Photo of the Day

I had a wonderful wedding this weekend at the Read House in Chattanooga, TN. There are a lot of images to come! I had the wonderful Matt Dunmore second shoot with me. I know there a couple of folks that have emailed me this weekend. I will be getting back with you here shortly. I appreciate your patience.

Enjoy!
Jason
www.jasonconnel.com

The Man Cold

Us men are so sad.... LOL! This is so true. All you wonderful ladies out there that takes care of us when we are sick should chime in on this one. Your stories, or frustrations, or your thoughts on the subject.

Lauren and Jason - Ashton Gardens, Houston, Texas

Here is a recent engagement photos of Lauren and Jason, and they were married recently at Ashton Gardens in Houston, TX. We took the engagement photos on The Strand and then on the beach on Galveston Island.

We had a lot of fun. There is so many places to shoot on the island. Truly is a different experience each time. Jason and Lauren were so much fun! They have known each other practically forever. I will have their wedding photos to share shortly.

Enjoy!
Jason
www.jasonconnel.com

Happy Valentines Day

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day! I love you all for making this all possible! This image was taken this past weekend at Jason and Lauren's wedding at Ashton Gardens in Houston. Stay tuned for more photography from their engagement session and wedding.

Enjoy!
Jason
www.jasonconnel.com

Cindy and Paul - Day 3

Sorry about the delay for Day 3 of Cindy and Paul. I had a wedding this weekend. Without further delay the Wedding Day for Cindy and Paul. My day started quite unusual. I started with a trout I had caught Friday night for breakfast. I never ever catch fish when I fish, but Friday night went out fishing on the dock with a bunch of other wedding guests, and Midnight Bob at Cabin Bluff. You see, this was a three pound trout. I am told that is trophy size. I was asked if I wanted to keep it, and I said only if I can eat it, and the fine folks at Cabin Bluff made it happen. WOW!

Friday I got to watch everyone shooting clays, on Saturday my wife and I got to participate. That is so much fun! I had a blast, and I can not wait to get my own shotgun! It is going to be my new hobby! So, if any of you are looking for a birthday gift for me... LOL!

After lunch I was off to photograph the bride getting ready for the wedding that is now just a few hours away. Everything was right there at Cabin Bluff, so it was super easy to make it over to get a few shots of Paul, the groom, get dressed as well.

I had been raining a lot over the long weekend, but for the day of the wedding there was a lot of threating skies, but except for a few showers right at the start of the reception it was smooth sailing. Everything was beautiful. The ceremony had two readings one from Cindy's brother Christian, and another from Paul's father. Both were very warm indeed.

At the reception General Schwarzkopf told us the story of how he heard about Mrs. Schwarzkopf being pregnant. It was very touching. The best man Chance gave what I would have to say one of the best toasts I have heard. It was so thought out and touching.

It was an honor to be part of your big weekend guys! Thank you so much for everything! Here is slideshow #1 and slideshow #2. Seriously, it is really hard to pick images for a blog post for this wedding. There is so much to choose, but hopefully I represented the weekend well. It was really sad to go Sunday morning.

Enjoy!
Jason
www.jasonconnel.com

The sight from the window of my room.

Jessica, Cindy's sister, puts on the final touches of makeup prior to the wedding.

Cindy working on her makup.

The groom.
I love this dress. No idea who the maker is, but I love how simple it is.

Wedding time!

The father of the bride waiting for the ceremony to start.

One of my favorite detail shots of the wedding season.

The father of the bride escorting Cindy down the isle.

The vows.

A good catch!

Cindy and Paul had the extremely talented Goliath Flores take care of the music at both the wedding and reception. You can check him out on iTunes. Seriously, this guy rocks!

The lovely cake was done by the fine folks at "I Do".... Cakes. I Love the simple elegant design.

Cindy and Paul for the first dance.

The bride dancing with the father of the groom, Tad.

Watch out Paul! The General does not look pleased to see you dancing with Mrs. Schwarzkopf... LOL!

Cindy and Paul - Day Two

Friday morning started with breakfast. I was so tired. Then I was editing away, because at breakfast I had a sideshow to show folks from Thursday.

Cabin Bluff took care of everything. Every meal, bait for fishing, shotguns for shooting, and golf clubs for golfing was all thing you could do there. That isn't all there was so much more too! If there was anything you wanted to do or try they would make it happen. The staff at Cabin Bluff was just as wonderful as wedding guests.


More than anything else Cindy and Paul wanted to make sure my wife and I had fun as well. Friday morning we took a boat ride around Cumberland Island and a little fishing too. As for par, I caught... well nothing... My wife caught a few. However, the highlight of the trip was the boat tour. We got to see a lot of the local wildlife including the wild horses that have lived there for well over 200 years. Ray our boat captain took us ashore for a little (BIG) alligator hunting (sight seeing). The large gator lives in the pond of Plum Orchard, an 1898 Georgian Revival mansion (the picture above) building by Lucy Carnegie for her son, George and his wife, Margaret Thaw.


After lunch I met up with Cindy, her father, brother Christian, Lynn her husband EC, and Kadia for a little clay shooting. My wife, Danielle, decided to enjoy a book she was reading down by the water. It was wet, but very fun. Patrick, our guide was just a blast!

Then everyone met up for a sunset cruise around Cumberland Island before dinner. So, much to do, and everyone made Danielle and I feel welcome. When we came back it was rehearsal time. The ceremony was 24 hours away, and it was time to practice. Everyone but the required personnel went to enjoy the raw oyster bar.

Here is the slideshow.

Enjoy!
Jason
www.jasonconnel.com

Nice Beretta over under shotguns for clay shooting.

Cindy and her dad.

Cindy and Kadia having a shoot out. They are competitive folks too! Kadia is the son of Ruth, one of General Schwarzkopf's sisters.

A shell flying out of Cindy's Beretta semi-automatic shotgun.

I love it! To get to see two families coming together. This is a great shot of the Karmazyn's with the General. I love to capture that split second moment of peak emotion. It only last a fraction a second. The shot before and after are good, but this one is the best.
Cindy and Jessica with their dad.

Cindy a little wind blown during the sunset cruise. I love this shot.

Karmazyn's at the rehearsal.

Cindy and Paul at the rehearsal learning their vows.

Being a father of three daughters myself a scene like this always chokes me up.

Ruth and her son after dinner. Love that smile!

Stephanie, the Artichoke Queen (A little inside joke... but she earns the title tomorrow... LOL!) eating oysters for the first time.

Mr. Russ Parsons tells us all at dinner a very funny story.

Oh! Did I mention the wild hog hunt terrorizing the folks at Cabin Bluff after dinner! LOL!!!

Cindy and Paul - Day One

This post has been a long while in the making. A little too long. If you recall a few posts ago mentioning I was behind on my posts due to a hard drive crash that was a significant blow. It caused me to be way way behind.

Anyhow, the next three days are dedicated to one of those couples. It is not often that couple so special invites you to not only document such a special day, but ask you and your wife to be part of it. I am of course speaking of Cindy and Paul.

Cindy is the oldest of three. She has a sister Jessica and brother Christian, and the parents of this clan are Norman and Brenda Schwarzkopf. Yes, Cindy's father is General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, and if you don't know who he is getting to know him will give you a little insight on modern history. Also, why the Middle East is so important to the United States. In my eyes the entire family are heros. They really went through a lot to serve our great country.


Paul and his family not quite as well known, but an amazing story just the same. Paul has a sister Dorota, and she is married to Marc. They have a wonderful daughter Alex. Paul and Dorota are the kidos of Tad and Anna Karmazyn. They are first generation immigrants living the American Dream. They are truly an inspiration.

The wedding took place at Cabin Bluff just north of the Florida border. Truly amazing place these images are from the first night of a a long weekend. Here is the slideshow from that night.

Enjoy!
Jason
www.jasonconnel.com

Everyone meeting for the first time at Cabin Bluff.

A sneak peak for what was in store for us the next day. Fun!!!

Sally, one of the General's sisters, speaks with Tad, the father of the groom at dinner, Thursday.

Cindy with the groom's parents at dinner.

Mrs. Schwarzkopf, the bride's mom, telling us how she and the General met.

He may be the General, but his sister Sally still slaps him around.