Now what??

Ok the biggest day of the year has come and gone, and I'm left scratching my head. Football is over. Did the game just fly by or what?

Since they switched the Pro Bowl to be the week before the Superbowl, I now have nothing to look forward to. The NFL combine is always intriguing so I will geek out over that, but I have to tell you I'm already feeling the emptiness. i can't believe the Colts lost that game. I like Peyton Manning, great guy GREAT QB, but showed he was human yesterday. It left me and my boy wondering....what if...

My youngest son Diego is really into football, even under 2 years of age he says Oregon Ducks when he sees the big O anywhere. For his 1st Birthday I bought him a football he can throw. When he drops it he says "fumble" and get all excited. i think he may have heard Dad once or twice......scream fall on it!!

Here Diego is giving his touchdown celebration, he completely redefines the term mini me! I have been fortunate enough to have spent most of my days at home with him and our bond is amazing. The other two and I are close as well, but this guy is certainly a bright spot for us! he was our surprise baby, we thought we were done. But God had other plans, and what a blessing he has been to our whole family.

Not to put any pressure on him, but if he goes into the NFL draft in 20 years I could still be around to watch him win a SuperBowl!  How crazy is it that Archie Manning saw both of his sons win a SuperBowl?!

How amazing would that be?

OK, back to Photography....just booked another client and will be shooting this Sunday for their Save the date cards and Invitations. Plus working on some really exciting business opportunites....more to come soon!

And the WINNER is........!

When I read this entry, I really got a sense of who this couple is. I don't know, their story just stuck with me.  I could hear the passion he has for her and they are apparently working super hard to be together. they followed up their entry with a thank you e-mail for this contest, and I could tell this would be a real blessing to them. They also provided some great shots that really put them over the top, enough of my babbling.... hear their story for yourself!

My name is Aaron and my fiancee' just came and informed me that I need to enter this contest you are running.  She found you at the wedding showcase, has been meticulous looking over your website ever since, and absolutely loves your work.  We have a fairly interesting story and are fairly interesting people so I figured I'd give it a shot (and of course I want to marry her so I'll do anything to make her happy...wink wink).  

I am from near Salem OR and she (her name is Corey by the way...and she is really good looking) is actually from Canada, near Toronto.  We have both been living in Australia for the past several years working with a Christian non-profit organization where we worked with troubled youth, did medical work in Papua New Guinea, worked in the slums of Indonesia, and a lot of other stuff that is worth doing without a paycheck.  Australia is where we met, fell in love (with each other), and got engaged.  We are now waiting on a fiance' visa for Corey so we can get married the legal way here in Oregon.  

Funnily enough though, volunteering doesn't pay that well and we are trying to do a really fun wedding on a really low budget.  And free wedding photography by someone my fiancee' is a HUGE fan of...yeah that could help a lot.  Thanks for your consideration.  And now...the proposal story (this is where the 400 words starts...right?... )   :) :)

Corey and I are perfect for each other.  Our nice hugs of love always turn into kidney punches, we both love rugby, and we even have the same birthday (I'm 2 years older though...which she never lets me forget.)  I'd known her for one week when she picked up my large male buddy and threw him into the mud during a "touch" rugby game.  I was in love.  

The proposal was a day long event.  It was a Thursday and just a normal day of going to work...or so she thought.  

7am:  
She found a (handwritten) note in her room saying she had the day off and to come to my house at 8am.  Come hungry.  

8am:
I had made a candlelit breakfast on my deck where we dined on heart shaped waffles (oh yeah), her favorite fruits, and chocolate milk (which will be in our wedding fyi).  

8:30am:
We watched her fav chick flick (50 first dates).

10am:
Note #2.  Shopping!  I took her out to by a fun sundress.  Being a boy I thought we'd go to the store, visit a couple shops, and buy a dress.  3 HOURS later...we found one.  Love you sweetie...

1pm:
Fish & Chips on the beach.

2pm:
Note #3.  A 1 HR Massage by a professional (not me.)  

Evening...the good part.  
Note #4. I dropped her off at her house with instructions to look good (look really good!) but don't come to the front door until you hear a knock.  Two hours later my suit wearing buddy knocked on the door and escorted her to a white stretch limo that awaited her.  In the limo was a slideshow I had made of myself as a baby up through it was no longer "me" but "us".  As she watched the show the limo drove her to a remote beach.  Note #5.  Another buddy greeted her upon her arrival, gave her a candle and an ipod set to a special song, and she began walking down the beach.  She found me on an old rock pier, surrounded by candles, with a guitar in hand.  I played her a song I had written for her and then dropped to one knee.  I told her why I wanted to marry her, pulled out a ring and said "I love you" for the very first time .  She said ...yes!!  (And "I love you too!!")

The End

(Not including "the end"....exactly 400 words.  Precision.  Didn't even edit...ha!)

P.S.  Another fun fact is that our wedding day will be our very first kiss!!  We are just crazy like that. That will be noted on the invitations for sure... "Come watch two people in love try and figure out how kissing works in front of 200 people."  

We hope to get married in May but can't nail a date down until we get that visa.  Thanks again for your consideration.  Your work is fantastic and it would be a huge blessing to us!!  Once again...my name is Aaron and her name is Corey... :).

These two sound like a great couple to have won, and I look forward to shooting their Wedding! Congrats you two!!!

The BIG Surprise!

I was watching the Senior Bowl game yesterday and heard a knock at the door. It was one of Cristina's friends. I told her Crissy went to work and wasn't home. She just smiled and handed me a note.  I was being summonedto an undisclosed address, and I had about 15 minutes to be there.

I arrived at the address and I was scheduled for a 1 hour massage. It was very relaxing and it had been awhile so I was really excited for this. After the massage I went get dressed and my clothes were gone. New clothes had been laid out for me with new shoes as well. And another note. This is getting good!

I put on the new clothes and read the next note, which says some really nice things, then says see the receptionist on the way out. I get the next note, with another address to go to. (a guy could get used to this)

The address takes me to the Red Agave, a GREAT restaurant in town, and I order a margarita, I get a text message she is on the way. We had a fantastic dinner, time away from the normal kids crying and drama, and just enjoyed each other! A birthday treat night that I will never forget, sometimes you need to break up the everyday life with some spice to bring everything back into focus! Wow I really love my wife!! We went home for some dessert :)

Sorry no pictures, no pictures PLEASE!!!!

TODAY is the last day to submit your LOVE STORY! I will announce the winner tomorrow!! Thanks for your submissions!!

Last Week- The Love Contest!

 This is just a reminder to send in your engagement story by January 31!!

My Momma raised me right, she would always say "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". I'm the first one that cringes at the "free" slogan. We all know you can't be in business and give everything away for free, but in this instance it is true!

For the last 3 years I have given a substantial discount off my services for whoever wins the yearly Engagement Contest. This year I'm going to kick it up a notch, and give away FREE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY. Yup, it's true. I am giving away 7 Hours of Wedding Day Coverage, a Proofing Disc of all Final Images &  an online Gallery hosting all Final Images for 3 months.

Every year I meet a few couples that want to make Photography a priority for their Wedding. They love my work, there is a comfortable connection with them, but they are discouraged by their budget. It kills me to hear later of their disappointment that they hired a hobbyist photographer suddenly turned "Pro" with rock bottom prices who ended up botching their Wedding images. (BTW, we are always happy to be flexible with our pricing & packages for couples who love our work.  Just ask my Wife, she knows I'm a sucker for anyone who loves my photography:)

SO . . . . The basis for the contest is to write a brief story about how the actual Proposal went down. Last year the winner was Katy Stevenson & James Felix, they had a great Engagement Story that just had to win...Their Wedding Day was so beautiful and of course, they got a ton of fantastic images to remember their day. . .  Are you next?

 

Ok now for the Specifics:

Who: This contest is open to all Engaged Couples getting Married in 2010 in Lane County. Not available to clients already booked with our services.

What: Please write a story (400 words or less) about how the Proposal happened. I love a good story, but the story needs to be true, so add a ton of details. Give us a vision of what you & your fiance are like. Please be sure to include a snapshot of the two of you, and note your Wedding date.

When: Contest is Open immediately! Final submissions due by January 24! Announcement of the Winning Couple on January 31st     (which is my birthday)!

Where: Wedding must take place within 2010 within Lane County or a travel fee will be necessary.

The Big Prize: The Winning couple will be given up to 7 hours of Photography Coverage on their Wedding Day & a Proofing DVD of all final images. All images will be edited and adjusted, then hosted online for up to 3 months. Any additional products may be purchased separately. The value to this is $3,000.00 all entries will be given a consolation prize of substantial value! 

There will be no losers in this contest! All entering couples will be offered a discount or promotional service!  If you know someone getting Married, forward this to a friend!!

Please send all submissions to: romanphotography@comcast.net

 

Lisa and Dan- Engagement shoot!

It was Sunday, and it was raining. Dang, it was SO nice on Saturday, but we must forge ahead. This couple wanted an image for their "Save the Date" cards! I first met this couple at the Wedding showcase, and there was an instant connection. Lisa is a really sweet young lady, and very easy going. Dan is a martial arts guy that is solid, and doesn't really like his picture taken.....hmmm...a challenge!

So we met up at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum, I love the amazing architecture and detail work there. It is unique in that it seems like a bit of Europe has landed in Eugene. We did a Wedding ceremony there last summer and it was really beautiful. If you want to have a classy Wedding, make sure you see this place!

 

 

 The best way for people to feel at ease is to put them in the hands of the ones they love. What is natural is the emotion they have for each other. These pictures don't lie, they are very much in love. What a great looking couple!

Before we knew it, Dan was joking around and at ease and enjoying his betrothed , and not concerned with the camera. I think we will get one more shoot in as the weather gets better. You can see all of their images on the website, under "events"