weddings – Pics by Peep

Third Time’s The Charm

Image April 9, 2013PeepSideshow DarkwardLeave a comment

I met Marnie and Bret not long after they got together in 2011. Marnie is bright and outspoken; Bret is a country boy who speaks only when he has something important to say. Or to “grrr” or “mhm”. I have always loved them as a couple – the perfect counterpoint to one another.

But, as many relationships go, they broke up. And got back together again. And broke up. And got back together again.

This time, however, they’ve sealed their commitment. In fact, when Bret asked Marnie to marry him, he wanted to do it in a week. Maybe he’s just impatient, or maybe he finally realised he’d found the woman he was destined to spend his life with and wanted to make sure they created their happiness right away.

With a country-themed wedding, blended with elegance and style, it suited them perfectly. I’m not going to say anything else – I’m just going to let the pictures speak for themselves. You can click the photos to see larger images.

He loves her more than Dr Pepper and pizza and she loves him more than shoe shopping and vanilla cake. What better foundation on which to build a life together?

Marrying Off My Wifey

Image March 4, 2013March 4, 2013PeepSideshow Darkward4 Comments

Odd title for a post? Well, it’s an odd relationship between Cyn and me. We met in Second Life at a club we both used to frequent (and where I worked for year). We were casual acquaintances, only talking in local chat until one night, I bumped into her in a shop where we were stalking Lucky Chairs. (For those unfamiliar with a Lucky Chair, it is a chair that generates random letters for a period of time. If the initial of your first name comes up and you sit on the chair, you win the prize displayed). At some point, a noobie (a new resident of Second Life) came in and said, “I’m new.” Cyn said, “I’m not,” and we both laughed. The noobie then asked where he could open a box. Cyn replied (truthfully), “At a sandbox.” The noobie, obviously not believing her, unwisely commenced to calling her names that would make a trucker blush. Before I could even type, “Uh oh,” Cyn, who just happened to have a giant frying pan in her hand, walloped him, sending him flying across the store (NB: this does not cause permanent damage to the person being…umm…fried). Through fits of laughter, we bonded as he came back time after time and she took random potshots at him whenever he got within range. To make matters better or worse (depending on your perspective, and ours was of near-drunken laughter), I invited a friend to come grab a prize when her letter came up. Unfortunately, she landed between Cyn and the noobie as he made an appearance, and she ended up in the line of fire, eventually coming to rest in a neighbouring store. By this time, I, at least was at the snorting stage and my sides ached for days.

That’s just a bit of background, and the story goes on. How I came to be Cyn’s wifey (and she mine) occurred another night in the club. At the time, I wore a titler – floating text over my head that allows other residents to change what is written there at random times. I was away from my keyboard (AFK) when that opportunity arose. Cyn grabbed it to title me “Cyn’s Wifey”. And each time it came up throughout the night, she quickly changed it to a variation of the theme.

That was almost two years ago, and although our paths have diverged and we don’t see each other as often, Cyn will always be my wifey.

This weekend, she got married in Second Life. I actually met Tristan, her husband, the first night they danced. She asked me if I would take photographs of the wedding, and I happily agreed. My gift to my wifey, Cyn, and the man who has made her life a joy.

And finallly, my signature wedding photo:

May you always be as happy as you were on this day, my wifey.

Now, get Tristan to go make us a sammich 😉

Goin’ To The Chapel…

Image January 24, 2013February 11, 2013PeepSideshow DarkwardLeave a comment

Weddings. They happen in Second Life, just as in real life. And trust me, a virtual wedding can be just as much work to plan as a real life wedding!

My best friend and one of my Second Life sisters, Abbie, got married in December. As her maid of honour, I was involved from the beginning in helping to pick out dresses, flowers, the cake, tuxes, final decision on the venue and generally keeping the bride from totally freaking out and setting fire to the dresses, flowers, cake, tuxes and venue! (Yes, there’s a story there, perhaps to be told another day 😉 ) The wedding took place on December 22, 2012, but that was actually the third date, due to real life issues. Yes, those play a major part in any virtual wedding, from time zones to health or personal issues to internet and hardware failure (and I don’t mean the wedding night!)

Abbie asked me to be her photographer for the wedding, but I declined as the “official” photographer. Mainly because I was part of the wedding party and would be busy doing what a maid of honour does, but also because I was afraid that I might miss some magic moments. If there are technical issues with a standard photo shoot, it can be rebooked. But a wedding…well, you’ve got one shot at getting it right and god help the photographer who screws up a bride’s wedding day!

As it turned out, I took over 270 photos, anyway, from us getting ready to the ceremony to the reception and after party. I put together an album for Abbie that consisted of about 40 photos that I deemed acceptable. Part of the reason for the lower strike rate was that it’s tough taking photos on the fly. But the main reason was because while I wanted to create a theme for the photos, after a while they just seemed repetitive. I see no point in padding a portfolio just for the sake of numbers. Besides, wedding pictures can be like Aunt Georgia’s vacation pictures; after you’ve seen 15 or 20 shots of her and Uncle Ralph drunk at the luau, you’ve seen them all 😉

Because this was a Christmas themed wedding, I wanted to give the photos a wintery feel without being cold. I could have used cool processing, but instead I used a frosted halo to give the photos a consistent feel. I also softened the images frequently to give them a more romantic impression.

The Ceremony

The Wedding Party

The Reception

And of course, no wedding would be complete without its share of boo-boos, glitches and a random penguin!

I admit to trepidation over doing wedding photos, but when it was over, although I wasn’t completely happy with the photos I took, the important thing was that the bride and groom were. Their special day has been captured for eternity, allowing them to happily walk into the future together, hand in hand ♥