a casa feliz wedding – winter park florida

It’s always an honor to travel to any wedding. This particular wedding was so special for many reasons… I’m going to get real personal here and explain why. October 20th 2017 I  shot my last wedding before undergoing the scariest surgery of my life. Brain surgery to remove a tumor at the center of my brain, and I  had no idea what the future would hold for me. I  heard someone ask the question the other day “Do you have a particular memory that you would want to relive, and could you put a price on that… if so how much would that memory cost to you?” I swallowed and thought of this exact time. October 22 2017… 3 days before surgery it was my last day home with my children, husband, and mother. I remember the exact moment, our youngest at the time, was just shy of 10 months he was standing on the edge of the couch and he was trying to take some big boy steps… slowly he let go, trusting that if he fell I would be there to catch him, and like that he let go, gathered his balance and took a step toward me… falling into my arms and just hugged me. I still get choked up by this memory! I  squeezed him, smelled his baby smell, and held back the tears that were stinging at the back of my eyes. Would this be the last memory I had with him? Would this be the only time I would see him walk? I’m thankful for the memories I’ve made since this day.. but that one will always be held tightly in my brain. What would I pay for this memory again? For that feeling of NOW… for the grasp of hope….? I can’t even begin to put a number on it.

This wedding was potentially my last but is also where I met Teagan, the Maid of Honor of our beautiful bride. I immediately just fell in love with her… all her girls really! Teagan and I  connected on an emotional level, and two years later when she got engaged she called me up and asked the big question ” Will you photograph my wedding?”… YES 1000s times YES… and I can’t wait to celebrate with her and her family again. But wait where the heck does THIS wedding come into play??? The wedding below on this blog… the one in Winterpark Florida … let’s just say it’s a family affair, and boy oh boy was I jumping for joy when I got the second call .. Tanya … Teagans sister was also getting MARRIED… shut the front flipping door. Two weddings same year… both on opposite sides of the U.S., there was no question we had to be at both.

April was beautiful… the weather was warm, but so was the love. So many family and friends came far and wide to celebrate Tanya and Andrew. High School sweet hearts, officially tying the knot.   My favorite part of there day was how relaxed everyone was. There was no rush, no desire to make the day anything other than what it turned out to be. She stopped as people arrived admiring her beauty and hugged each guest with such intentionality… I could feel it through my camera. These were HER people, and this was a moment that I know she will remember for the rest of her life. A life altering memory, that will always bring back a flood of emotions and hopefully a smile to her face.

There was no hesitation when they both got engaged, they knew images were one of the most important factors of their day. This is what we try to convey over and over to all of our couples. You get one shot… one wedding day… one moment and many memories to be captured. What is that day worth to you? It’s not about checking off a planning to do list… venue (check) cake (check) wedding photographer (check).. it may seem like that, and to some degree yes… but don’t let it be just that. YOU have the ultimate say… YOU get to choose how you remember your day.

So without further ado we present Tanya + Andrew and their beautiful Casa Feliz Wedding in Winter Park Florida!