I have known Sean for years, starting as co-workers back in the day at
Pierce Promotions & Event Management. He's been a friend that I
didn't realize until now how long we've been friends for. And by
friends, I mean I've been able to witness him don a female cheerleader
uniform around Portland. Don't judge, folks, it was Halloween. Despite
this, he is an extremely talented graphic designer, web designer,
animator, etc., the list goes on. Hire him.
Enter Nicole. She
was friends with my friend
Beth (Talbot) Geary who married another
friend John at Laudholm Farm this past June. Nic ended up a co-worker
at Pierce with Sean, Beth, and myself and the rest is history. She has
become one of my best lady friends and graced
emilie inc. with her
amazing ol' "traffic ninja," multi-tasking, business, and marketing
skills, serving as our Studio Manager before
Megan Swann took over. I
loved the opportunity to work with Nic in a different capacity and
industry.
This was also quite fortunate for Sean. Having Nic
work at a wedding photography company has made his own wedding planning a
snap, no doubt. I'm sure he was jealous that she had her wedding
inspiration folder quietly tucked away at the studio. He'd never admit
it, but he had his own secret wedding inspiration folder hidden in his
snowboard boot in the basement. Don't lie, Sean. Cat is out of the
bag.
I cherish my history and friendships with each of them, and I
love the moments I now share with them as they have grown together.
Marathon movie days at their house with Jan Mee Chinese food are some of
my favorite memories. I have progressed immensely with my crab rangoon
sharing, and I have been able to provide valuable customer feedback on
the various couches they've owned over the years through my lounging on
them for movies or crashing on them after returning late from shooting a
wedding and not making it back home to Peaks Island.
Nic and I
were psyched she secured our
Steve Phillips as her wedding photographer
for the big day next June. So Megan helped me with the fitting wedding
present of me shooting their engagement session. We sneaked one in this
November on a gorgeous sunny Saturday, just as the chilly air rolled in
for the season. Nic and I knew our session had to start with a whiskey
shot for Sean to loosen him up in front of the camera. No whiskey was
shot, but they enjoyed a couple beers while I snapped around them
upstairs at
RiRa. Sean was definitely expelling some of his goofiness.
He is a total ham, as Nic says. And I noticed it helped Nic get some
nervous giggles out of her system. In all my years of knowing her, I've
never seen her just giggle for two hours. Aw, such cute lovebirds.
We
headed to the State Pier and Whale Wall next door to get some outside
shots that highlighted Portland, before we hit the water's edge on the
Eastern Prom. I had a blast photographing my two friends who have
decided to make such a huge commitment to each other. Totally warms my
heart and I loved that I was able to capture just a little bit of that
for them. To witness them together is honestly just perfect. Nic and
Sean are two peas in a pod. They balance each other, ground each other,
and clearly love each other without question. Honestly, I was a little
nervous photographing such good friends. The entire time I was
shooting, I was trying to stay focused on making photos they would love
for years to come and that fit their personality as a couple, but also
to not get side tracked by this same fact. I feared the images would
lack emotional and visual depth, if I got distracted by my knowing them
so well, that I wouldn't be able to see beyond "just two friends in
front of my lens." In the end, I feel I was able to overcome that and
actually knowing them allowed me to be a little more frank with them --
ahem, mostly with Sean and telling him to stop making his eyebrow faces,
which before this day, are the only types of snapshots I have of Sean.
Those crazy eyebrows. In all of them.
Nic and Sean, I hope I
have succeeded in providing some non-crazy eyebrow shots for you and
captured a few moments you'll want to hang on your wall. Thanks for
allowing me to do this for you. I am beyond happy for you both and
cannot wait for the wedding!
