CHC-Photography, Inc.

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Chicagoland Wedding Photographer | What keeps me going...

 

I am living away from my family in Europe and the past 17 years have been really hard in that regard. I have not seen my dad for a couple of years now and miss him so much. I wish my parents could be a part of my daily life and my children's lives. Traveling has gotten very expensive and now that my kids are in school I can't just leave when tickets might be a bit more affordable...

Photography is a great distraction and I love it so much. Seriously, I would be lost without it. I get to photograph special events in people's lives. The reason this is amazing is that I feel part of the family. Often the mother's of the bride make me feel at home. Being a daughter and mother myself I feel many emotions throughout the wedding day. I am right there with my couples, getting teary eyed a lot.

One of the weddings that stands out was Robyn & Dan's weddings from 2013. I loved photographing their engagement and wedding and actually if you go way back in my blog you can see that I had blogged about it. Their wedding was so intimate and romantic. They really made it about themselves. Only very close family and friends we there. I remember they had the shortest ceremony I've ever witnessed, not even 5 minutes. The mosquitoes were terrible but nobody cared.

I remember when Robyn got ready and witnessing the great energy between her mom Kimberly and her. There is people who don't get all sentimental and mushy but you can clearly see the emotions on their face and the love they have for each other. That's what I saw and I think captured that day.

When I recently found out Robyn's mom Kimberly had passed away last summer, I couldn't get it out of my mind. Like I said being a daughter myself and now a mom, I just can't imagine loosing my mom and I can't imagine for my children to loose me one day. I went back to take a look at their wedding photos and wanted to make a slide show and dedicate it to Robyn's mom.

Robyn was so kind to give me a quote for the end of the slide show. She is now a mommy herself and gets to share the mother daughter bond. Loss and experiencing the happiest time in your life often go hand in hand.

What keeps me going on my own journey is that I get to capture memories for others. Pictures that tell a story and are cherished for years to come. I feel like what I do matters.

I want to wish Robyn & Dan much strength, happiness and many blessings!

In Memoriam

Kimberly VanHoose

1963 - 2015