Since so many of Lori & Damian’s friends & family were coming down to Bermuda for the wedding, I offered some Mini-Portrait Sessions to everyone! Because who doesn’t want some great family photos to remember such an awesome vacation?! Check out my favorites from our Mini Sessions at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo!
One of the benefits of traveling to a destination wedding via cruise ship is that I was “forced” to be on vacation for a few days! To make it SO much more awesome, one of my best friends since childhood came along! Marietta had visited Bermuda after her graduation from THE Ohio State University, um, a lot of years ago – so it was extra sweet to visit together again!
Bermuda, the first time… we definitely missed our friend Kara this time around!
And also, we look like babies. Skinny, drunk, babies…
Leaving Boston!
Fun times on the ship!
The view from our ship when we arrived in port… not a bad site to see when you wake up in the morning!
This is how WE enjoyed the Welcome Dinner…
Our day at CoCo Reef after the wedding…
My beautiful friend!
Making the most out of having an underwater camera on this trip – time for snorkeling!!
The next day we got to go on a Blue Water Divers’ snorkeling adventure through with the bride and a bunch of the guests!
SO FUN!
Exploring wreckage of ships beneath the sea
And then it was time for a relaxing voyage home! Bye bye Bermuda!
My favorite color! I could stare at the ocean for hours!
On our last night, Lori & Damian invited us to dinner with the rest of the party – so of course, I took a group photo!
I’ve known this lady for over 30 years!!!! It was such a treat getting to enjoy all of this with such a dear friend!
Lori & Damian’s wedding began with preparations in the morning, on the cruise ship!
Getting ready is a bit more complicated in a cruise ship cabin, with children & grandchildren around… ;)
A few portraits on the dock before heading to CoCo Reef!
One of my favorites from the day! I love how Damian loves his grandson!
CoCo Reef was a gorgeous place for a wedding!
I love this sweet moment between Lori & her daughter, Emma!
Time to get married!
Best backdrop for a wedding, EVER!
The happy new family!
Just a few moments alone…
The Reception
LOVED these wedding favors! (I use my beach bag all. the. time!)
After the delicious lunch, it was off to the beach to enjoy the day! Talk about a great wedding reception!!!
What an awesome day!
On the cruise back to Boston, we shot some more casual portraits all over the ship – it was so fun!
The Awesome Vendors that made this wedding possible:
Photography: Krista Guenin, Krista Photography
Wedding Venue: Coco Reef Bermuda
Invitations: RSVP Hingham
Wedding Dress: Country Weddings
Bridesmaid Dresses: Simply Bridal
Men’s Attire: Custom made
Favors: Towels
Boston to Bermuda Cruise: Norwegian Dawn
When Lori called me to discuss photographing her destination wedding, I was all ears! Then she told me that in order to do it all, I’d have to accompany them on their 7-day cruise from Boston to Bermuda, I was like YES PLEASE!! Sign me up! It was such a great opportunity to get to know Lori & Damian, and a lot of the friends & family since half of the wedding guests came on the cruise too. What a fun way to get married!
On our first day in port in Bermuda, Lori & Damian had a Welcome Dinner at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo. SO COOL! Everyone got entrance to the Zoo as part of the dinner, and had the chance to walk around and check out the wildlife and the views before the party started. The seals were my favorites!
A few portraits with the fishies before dinner… love these!
Dinner & drinks surrounded by tanks of fish on every side – it’s awe-inspiring!
Dark & Stormy anyone?
Much more to come… stay tuned!
I went to Zimbabwe last November (2007) to document the work of Forgotten Voices International. And I have truly not been the same since. My eyes see things differently now. It’s as if everything is filtered through a different lens – one that makes me see people, food, money, hunger, waste, AIDS, giving, joy, love, and God in a new way.
Last Christmas was incredibly difficult for me. Watching my niece & nephews plow through a MOUNTAIN of presents, having just met and fallen in love with kids who had barely enough to survive… Well, it was painful.
I recently spent some time teaching my sister’s kids about my friends in Zimbabwe – Shelton, Margaret & Concilia. These kids are orphans living on their own, with little more than weeds for food. Try explaining that to a 5, 4, and 2-year-old from America – it’s hard for them to wrap their cute little minds around. But my niece, Reilly, said to me – “Kiki, I know, why don’t we give them some of OUR food?!” It was so sweet and so sincere, it almost made me cry. I wish it was that easy. I wish it was as easy as dropping off some food at a food pantry. But, it’s not.
So, instead of Cans for Comments – I’m going to be giving CASH for Comments. For every blog comment you leave (on any post) between now and midnight on Christmas Eve, I will give $1.00 to an organization that is dedicated to empowering AIDS orphans in Zimbabwe – Forgotten Voices International. As little as $15 can send a child to school in Zimbabwe for a whole year! $65 can provide a person with HIV with a home care kit to help prevent the spread of the disease. A few dollars can make a big difference in a lot of lives!
So, I challenge YOU to help me make a difference in the life of a child in Zimbabwe! Leave a comment! And then leave another. And then ask your friends to do the same. And then go to Forgotten Voices International to find out what FVI is doing to partner with local churches in Southern Africa to provide care for vicitims and orphans of AIDS. And maybe this year, instead of spending a ton of money on presents that no one needs – give a gift on behalf of the ones you love to make a real difference in the life of a child in Zimbabwe!
I’ll be in Haiti until late Monday night, June 2nd. Please pray for a good safe trip. Pray that I would stay healthy, and that this picky eater would be able to eat whatever is put in front of her ;), and pray for some awesome photographs that HFCH will be able to use to increase their ministry in Port-au-Prince!! Thanks for taking this journey with me. I can’t wait to come home and share some photos with all of you!
I will be without email & internet access until Monday (eek!), so if you don’t hear back from me, that’s why :) I’ll do my best to respond to all emails when I get back to work next Tuesday.
Have a great week!!
I’m home! In fact, I got home a couple days ago. I’ve been meaning to blog some more about the trip, but just haven’t felt ready yet. It’s pretty overwhelming being back in the States. I walked into my niece & nephews’ play room the other day and started crying (they just have so much stuff!). We cleaned off the plates after dinner and I started crying just looking at all of the food going into the trash. I can’t even bring myself to go to the grocery store yet. I’m just having a hard time wrapping my head around all that I’ve seen and heard, and reconciling that with what life is like here. And to be honest, I don’t want to get used to it. I don’t want to become complacent. I don’t want to return to a life of waste and greed and taking things for granted. But I do need to figure out a way to keep from crying every 10 minutes :)
So, bear with me for a few days, and I promise I’ll share some more about the trip soon!
Wow! No internet access for over a week! I’m going through withdrawl – this is a great quick fix :)
We’re back in Bulawayo today. We left here last Monday and went to the Matopos and stayed at a place called Shumba Shaba. It was BEAUTIFUL! I can’t wait to show you the pictures! We stayed there for a couple of days with some of the pastors that work with Forgotten Voices (or the other way around, really). It was great getting to know them and enjoying the scenery.
We left Shumba Shaba on Wednesday and went to the Mtshabezi Mission/Hospital. This is one of FVI’s biggest partners. It was an amazing week with them. They were so gracious and took such good care of us there. It was overwhelming. We visited the Primary School there, and interviewed some of the children who’s school fees are paid by the Mtshabezi AIDS Project. It was so encouraging to see how much hope these kids have for their future now that they are able to go to school. We also visited some of the kids in their homes out in the villages over a couple of days. That was incredibly humbling. To see these kids surviving on next to nothing – literally eating weeds for meals – and then to go back to the Mission where they prepared such great meals for us. It was just hard.
On Thursday we were supposed to visit a woman who is cared for by the AIDS Project, but she died during the night and so we ended up going to her funeral instead. Her name was Setty, she was 28 years old. Her only child had already died of AIDS, and we aren’t sure what happened to her husband. Her family was so welcoming, and allowed us to film and photograph the funeral. These are some of the most powerful photos I’ve shot – I hope to post them soon after I get home.
I’ve shot well over 5,000 images so far – so I’m going to be BUSY when I get home!! Wedding and Portrait clients will have to come first – so I hope you can be patient waiting for some images from the trip. It’ll be worth the wait, I promise!
I’ve got a great story to share without about an interesting run-in with the “police” but I think I’ll wait till I get home. I’m not that worried that the Zim police are checking my blog, but just in case… :) You’ll just have to wait!!!
I’ll be home on Thursday and will try to reply to emails then. If I get the chance, I’ll blog again tomorrow, but who knows? Please continue to pray for safety – especially getting through the airport on Thursday. I hope all is well back home! I can’t wait to get back and hug my niece & nephews and see my friends & family!!
kg
just a quick note to say that all is well! we landed in bulawayo yesterday and made it through airport security with no problems. Praise the Lord! We’re touring around bulawayo, meeting lots of people and having a great time so far. I’m really looking forward to this afternoon because we’re going to go do some home visits. It should be a good day!
ok, gotta go get some pizza :)
please keep praying for us!
After 24 hours of travelling, door to door – I’m finally in Africa!! My friend, Adam (videographer) & I are staying at the home of a lovely couple who live here with their 4 kids. The Lockwoods have fed us and are giving us warm beds and hot showers before our flight to Bulawayo tomorrow morning. They are such a blessing!!
The trip has been good so far – pretty uneventful (which is just the way I like it). I slept quite a bit and even got to watch Harry Potter 5 – so all in all it was a good flight :) We’re still praying for an easy time getting through customs tomorrow in Zim – so lift us up if you think of it.
Ok, off to be a nice social guest again! I couldn’t resist the internet access while it was available :)