Mike and Jen's June 14th Wedding

The forcast was rain, but it didn't stop Jen and Mike's day from being perfect. The location was Whispering Pines and I had a great time photographing their wedding day. This was my second time shooting at Whispering Pines so it was fun finding new spots to take photos of the bride and groom. I had never met Jen and Mike before the wedding, but Jen was so laid back and easy to work with. Mike was a real trouper- he's a very clean man and he got down and dirty for me to get some awesome shots.

Jen's mother, Rebecca, takes care of my children at the daycare. She was so greatful for me photographing the wedding and really made me feel welcome.

I'll let the photographs do the rest of the talking.

This is where I made Mike's shoes dirty.

Then everyone of his groom's men got dirty with him. I'll do anything for a great background :)

Walking on this hill was Jen's artistic idea, even in her heals.

Awe yeah, down and dirty.

The favors.

Here is my shot of their rings- in their centerpiece.

"You can let go now daddy" were the words in the song. I was a fly on the wall during this touching moment.

Thanks Mike and Jen for a wonderful day and letting me a part of it!

Contest

Last Thursday and Friday were just horrible for me. Besides other troubles in my life which already had me in the dumps, my contest to win free wedding photography went down in a blaze. We found out that the poll was allowing multiple votes to be counted by PDAs and phones with web access. In an attempt to make things fair, my webdesigner and I changed the voting to an email based poll. I got a few contestants who were not happy with that decision especially after getting everyone they knew to vote the old way- so now they would have to contact EVERYONE again to REVOTE. And I totally agreed with them- pain in the rear.
After 2 heart renching days of debating what to do, I believe I was lead to making a fair decision.
People will find ways to cheat no matter how I would have set the voting up. If it wasn't the contestants cheating, people voting FOR them would have found a way.
I decided to divide up the money that would have been won, and gave each of the 5 couples $300 towards their wedding package. It's not much, but in a way, everyone won.
Needless to say, I don't think I'll be running another voting contest again any time soon :)

Winery Tour

On Saturday I took my dad out for a tour of a few wineries. This was a gift I had given him for Christmas, but was just now able to coordinate the first trip. I have made him a travel voucher where he can check off each PA winery he visits. The goal is to hit up all of them.

Saturday we visited 3. Naylor, Seven Valleys, and Marburg Estates.

This was the first time I had visited a winery. The tastings were free. We tasted all of each wineries wines. Most were too acidic. But I bought 2 bottles- Niagra from Naylor, and a peach flavored wine from Marburg Estates. I LOVE sweet- the closer to grape juice the better.

Isn't Seven Valleys' lilly pond beautiful? Both Naylor and Seven Valleys host weddings, so maybe I will find myself there again one day.

Wedding Photography Contest

I'm excited to announce that voting has begun on my main website for some lucky couple to win free wedding photography from yours truely.
They will recieve full day coverage and a DVD of their images with the copyright complimentary of Megan Zeller Photography.
Everyone needs to go vote and check out who is winning.
You can vote by checking the circle next to the name of the couple.

*Only one voter per IP address can be counted with this poll. Make sure you vote from home because if someone has already voted from your place of work, it will not recognize you as a new voter and "your vote will have already been counted" according to the poll.

You have until the 22nd to find a computer with an original IP address.
Good luck everyone!

Mark Viney's Promotion

What a treat. I was asked to travel to the Gettysburg battle fields to capture the promotion of Mark Viney to LTC. I must say that I'm really happy that he chose to have a professional photographer come out. The scene was beautiful. He definately picked a great backdrop for the event.

Their daughter, Megan :), was full of energy, so we did a non-traditional family portrait.

This is not the first time that I have worked with the Vineys (you may remember Megan's photos with the bunnies) and hopefully it will not be the last.

They are such a wonderful family that has always been very gratious to me for my work and have always been very hospitable. After photographing, they took everyone out to dinner, including me :) Told you they were great!

Megan drove us to dinner.
And after dinner, Megan had wound down enough for us to take this adorable shot.

May 31st, 2008

This past weekend was very busy for me, as will be every weekend until after August 23rd- which is my last booked wedding for the year (as of right now).

First, I photographed COL Thomas Kruegler's retirement ceremony at the VFW in Carlisle.

It was heart warming to see so many friends and family there to honor such a great man and dedicated soldier.

The event was upbeat and touching.
For me, the highlight was when the Commanding General of the US Army War College, General Williams, said to COL Kruegler: "You have lived your life to this point saluting those who out rank you, but today Sir, it is my turn to salute you." He stood face to face with him, and in silence and with exacting movements, he saluted him.

Here is the the backbone to COL Kruegler's career. No one can ever do what they do as a soldier without the support of others. Tom is lucky to have the love and support of these five ladies :)

Congratulations, and good luck in your future endevors!