Connor Studios Blog

Jessica and James let Tropical Storm Danny know who was boss last night.  After a rehearsal that was almost flooded out, Jessica and James’ wedding went off without a hitch!  We had a warm sunny day yesterday.  When a huge set of clouds came up before the ceremony on the Chesapeake Bay, I was quietly (very quietly) concerned that it might not go well by the time we got to the ceremony.  I was wrong.  :-)

We had a beautiful lightning storm off to the north and everyone got to sit outside watching the show and enjoy a beautiful night.  This is a 30 second exposure outside at Silver Swan Bayside in Stevensville, Md.  If you look right over their heads, you will see a lightning bolt.

As I was testing out the light, I jumped in for a quick self-portrait:

I can’t wait to post more pics from the wedding.  It was beautiful!  I had some great help from Chip Litherland who flew up from Florida just to help me out.

Check back for more later!

The wedding in Sweden was absolutely beautiful.  For those of you following us on Twitter and Facebook, you read about the weather that day.  Friday was an absolutely gorgeous day and then Saturday morning we woke up to rain (and lots of it).  I had an 8-year streak up to that day of never having it rain on a wedding I photographed and I was ready to kiss that streak goodbye.  Not even the most optimistic among us would put a dime on being able to have this beautiful outdoor wedding outdoors.

This would have really gotten to some (maybe even most) brides and grooms.  Not Pär and Marina!  I wish I could be as easy-going as they are.  I knew they didn’t want to do it inside but they rolled with it in a way I wish I could more often.

There is a saying that good things come to those who wait.  About 45 minutes before showtime — with most of the guests already in the indoor backup wedding spot, the rain stopped.  Looking at the heavily overcast sky, it really could have started up at any time.  They were getting married right on the sea between Sweden and Denmark (just south of Helsingborg for those of you who know Sweden).  The call was made by both of them that if it wasn’t raining at that second to do it outside and it was the right call.

We walked over to the spot and everyone put their umbrellas aside and watched as Marina and Pär entered the garden for the first time.  It was an absolutely beautiful wedding — simple and beautiful.  Marina looked absolutely beautiful in the dress that she and her mom made together.  God kept the rain away for the entire wedding and reception (even popped out some sun during the reception for a moment).  It couldn’t have happened to a more wonderful couple.

I have known Pär for almost 15 years (exactly) since I was an exchange student in Sweden.  Not only have we stayed in touch but I consider him an amazing friend.  When Pär was a groomsman at my wedding we met Marina for the first time.  They were still early on in their relationship but Nicole and I couldn’t have bigger supporters (and nags) for them to marry one day.  There are just those people you know are perfect for each other (and I made sure to tell him that EVERY time we spoke after that!).  I consider it nagging for a good cause.

Something tells me that it didn’t matter what Nicole and I said — it was meant to be.

To view all the photos, click here. The password is the bride’s last name (all lower case).

If you are a glutton for punishment, you can see a ton of our photos in two slideshows from the trip.
slideshow 1
slideshow 2

I am laying here in Copenhagen on my last night editing photos.  :-(  It has been such a wonderful trip but we will be leaving in the morning to return home after two weeks.  We have brides and grooms who need us!  :-)

The wedding turned out beautifully and hopefully you will be seeing bunches of images soon.

Just wanted to leave you with my semi-vacation advice.  Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses.

We were walking through Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen and I had never seen Grace stop and smell flowers before.  Nicole told me she started doing it in July.  It got me thinking about how busy my life is back home as a photojournalist, wedding photographer, husband and father.  It took me traveling thousands of miles around the world to take some downtime and watch my daughter stop to smell the flowers.  I hope I can bring a little more balance back with me and not miss this again.

We had such great response from everyone from the 33rd birthday sale that we wanted to extend it another week.  Use promo code HAPPY33 before 8/26 to get 33% off all your print orders!

Every year around my birthday, we do our yearly Signature Print Sale as a gift to you (I’m a giver).  This year was the big 33 so we decided it would be a perfect time to let you save 33% on all your print orders!

You only need to do two things to save:

1. Order before August 18th
2. Use promo code HAPPY33 when checking out

Couldn’t be easier!

Click here to go to your event and make sure you use promo code HAPPY33 when checking out.

Email me if you need passwords.

We are getting ready to hop on our flight for Par and Marina’s wedding in Sweden and couldn’t be more excited!  I used to live there 15 years ago and can’t wait to get back.  My last time was a few years ago after shooting a wedding in Paris and hopping up there for a week.  This will be my first time to take Nicole and Grace though.  :-)  The wedding is going to be a gorgeous and we are so happy to be going.

While Nicole and Grace have been packed for four days, I am just starting a few hours before our flight to Sweden!  Getting all our wedding orders squared away and shooting the tennis tournament every night had me swamped all week so now is the first free time I have.

To all of our clients:  We will be returning on August 20th but will be available most of the time by email so don’t be shy!

Make sure to keep up with our trip right here — we will be posting a ton.