Weddingbee Blog

Warning - this post is pic heavy!

If you remember our proposal story, I shared Mr. Hot Tea’s health scare with a benign tumor requiring a craniotomy and neurosurgery. The procedure was scheduled for January 2011 and it was highly likely that his facial nerve would be severed to remove the tumor, causing full paralysis on one side of his face. Rehab would take between 6 months to several years.

Why do I tell you all this? Because more than anything, Mr. Hot Tea wants his smile back for our wedding. Imagine losing function in half your face, eye bulging and lip sagging. Here’s how it progressed.

{ Mr. Hot Tea about six months before we met }

{ On our first trip to Las Vegas, dating less than a month }

{ One day post-surgery }

Mr. Hot Tea is a walking miracle—he rarely complains or voices a negative thought. So when he mentions something uncomfortable, I pay attention. That’s how it went with our e-pics. It was important to capture “us” in the moment before looks would change and we wouldn’t know if or when they would return. In the midst of the holiday rush, we found our photographer and booked engagement photos pre-surgery.

Kaemmerling Photography was our saving grace. Mr. Hot Tea remembered John Kaemmerling from high school had built a successful business since then. One look at his website and I was sold. We were willing to invest a significant portion of our wedding budget to photography and decided that only John would do. John is warm, friendly, and oh-so-talented! I’m grateful he was available for our wedding date.

He met us at the beach on the only foggy day during a week of sunshine—go figure. But the photos actually turned out better for it. We have the rights to the photo for our save the dates and the one we used for our Christmas card. We also ordered a DVD montage of our favorites, though not the easiest to reveal in a blog. Uh oh.

In becoming the Teacups, John graciously agreed to share some additional photos of our e-sesh with you. Are you ready?

All photos to follow are credited to Kaemmerling Photography.

{ Capitola Wharf }

{ This was our Christmas card }

{ This one is my personal favorite! }

{ We used to “Crossfit” in the pre-surgery days }

{ Hot Tea’s shirt says Puropedo, no worries wear }

{ We gots skillz, the box is 3 feet high! }

The photos don’t betray my emotions, but I was nervous! Sweat beaded up on my nose and I had fits of anxious giggles—so not cute. It took me a while to settle into being the focus of the camera (I prefer taking them to posing). This experience gave us a glimpse of what’s in store for our big day and appreciate John’s patience to calm me down and get me to relax.

Which one is your favorite? For your photos, did you get nervous? And any suggestions how to get over the candid camera nerves on W-Day?