The Wedding of Kaitlyn and Stan, Two Young Marines, 30 June 2007

It was my distinct honor and privilege to photograph the wedding of Kaitlyn and Stan, two young Marine 2nd Lieutenants, yesterday at the Dale City, VA Mormon Temple. They are such a beautiful couple and obviously very deeply in love. They had planned their wedding in the spring of 2008 but the USMC had other ideas and alerted Kaitlyn for deployment to Iraq in SEP 2007 with Stan following in FEB 2008, so they decided 10 days ago to accelerate things and set the date of the wedding for yesterday. With Stan in Artillery at Fort Sill, OK and Kaitlyn in Intelligence School Virginia Beach, VA, her parents in CA and his in PA…this wedding was put together in beautiful fashion with 100’s of phone calls and emails…one of which was to me. They had asked Suzie (SuzieView) to photograph the wedding on referral from the church…she was committed and so passed them to me. I readily agreed to this only if the Bride’s parents gave the photography fees to Kaitlyn and Stan for their honeymoon. This was my chance to give back to two wonderful young folks who proudly serve this great country of ours. My thanks to Suzie for getting me involved with this wonderful couple J

C&C are welcome…I am learning everyday…I made 868 photos yesterday and have tons of PSCS work next week. My favorite so far is the photo of the couple exchanging rings with Kaitlyn’s parents framed between them in the background…if Dad’s chest had swelled with pride any more I believe buttons would have been flying J

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Senond two of Kaitlyn and Stan

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Last two of Kaitlyn and Stan

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So, if I understand you correctly, you donated your photography fees back to the couple? If so, way cool!

On to the photos - I'm thinking the B&G will be very happy with these, especially if these are representative of the majority of the set. Well done!

Scott_Quier wrote in post #3469741
So, if I understand you correctly, you donated your photography fees back to the couple? If so, way cool!

On to the photos - I'm thinking the B&G will be very happy with these, especially if these are representative of the majority of the set. Well done!

Scott,

Thanks for your kind comments. Yes, I did tell the Bride's parents to give the photography budget to Kaitlyn and Stan. This is my sixth wedding and I rank myself as a serious amateur as to skill level. My other weddings were for friends and family and this was the first time I was offered a fee...I jumped at the chance to give back to these fine young officers. I am doing another military wedding in the fall under similar circumstances, e.g., no fee.

Great shots, Semper Fi, is the Major in the last image the brides father?

newbie_photog wrote in post #3469865
Great shots, Semper Fi, is the Major in the last image the brides father?

Newbie_photog,

Thanks for the kind comments...Yep he is Kaitlyn's Dad and actually he is a Lieutenant Colonel ; he is a Military Judge at a Marine base on the West Coast...that photo is of Kaitlyn's family

I just got on, Jim. Got your e-mail and your pictures are just beautiful. I'm sure the family is very happy. You did a great job. I can't wait to work with you in a month. Glad you got the chance to see a Mormon wedding in a church. The temple is in Kensington and no photography indoors, but the temple is beautiful. The Dale City building is hard to work with in dim light. I'm glad all worked well for you. They look very happy and I know their future is hard, but they are so much in love. Thanks again for such a great big favor. I can't tell you how pleased I am that you did this for them. They really were not planning to get married so quickly. Life in the military is very unpredictable. You are such a terrific person.

That was a very respectable thing that you did. I grew up in the military and was born on Camp Lejune military base. I have respect for you and I don't even know you. It is amazing that you did that for these people who have given and will continue to give so much fighting for the lives of those living in our country. What they give to us every day is priceless just as their wedding images are priceless and so you have given back to them a portion of what they give to us every day, a selfless act of kindness. The world is a better place because of people like you.

italianfemmy wrote in post #3471140
That was a very respectable thing that you did. I grew up in the military and was born on Camp Lejune military base. I have respect for you and I don't even know you. It is amazing that you did that for these people who have given and will continue to give so much fighting for the lives of those living in our country. What they give to us every day is priceless just as their wedding images are priceless and so you have given back to them a portion of what they give to us every day, a selfless act of kindness. The world is a better place because of people like you.

Alicia,

Thank you...I am honored by your words. It was a great pleasure to support these two young folks. I hope they will tresure these photographs for all time...after editing I suspect that I will end up with at least 400 good ones for their wedding portfolio. Some day I hope to be good enough to make this a 3rd career and in the meantime I will continue to support young folks with my photography skills as I learn and grow.

SuzyView wrote in post #3471126
I just got on, Jim. Got your e-mail and your pictures are just beautiful. I'm sure the family is very happy. You did a great job. I can't wait to work with you in a month. Glad you got the chance to see a Mormon wedding in a church. The temple is in Kensington and no photography indoors, but the temple is beautiful. The Dale City building is hard to work with in dim light. I'm glad all worked well for you. They look very happy and I know their future is hard, but they are so much in love. Thanks again for such a great big favor. I can't tell you how pleased I am that you did this for them. They really were not planning to get married so quickly. Life in the military is very unpredictable. You are such a terrific person.

Suzie,

Thank you,,,I could not have done this without your trust and encouragement. I had such a good time yesterday and these kids are just the best...they make your heart swell with pride The ceremony was beautiful...the words were very moving. Only one thing was different in this ceremony...the couple exchanged their rings after being declared "Husband and Wife" They had not seen each other for a month until they met at the alter...the "kiss" at the end of the ceremony went on forever...gave me plenty of time to run to the back and catch their march back down the aisle as Husband and Wife

I look forward to your son's wedding with equal excitement...we are going to have great fun...and I expect to learn a great deal from you on that day

What an inspiring story and rewarding day. Beautiful shots.

You deserve a high five, Jim.

mark

Awesome job Jim! nice

MDJAK wrote in post #3482026
What an inspiring story and rewarding day. Beautiful shots.

You deserve a high five, Jim.

mark

kathy.patterson wrote in post #3482188
Awesome job Jim! nice

Mark and Kathy,

Thank you both for the positive feedback It was a wonderful day and I truely enjoyed being a part of it. Kaitlyn and Stan represent the best of our great country

SuzyView wrote in post #3471126
The temple is in Kensington and no photography indoors, but the temple is beautiful. The Dale City building is hard to work with in dim light.

Would that by chance be Kensington MD? At the Morman temple you can see from the beltway?

JimAskew wrote in post #3469648
I readily agreed to this only if the Bride’s parents gave the photography fees to Kaitlyn and Stan for their honeymoon. This was my chance to give back to two wonderful young folks who proudly serve this great country of ours. My thanks to Suzie for getting me involved with this wonderful couple J

Great job and my tip of the hat to you for the small gesture you did to this couple. I did not serve in the military when I was younger but have the utmost admiration and respect for all that do and have. I appreciate all that has been given and granted to me by those that have given me my freedom. Thanks to all that have served or are serving and thanks to you for you kindness. Karma will repay you kindly.