My good friend, Eli, shot a wedding down in El Dorado, Arkansas and asked if I wanted to come along. I always love helping out whenever I can. Not only are weddings a fun way to meet new people, but I just plain LOVE photographing them! Patrick and Courtney were such a fun couple. Photography was very important to them, so they were more than happy to have a little extra fun shooting photos. Check out their Orange and Grape Crush glass bottles they had at the reception. One of my favorite things though, was that Courtney’s bouquet was homemade. They got flowers from all over their neighborhood to create it. What a memorable idea for a wedding! I’ll quit talking and let you enjoy the wedding photographs…
You can feel the tension growing as Courtney slowly glides closer to Patrick, her groom, waiting with fists clinched in anticipation, for his bride to tap him on the shoulder for his first gaze of his bride-to-be in her alluring white dress.
This has been in the planning stages for awhile now, and I’m ready to announce it. I’m partnering with the non-profit organization “Africa Reads.” This organization means a lot to me. Their main focus is to bring literacy to Africa, starting in the country of Rwanda, because of the connections they have been able to make. The plan is to have it spread across all of Africa. For folks that don’t know, 16 years ago, Rwandans suffered a 100-day slaughtering of almost ONE-MILLION people at the hands of it’s government. Since then, the citizens have been able to rally together and completely change their nation. It is now a nation of loving and caring people who rely on God to bring them to where they need to be.
It is believed that if Rwandans had been able to read better, and had more access to print, they may have been able to avoid such a devastating event. In 2008 the new Rwandan government, in order to help their economic growth, changed their national language from French to English. Africa Reads’ hope is to alleviate this problem.
How am I partnering with them? 10% of all my profits are going to the organization. I know the folks who run this NGO personally, and know that the money will be used properly. They are better at explaining this program than I am, so watch the video below to find out more about their recent trip.
A few weeks ago, I was invited by my buddy Eli to second shoot a wedding for him at Gillam Farms. Holly and Eric were such a fun couple. They were so laid back and most importantly, they wanted great photos. This meant they were ready for anything we wanted to do. The ceremony was June 12th and I wouldn’t be surprised if we had record heat that day because it was H-O-T and they had an outdoor ceremony. They must have prepared for this because the ceremony from beginning to end lasted 5 minutes! But when you have an Air Force wedding, you know that after the ceremony, the party is just getting started!
My name is Mark and I am a wedding photographer living in Searcy, Arkansas who covers central Arkansas and all over the world! I specialize in giving the most awesome couples the most awesome wedding photos.
Proud member of the Professional Photographers of America.
