This post is looooong.  But it’s full of embarrassing, funny, and tearful moments, so I think it’s worth sticking around for.  You should also know, that most of these photos were just random accidents.  We do try sometimes to get good behind the scenes photos, but mostly we forget because we’re too dang busy on wedding days to think about stuff like that.  Also, by the time we remember, we’re all sweaty and looking like a hot mess.  So get excited.

The Funny Faces

Let’s start with the funny: Dillon dead-eying Emily.  Dillon has… ummmmm… well……. sometimes he doesn’t have the best resting face.  You’ll see.

Also, we’re maniacs.But Emily is the best lighting tester of all time.  Her faces are magic.Mine?  Not so much…This is our Take the picture NOW, I have things to do face.  Corporate video shoots are different than weddings, and there are sometimes long gaps where we are waiting.  Andddddd sometimes I find gems from Dillon when I look at the pictures later.
Also, Dillon is a great light tester.But those faces…And sometimes we make him rearrange furniture or take the cardboard off a mirror so we can have the perfect shot.  🙂 🙂  He’s a trooper!And he’s still smiling!Oh hey, there’s Josh!  In a totally normal, non embarrassing picture…I’m not sure what was going on here, but it looked intense!  This was right before Dillon jumped into a limo with the ladies, and they all came out calling him DJ Dillon.  We have many talents around here.  🙂
My thinking face is also quite terrible…  🙂  But my laughing face is on point?  For real, I was trying to decide whether to switch out batteries in my flash before the ceremony started.
Me, trying not to trip down the stairs.And for today’s dose of random… SMILE!!!!

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Bittersweet Moments

Switching gears majorly here, but I don’t want to miss the reason we do this.  It’s to preserve memories.  And unfortunately, we never know if one of our photos will be someones last.  We’ll go back to funny pictures in a minute, but don’t miss this.

I met Lindsay and her mom at Boston Children’s Hospital this summer while we were there for Zane’s surgery.  Lindsay passed away right before Christmas at 18 months old.

These moms represent 5 different states, and 7 different kids who were patients at BCH.  We leaned on each other for support and I couldn’t be more thankful that we were all there at the same time.Here are those 7 kids I spoke of.  I can’t even fathom how many hours of surgery have gone into keeping these little ones alive.  Well over 100 for sure.  

We knew Lance (the groomsman here, on the right) was terminally ill at the wedding, but it doesn’t take the sting away when he passed a few months later. Looking back at these pictures, it’s hard to imagine that Lindsay’s grandfather passed away just 2 months later.  He was so full of life, and I’m thankful to Emily and Jamey for getting these lovely pictures of him laughing and smiling on such a happy day.

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That Time Dillon Lit the Unity Candle…

Okay, back to happy and funny.  🙂

Once upon a time, in the middle of a wedding, the bride realized the candles weren’t lit, and there wasn’t a lighter…

But hey… a guest has a lighter!  Not all heroes wear capes, y’all.  Dillon swooped in and took the lighter to the front…… and then tried to light the side candles so the ceremony could continue.  Yay!!!Except… it was CRAZY windy and those suckers just weren’t going to be lit, much less stay lit.So the entire bridal party jumped in to shield the candles from the wind.  I think their faces sum it up well.  It was fantastic comic relief!!

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Oops!

Let’s play peek-a-boo with Dillon.  Can you find him in the three photos below?

Here I am, excited for couple photos… and totally in Josh’s shot here.  🙂  Oops!  Thanks Christina for catching me in action, lol!

Just your everyday lighting test…

Ahhhh… and the time a propeller broke on our drone and it immediately crashed in a vast peanut field.  I’m the only witness, because everyone else was on the other side of the building.  Thank goodness I did witness it, or we may have never found it!

Also, that is exactly why we follow all the FAA rules.  It stinks, but it’s for everyone’s safety– those on the ground and those in the sky!

This isn’t an oops, but we do have a casual rule with Fowler Studios.  So long as it doesn’t impede the flow of the wedding day, we’re always down for taking some cell phone snaps for the bride and groom (and grandma, of course!).  We know our photos won’t be ready immediately, so a quick picture really means a lot to the bride and groom!

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The Real Behind-the-Scenes

Then there are cool moments like this.  Husband and wife photographing and filming another husband and wife.  🙂  It warms my heart to be able to witness weddings so often!

I love showing couples some back-of-camera previews.  It gives them confidence to know that yes, they indeed look amazing and have nothing to worry about!!
Emily, thanks for having my back and treating our couples like your own!Then there’s the super focused moments.  In all honesty, this is most of our day– super focused!  But there aren’t usually pictures of it because… we’re focused on the task at hand!
Oh hey Christina!  Remember that time I made you drive everyone around in a golf cart when you’d never driven one before?  You did fantastic!!!  Then remember how I got us lost on the golf cart?  I’ll leave the driving to you.  🙂“Dude, check out this sick shot I just got!”  –Josh at every. single. wedding.Oh hey Tyler!!  It was fun actually working a wedding with you this year!Working with the bride and groom is just so fun.  They see pictures and video of other couples, and hear reviews, and that’s how they decide to use us.  But the magic happens when they see themselves in those photos and videos!  Nothing makes me happier than their reviews!I’m prettttyyyyyyy hands on during the wedding day.  I’ve learned that the bride always needs help with her veil and dress, so I do what I can!  It’s her day to be a princess, and I love doing my part to make that happen.This looks like an innocent picture, but trust me, Emily is literally watching her back to make sure no one lights up a sparkler and catches her on fire.  100%
When I’m directing my couples, I try really hard to mess up my words and look like an idiot.  I usually nail it. And sometimes (like the middle picture below), the groom comes to help make the girls laugh.  🙂
I know it looks like we’re coming on strong here below, but what’s actually going on is some guests are walking up, so we stepped to the side for a second and prepped the next picture while they said hello.  It’s a constant balance between getting the photo + video the couple wants, but also not being in the way of their memories.  We’re most hands on during portraits, and try to let the rest of the day unfold as naturally as possible.What???  You made it to the end!!  Let me know which was your favorite.  We’ll try to embarrassingly re-create it next year, of course!

Many thanks to all who either took or were in these photos! Emily, Christina, Heather, Tyler + Martin, Jamey and our in-house team, Dillon + JoEllen.

And a big thank you to all our clients.  Without you, we wouldn’t be doing what we love!

-Josh + Susan