Daniel + Brittany: A stylized bridal shoot

Meet Daniel + Brittany.  GORGEOUS right?!  Back in January, after spending a week in Utah with my friend Stacy Young of Three Winks Studios and watching her KILL weddings I was inspired.  We were driving home one night and I told her that I wanted to do a complimentary shoot for a bride and groom who wanted to re-do their bridal session to practice all of the things I had learned with her while I was with her.  I knew there had to be other couples who despised their wedding pictures and wanted them re-done- because I was all too familiar with the horrors of bad wedding pictures (Isaiah and I were married in 2007 and re-did our portraits last summer).  I posted on Facebook that I was looking for REAL brides and grooms who were less than satisfied with their original pictures, who liked our work and would want to do a fun stylized bridal shoot with us and our team.  We got in about 10 different brides, all with incredible stories, but it was Daniel and Brittany who stood out to us.
They are a young couple, she’s 22 and he’s 26 and they were married last summer.  A couple week prior to their wedding, Daniel found out he had a rare and very active form of cancer called Sarcoma.  They found a very large tumor in his right leg and his life immediately changed.  This newly engaged couple who were looking forward to a very full and complete life together were now both fighting the battle of their lives.  Daniel underwent very aggressive rounds of chemo that left him completely bald by his wedding day.  Not only was he bald but had also lots a ton of weight, but nevertheless they were called to be married, so they went forward.  Daniel and Brittany fell in love at church. It was their interactions at youth group that formed the bond that will take them thru all of lifes challenges, but more than that, life’s amazing rewards.

In January, Brittany sent me her email telling me her story and I immediately shared it with our team, Isaiah, Anna, Paula, Kristal and Kristal, and we all knew they were the right fit.  We set the date for April 10th 2011, and in March Daniel got a clean bill of health, completely cured and cancer free.

When I text Brittany last night to let her know that I would be posting this blog today, she with excitement text me back “Yay” and also informed me that Daniel was scanned yesterday- and there is NO cancer or sign of it in his body.  Praise be to God.

Over the course of the session, I found out that Brittany is quite the model and Daniel makes her greatest accessory.  I promise there ARE pictures of them smiling together and enjoying eachother- but below are some of my most favorite!

Daniel + Brittany gave the team almost 100% creative control- they knew THEY HAD to incorporate baseball in the theme somehow THEY ARE HUGE FANS- we had dreams of Safeco Field but the Mariners were home, so that’s didnt work, we put our heads together and came up with some of the stuff below.  The first look was a soft and sweet, while the second look was a little more adventurous, a little more wild (just the stuff I love to shoot).  We took the pictures on train tracks next to a commercial dog food factory.

We wanted to create new and EDGY pictures for Daniel and Brittany and stay away from re-creating their original bridal portraits- we really wanted to keep the colors bright and alive- because that is what this couple is!  All styling and concepts for the shoot were created in collabo with Kristal Clark of Rokkandi.

Both Daniel, Brittany and the team were amazing.  The day was rainy and windy- but no one complained and we got awesome images out of it.

Brittany and Daniel it was a absolute honor to create new images for you + Isaiah and I will be believing for continued healing and a abundant marriage for you- long long days together.  We LOVE you both!

Shout out to the team who gave and gave and continue to give: