matt + elizabeth :: just married!

how impressive is THIS?:

matthew fails taught a 3:30 friday afternoon comparative politics class before driving to fulton for his rehearsal.

now that's a dedicated college instructor!

later in the weekend i learned that he and i (and many of our respective friends + yes, even our spouses, too) had had the same professor in our own undergrad comparative classes: dr. ishiyama. truman state.

and though it was 16 or 17 YEARS AGO for me, i think i may also have drawn that 3:30 MWF time slot.

(soon, more rambling. first. rehearsal dinner was at BEKs in fulton. and boy is it CUTE! - i'm going back (and i'm taking paul!!!! CLICK HERE to see matt + elizabeth's wedding highlight slideshow, incl. a few shots of bek's fri night. LOVE IT!)

ok, who can resist the ramble . . .

it's just that

oh i LOVED college!

"what?" people sometimes say --"you're not even using your degree(s)."

maybe i'm feeling esp. feisty this morning but EXCUSE ME?! . . . oh how i beg to differ.

the things i thought about + pondered . . . the ideas i was exposed to . . . the kinds of people i encountered ~ well all of that, THAT really important stuff that makes up the quality of one's life....all of THAT grew exponentially during my college years.

how often in life do you get the pure luxury of reading profound thoughts and chatting about ideas those thoughts inspire 'till the wee hours of the morning? college is this amazing respite in life.

i worked, but i didn't have to earn enough working to make a living ~ scholarships, loans, family support for things like medical insurance . . . being able to survive on little ~ all of that came together to give me this amazing chance to think and to ponder.

to learn and to wonder.

and my college experience was so much beyond what was discussed in class.

it was professors and advisors (many of whom now i regard as insightful friends) often "held court" while flocks of undergrads sat nearby discussing, debating, wondering.

"not USING your degrees" -- pleeeeease, liberal arts education is NOT meant to be some sort of vo-tech training. truth be told, i feel like i utilize, draw from or expand on something i learned or thought about while an undergrad at truman (or a graduate student/TA at MU) pretty much every day.

EVERYDAY.

every single day.

could i DO this job, photographing these important moments in people's lives, if i hadn't gone to college and grad school? well, maybe....but not nearly as well.

and furthermore, i'm not sure i would have forged the opportunity to make it happen.

and yes, BTW - none, not one of my classes was in photography ~ didn't need to be.

WAIT...i'm rambling about me and chattering about my pro-education bias . . . clearly i could perch upon this indulgent soapbox for a very long time, when what i MEANT to do is introduce you to this amazing couple: matt + elizabeth.

upon their "first glance":

like paul and i, they met at college at truman.

perhaps unlike paul + myself, geez look HOW CUTE they are together!!

THIS is good use of the berlin wall, eh?

(i think one or the other of these is annika's but am not looking at the meta-data at the moment)

and pretty good use of a gravel road, too:

at one point in her maid-of-honor speech, sarah talked about how, even attaining a PhD and law degree doesn't thrill them more then coming up with + creating the PERFECT halloween costume. and that's when i knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that indeed matt + elizabeth ARE my kind of people!

the lovely church on westminster's campus was as deliciously light-filled as always.

and how perfect is this little english side garden for a private first moment:

does it make you chuckle to see winston overseeing such history?!

kimball ballroom: beautiful, beautiful, beautiful (click here to see this matt + elizabeth highlight slideshow if you haven't already!!) and big shout out to Salon Nefisa for doing such a fabulous job with girl's makeup. LOVELY!

and well, josh keller once again rocked the house.

AND it was esp nice of him to so quickly respond to my 10PM text last night as i inquired about matt + elizabeth's first song.

i remembered i LOVED it;

i remembered that i knew it and knew it well.

but gosh darn, i just didn't remember what it WAS.

i was floored with josh's immediate and impressive recall.

"what a memory!" i text-d with my thanks.

the disc jockey's response:

i wish . . .

the laptop has a memory like an elephant.

~ josh keller, main event productions

btw at 10:10PM that's EVEN funnier.

this job. . .

working in spaces like the sir-christopher-wren church + the impeccably renovated kimball ballroom . . .

working on a daily basis with someone as insightful + inspiring as kim wade

and on weekly basis with people like the amazing annika miller, the terrific staff of salon nefisa and the magic-memory of josh keller and well, documenting unfolding stories like THESE just-married glimpses (oh how i wish i had a picture like this with my mom (see left), and (center) a picture of my mom together with my mother-in-law like this and the final shot....do you have a brother? or kid sister?? - how special is this!) . . .

and my oh my . . .

ONE MORE:

. . . hearing toasts like the one dennis wilhelmi delivered on his daughter's wedding day . . .

. . . well we've said it before.

we'll say it again, but this,

THIS is what, at the end of the day, life is all about.

and well, i've taken enough courses,

done enough reading,

had enough meaningful interaction with people (+ ideas!) near and dear to me

to recognize just how very lucky i am.

and for that, (whether it LOOKS to the world like i'm using those beloved degrees of mine or not), i just want to say thanks.

sadly, we will not, we do not remember our days, or our years or long passages of prose.

luckily, we remember MOMENTS.

. . . and we SHARE THEM (and keep them alive!) with pictures.

hug people you love!

read things that make you think!

and if you get a chance, call your mom.

at this very moment, on this very morning, THESE things seem to be the secret of a well-lived life.

~amy