There are polite and happy, reserved smiles. The ones you give when someone tells you a half-funny one-liner or gives you a compliment. Then, there are the big GIGANTIC smiles – the ones where your cheeks get sore, your teeth are shown, and a twinkle or two might appear in your eyes. These are my favorite kinds of smiles. I always notice “smile wrinkles” – the ones clearly developed through years and years of genuine smiles. These sorts of sorts of wrinkles are the ones that I will openly welcome on my face!
Karen and Ben, if I may say something incredibly forward… you two are going to have some of the most amazing smile wrinkles on your faces! Your wedding day was so flipping’ awesome. I had such an incredible time photographing you two and all of your family and friends. They were some of the most expressive people that I’ve had the honor of photographing.
I knew I would like the two of them before I met them. The two grew up in completely different places. Karen in Kansas and New Jersey and Ben in Taiwan and China. They both initially met at Boston University for their undergrad but then crossed paths in a few summers ago and immediately clicked. They dated long distance while Ben served in the Marines, often traveling together to explore Rome, Aruba, San Antonio and many beautiful cites on the US west coast. The following few facts about them are my favorites: They told me that they have a secret handshake and a victory dance. They love their Microsoft Zunes (and think that they are superior to iPods). They have a pet hamster and compete for his attention. They love making fantastically awesome silly faces with each other.
At their Halibut State Park engagement session, they had a great time jumping around different rocks, playing with chalk, cuddling in a blanket (because it was FREEZING), and always seemed to look out for each other to make sure that the other didn’t get stuck on a rock.
Their spring Willowdale Estate wedding was full of little details that reflected who they were as individuals as well as a couple. The two have Asian roots – and so they had the “double luck” Chinese character sculpted out of lego art. Their guestbook was a “guest log” – an actual tree slab. Ferrero Rochers held their place cards. Food is important to the two, and so they made sure to feed their guests delicious meals, topped off with amazing cake, coffee and a late night snack: chocolate chip cookies!