That dang ol' gosh durned COVID done struck again.
Hannah Jerabek was supposed to be in Texas last weekend as a bridesmaid in her cousin's wedding. Unfortunately, the 'rona forced its hand and Hannah's parents, Steve and Monica (who go to the same church as Sam and I), made the difficult decision to stay in Wisconsin despite the love for their niece after Monica's parents opted to stay home. I mean, why would you fly down to Texas knowing your parents were there and not see them? Regardless of where you stand on the pandemic, interstate travel is pretty risky right now. Although Hannah was very understandably disappointed, her mom and I co-conspired to make the day one that would still be memorable in all the right ways.
My neighbor, Marissa, and I had a senior shoot day planned at her extremely scenic farm about five miles from our own farm. (You'll hear a lot about Marissa in the future. She's amazing.) Chetek had a lot going on that day, which probably pulled some potential bookings away, but I'm not going to hold that against anybody. Since the day was wide open, Monica booked a slot for that afternoon. We decided that we'd do some family photos first since the last time they had any professional family photos was when Hannah and her twin brother, Matthew, were four years old, and then pivot to Hannahcentric shots.
Aren't they just a gorgeous family?
Now it was Hannah's time to shine.
Hannah was still going to stand beside her cousin via Skype at our church later that afternoon, and her hair and makeup had already been done by the time she arrived at Springhill Heritage Farm. She changed into a dusty blue floor-length gown and carried a bouquet of sunflowers and roses while wearing cowboy boots. With the magic of Photoshop, her cousin's wedding photographer will edit some of the photos I took that day and add Hannah back into her cousin's bridal party photos.
We started off with some full-body shots out in the pasture and then made the trek up a rather steep hill past a paddock o' pigs to take pictures in a gorgeous grove of birch trees. Then, we made the descent back down to the farmstead to grab photos by the barn, silos, and machine shed. Even though the day she'd been waiting for didn't look quite like she planned, which has been all too common with weddings in 2020, I think we made this day one that Hannah will never forget.
If you've fallen head over heels in love with Springhill Heritage Farm, Marissa and I are hosting family mini sessions on October 24th from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M.! Here's a link to the event, as well as the signup to book your slot.
