FREE Wedding Photography Contest Finalists

Here are the three wedding contest finalists and their stories that they submitted. To vote for a couple, please send an email to jennifer@leatherwoodphotography.com. Please type the couple's name in the subject line. (Since this isn't american idol, I can only accept one vote from each email address.) Voting will end on 4/27/08 and the winner will be announced on 4/28/08. Good Luck to all three of the contestants, I'd be honored to photograph any one of your weddings!!


JULIE & ELVIS

Our names are Elvis Freitas and Julie Zamora. Our story begins way back in 1998. Yes, almost 10 years ago. We met each other in high school. We had food's class together. Elvis thought it would be a smooth move to dry my dish's. Well, as we all know now his moves paid off. We went to our high school prom together and that began our wonderful, loving relationship. We had tons of fun in the years to come. We got to know one another very well and each other's family. I went off to college and Elvis wasn't a school person, so he went to work full-time. I studied at New England Tech and became a Medical Assistant. Through the next few years as a couple we had our ups and downs just like anyone else.

Elvis' family is full Portuguese. So they are a blast at party's. He has one older brother who is about 10 years older than Elvis. So Elvis has two neice's and a nephew. They are a big part of our life. They are like brother's and sister's to us. They are just a few years younger than us, so we do a lot of hanging out with them. Tons of holiday's, hanging out during the summer, fire's in their back yard. Over the years we became very close and just two years ago Elvis' sister-in-law became ill with breast cancer. That was a big blow for their family. Fatima is the strongest person I know. She pulled through and is now a breast cancer survivor. One year later after radiation therapy. She finds out she has thyroid cancer. She is the STRONGEST person I know. She has survived her thyroid cancer and as I wirte this, her recovery is super. They are all apart of my life now. They are my family.

I have two younger brother's. To Elvis, they are the brother's he never had as a child. They found out they have a lot in common with each other. My family is not really that big. So what I have, I keep close.

We enjoyed life to the fullest. We traveled as much as possible. Making wonderful memories. We went on cruises for the first time together. That was FUN!!!! You learn a lot about people being with them in such close quarter's for a whole week. We travled to Florida many times, California. We relized as the year's went on, we were going to be getting married. I was hoping a lot sooner, than later. So many moment's when I finally thought, YES, he is going to propose. When the night ended, I had no such ring.

We are growing together and both working our full-time jobs. Looking on what to do with our future and make it better. We decided to by a house!! We bought our 3- family house at the ages of 24. Our family and friends where 100% behind us. That was the best move we could have ever made together. We signed papers and moved in May 13, 2005. Which happened to be a Friday and that has brought us the best luck in the world. Moving in together is a big deal for everyone. We are so much stonger together.

One year later, he finally pops the question!!! Yes, Yes, Yes, was all I could think. I was so happy. Things are going so well in both our lives. We enjoyed our engagement for another whole year. We still had some traveling to do and with a new house, comes new things to explore. We love to do things together. We are better together. We start a new chapter in our lives as a couple.

Now we start to plan our wedding. EXCITING!!!! We searched and searched for a place. Found a magnificant place that represence us to the tee.I find my dress with such ease. So exciting We have been saving and saving over the years for this day. We knew it would coming. We, unfortunatly have to pay a big majority for our wedding ourselves. So we want to make it the most memorable for everyone with what we have. When it cam time to search for a photographer. We thought, oh man. disposable camara's. We worked so hard in our lives up to this day. We want to be able to show everyone our special day through the eyes of Leatherwood photography. Once I found Jennifer Leatherwood's site through a friend of a friend. I knew as soon as I saw her pictures. I want Leatherwood photography. After so many years together I just wanted to be able to put the trust in a photographer to capture every moment as if it were there own. When you look at her pictures you know who ever is in that picture had a good time. This is why I want Jennifer Leatherwood to photograph our Wedding Day. Thank You for taking the time to read my story.

Sincerely,
Elvis Freitas and Julie Zamora




AMY & CHRIS

My name is Beth Marion, and I am submitting this entry for my sister, Amy Marion, and her fiance, Chris Woods.

Amy and Chris have been a couple for 17 years, and last year Chris popped the question and Amy accepted. OK, so they're not impulsive...

Amy and Chris live in Greenland, New Hampshire and are planning on getting married at St. Catherine's Church in Little Compton, where Amy and I grew up, and having the reception at the Meeting House at Tiverton Four Corners. True to Amy's coastal New England background, she and Chris are planning to have an elegant clamboil for the reception. Amy has her dress (it's stunning!) and has been tasting wedding cakes and looking at invitations. What they don't have is a date.

Amy and Chris had the date set at the church and were just about to sign the contract with the Meeting House when both of them had issues with their jobs last year. Chris lost his job due to restructuring and Amy's job was in jeopardy because of the sale of her company. So wedding plans were put on hold.

Amy and Chris both have new jobs now, and things are looking up.

I first became aware of your wonderful work when our friends Heather and Seth became engaged. I was completely impressed with the pictures from their wedding, and I knew then I wanted my sister to have images like that to remember her day. But when I saw Heather's Trash the Dress session, that clinched it!

So I hope you will consider Amy and Chris as candidates in your wedding contest. They've worked hard and waited a long time for their special day. I want them to have images as special as they are to remember that day.

Sincerely,
Beth Marion, sister of the bride

SUZANNE & MICHAEL

Love and Cans…What They Have In Common?

I think this is such a great story; it’s a story about finding a solution to a challenge instead of complaining about it. It’s a story about love, in the form of a non-traditional romance between two people that becomes a fairytale love story. It’s the story about two people who were spending time looking for what they thought they wanted, and instead found exactly what they needed in each other; these two people are Suzanne Raposo and Michael Ramos.

Everything was great, until they found out what they had to pay for the wedding. They both are very intense, amazing, and strong individuals who are very involved with volunteering in the community; together they make an even greater team. Their solution not only helped them financially, but was environmentally friendly and cleaned up their community, along with many others.

They noticed that many states redeemed only some soda bottles and cans, except Maine, which redeemed all types of bottles and cans for a $0.05 deposit. They saw how many cans and bottles were being thrown out on a daily basis and found this to be an exciting opportunity. They set a goal to pay for their wedding by collecting bottles and cans, which I might add is a pretty hefty goal. Their wedding had an estimated cost of $25,000; this translates into 500,000 cans. The news spread quickly among co-workers, family and friends, and they all began collecting.

Michael and Suzanne are a bit of an unlikely couple, he is a 38 year old divorced father of two young girls and she is a 26 year old young woman with no children. His family loved her immediately, and her family was very old fashion and concerned about their young daughter’s future. After seeing how great of a father he was and getting to know him, things quickly changed. He and his two beautiful girls are now welcomed additions to the family.
Even though their relationship faced many obstacles that felt like steep mountains, they confronted every challenge together.

We decided to write this because we know the story better than anyone else, because it’s our story. We met volunteering for a coalition that helps prevent substance abuse among youth. I was working at the Girl Scouts and Michael was working for the District Attorney’s office. We were both very active in the community and found our paths crossing often…

Michael (on Suzanne): I was immediately drawn to her, not because she was beautiful but because I was fascinated by her passion and commitment to youth and the community. I also could not help but notice how young she was and how unusual it was to see such a young woman so engaged and driven. I began looking forward to coalition meetings like I never had before. Professionally she brought energy and focus to the coalition, for me she brought an infectious laugh, a smile that was pure and restored hope, and an inner beauty that made me experience anticipation like I never had before.

Suzanne (on Michael): He certainly caught my attention; I thought he was handsome and so adorable with his red, plaid farmer looking button down shirt, but I have to say I was most impressed by the way he presented himself. He was a gentle leader yet a powerful voice. He was so passionate about making a difference in the community and committed to protecting the youth. Every time he spoke my heart would pound frantically; he was eloquent, well-versed, funny, genuine and thoughtful. I loved spending time with him; we would talk for hours and it would only seem like minutes. I began to count down days until the next time I would see him...the days never seemed to go by fast enough.

Well since we are writing this story you know that we passed the part where we were just friends and colleagues…

Michael: We were in the midst of planning a holiday party together for the coalition and we grew closer and closer as we worked together. I knew I was falling for her and falling hard. I was so scared to let her know how I was feeling because I didn’t want to ruin the friendship that we had established but I also wanted to keep the relationship professional.

I knew that I had to tell her how I felt and that day I will never forget. I knew what I wanted to say. I wanted to ask, “Do you feel the same way about me as I feel about you?”

We were on one of our long drives talking about everything and anything. With my heart pounding and palms sweating I asked her the question.

Suzanne: The question completely threw me for a loop. I really liked him and enjoyed being around him, he made me happy, but I wanted to make sure I fully understood what he was asking, so I was decided to give the reserved response and said…”Do you mean as a friend?”

I really hoped he meant more than friends…and he did! ☺ Although confused because of his circumstances, I gave him a small kiss and said that is good for now.

That was the beginning of an amazing one year romance where we found in each other our best friends and soul mates.

The reason why we deserve to win this contest is because; we are a devoted couple who works hard for everything we have earned from our personal and professional lives. The purpose of sharing the can collection story is because we think it illustrates the tenacity and creativity that we have as individuals and that we will share together in our marriage. It’s a pretty penny to have a wedding and simply crossing our arms and stomping our feet is not a solution. We recently took a big step and purchased our first home together and are currently planning on going back to college to obtain our Master’s degrees. This contest is one way to help make our dreams come true and capture our most treasured moments.

We are celebrating our day under the fireworks on Saturday, July 4, 2009 at the Hawthorne Country Club in Dartmouth, MA.

I’m not sure if we will reach our can collection goal to pay for our wedding, but we are having fun trying. We have experienced a lot of love and support from family and friends, so we already feel blessed. One thing to take note of, as we drive off into the sunset after our reception, don’t expect to see any cans tied to the back of our car; WE NEED THEM ALL!

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