cindy cieluch photography . blog

I’m taking off for Bigfork to shoot Katie + Jeremiah’s wedding at BruMar Estate. I’m so excited to go back there!!!  Be back on Monday!  Until then…I’ll leave you with this hysterical image from today’s family shoot.  Only kids can come up with this stuff!

At last.  One of my fave couples of all time.

They are seriously so insanely incredible that when I told Joey I was juuussssst about done with their blog posting, she replied, “Oh, don’t worry…we’re in no rush.  We know you’re in the middle of wedding season and we don’t want you staying up late at night working on our stuff.”

OK, this is NOT normal!  But then again, Joey + Patrick are not normal.  They are above average.  They are the coolest of the cool, smoothest of the smooth and the sweetest of the sweet.  As with most weddings, a series of hysterical mishaps occurred throughout their big day.  For example, the priest got so excited during their ceremony that he pronounced Patrick Vincent O’Connell as “Richard Vincent O’Neil.”  And then an FBI agent yelled at us for posing in front of an “FBI Door.”  But wait —- the tire on their Hummer Limo also exploded, forcing them to ride in my rental car to the reception and taxi cab to their hotel.  OH….and right after the flat tire episode, an undercover cop pulled us over for driving through a red light.  Don’t worry…the cop gave Patrick a warning as his “wedding gift.”

Most people would cry or freak out if only one of those incidents happened to them on their wedding day.  But Joey + Patrick were simply happy to be tying the knot surrounded by their family + friends.

Now that I’ve given you an idea of some of the crazy things that happened…let me tell you how AWESOME, BEAUTIFUL, THOUGHTFUL, SPIRITUAL, INTIMATE, DETAILED….AND (I’ll say it again) AWESOME this wedding was to capture.  Joey + Patrick’s main goal was for everyone to have a wonderful time…and trust me, that goal was met!  All of the guests were mingling with new friends, dancing until the wee hours, and celebrating the awesomeness of Joey + Patrick.  Everyone was having so much fun that we wrapped up the party at Joey + Patrick’s hotel with beers and pizza.

And to top it all off, the wedding was in Washington D.C. and the reception was in Annapolis.  It’s the farthest distance I’ve traveled for a wedding and the experiences were better than I imagined they would be.  Not only did I get to see some of my closest friends, but I finally got the opportunity to shoot with my mentor, inspiration and friend Kathy.  Here’s what Kathy and I experienced on this amazing day.

It doesn’t get any better than this.

During a prayer in the ceremony, a single tear streamed down Joey’s face.  Can you see it?  She made me cry!

Yesssss!!!!!

The lovely FBI door!

The infamous limo…RIGHT after the tire blew up!  At least we got some photos inside of it before it was towed away!

The William Paca House & Gardens was a stunning site for the reception!

I met Joey + Patrick through one of my bestest friends in the world, Mia (who is Joey’s cousin!)  Remember Matt + Mia from their wedding last year?

I couldn’t think of a better way to end their reception.  I love all the passion.  Yeah yeah!

The next day, we slept in a bit…ate tons of BBQ…then went to a park near Joey’s parents’ house for their *day after* shoot.

Congratulations you two!  THANK YOU for an amazing week!!!

More to come soon from tonight’s sparkling wedding in Cascade…and last week’s in Great Falls…AND the one in Washington D.C.  Wow.  I’ve got some crazy catching up to do!

I LOVE my clients.  I really do.

This evening, The Bleskin Family stopped by my house to introduce me to their new puppy Gunnar.  They saw Sam on my blog (see post below) and knew that they better bring their baby Golden over pronto!  I’m in love.  Matt is so scared that I’m going to bring another doggie home soon.  How can you resist this face?!?!?!?!

THANK YOU for your visit, Bleskin Family!

I’ve got a thing for babies.  I’ve also got a thing for Golden Retrievers. So this session made my day.

Sam (the Golden) may not be the youngest baby in the house anymore, but he’s still a big ol’ baby!

Gavin wasn’t the only one crying.  Sam had to be held down for this shot!

Gavin is so alert at only 2 weeks old!  We tried doing the whole sleepy baby thing, but he was too busy checking everything out.

What a beautiful little boy…

Grandma was visiting and helped keep Gavin calm.  I love how proud she is…and how small he is.

Brandi came with me and grabbed this killer shot.

Dad had to run back to work after the shoot.  A man in uniform + a newborn…..yeah, makes you MELT.

I used to make Brandi pose for me nearly 10 years ago during my college photography classes, while I was still rockin’ my Canon Rebel 35mm.  She had *IT* then…and she’s still got *IT* now.

But this girl isn’t just another pretty face.  She’s a dear friend who was my UCA cheerleading camp sidekick (I used to lift and throw her around), Austin roommate (during my long-distance days with Matt) and photography buddy.

Yep, Brandi is also a photographer! She’s based out of San Antonio and has this raw, beautiful talent and true love for photography.  I believe her vision for others stems from her intense passion for her family (she’s married to her high school sweetheart and they have the 2 cutest girls EVER).  It’s been a pleasure watching her photography grow with each session into her own style and flair.

I had the honor of taking some new headshots for her…and then Brandi did some for me and Jeff.  Who’s Jeff?  No, I didn’t give Matt the boot!  HA!  But we do have a new addition to the CC Photography gang!  A new website is on the way very, very soon and it’ll explain.  Stay tuned!  I’m still catching my breath after last Friday’s wedding and preparing for a wedding in Cascade on Saturday.  Until then…here’s Brandi and her beautiful self.  THANK YOU for flying up here to visit us!!!!!!

P.S. Brandi just posted some pics she took of me. Ahhhh!  Thank you girl!

Matt + I celebrated our 4 year anniversary on Friday in Glacier National Park with Jared + Trish…….AND A GRIZZLY BEAR AND CUB!  The story is scary, funny and better told by Trish.  Check it out on their blog!

I don’t get the opportunity to do sister-only shoots that often…and I hope that changes.

We laughed a ton, got bit my psycho mosquitoes, almost ran out of gas, randomly ran into their dad and had an absolute blast!

This was taken on their family farm.  Sweeeet car.

I LOVED how Taylor was always looking up to her big sis.

They wanted to dress alike because they always did as little girls.  Too cute!