two gracefully responded with positivity, and I admired that so much. When Craig and I got to their getting ready location, it POURED, but when we went in and greeted everyone, it was as if nothing was happening. WOW! I love that! They were in fact totally enjoying themselves and each other as a wedding party, and all we heard was laughter. Annie was all beautifully ready and her cute smile with her dimples never left her face. She was already ahead of the timeline…. her calmness created so much peace in the room.
When we got to the venue, we were so thankful to have the awning between the two buildings at the Yonah Mountains Winery. We as photographers have to stay positive too because if we don’t, we can allow panic and stress overpower our creativity, and we definitely don’t want to do that! We always try to make the best out of what we’ve got, and we just knew that what we had was more than enough. All of God’s creation is beautiful like our bride, our groom, and yes, even rain…. so, we decided that we were going to embrace what was happening and use the awning to our advantage. And then guess what happened??? The rain stopped for a short while and actually made the sky so uniquely cool! We didn’t know when the rain would come back, but we just had to go out there to the vineyard, take the risk of getting wet a little and just go for it! Well, we were grateful that Annie + Jonathan were not picky at all. They’re so laid back that Annie was so willing to just go out there even if it wasn’t the best of conditions. GOSH! Those photos turned out magical! It was jaw dropping beautiful, and I must say that those are my favorites from their wedding.
Annie + Jonathan, we pray that you will always stay the way you are. We pray that no matter what life may bring, that you have the attitude of “come what may….’. We pray that you will always look to the Lord for wisdom, clarity, and love. That your love for one another will grow deeper as your relationships with Him grow stronger. May He always be the center in your thoughts, actions and decisions as you live through this journey called life. Thank you for giving us the honor of being there with you through all of your life’s endeavors. God bless you and……… stay cool! ;)
With much love,
Craig + Unchong
