Today’s post (and part 2 tomorrow) is a feature that I’m going to be sharing with you throughout the rest of my renewal planning process. I’m interviewing my vendors and sharing their answers here! You will get to learn a little more about my vendors and why they are some of the best in their field.

Today, the spotlight is on Elizabeth and Ryan Bower from Elizabeth Ryan Photography. These two are the sweetest, most adorable and talented people you will find. I am so happy they will be capturing our big day and, after you read these answers, you will see why I adore them so!

Q: How many years have you two been married?  Liz, what was your favorite wedding day moment?  Ryan, can you share your favorite photo from your wedding day?

Liz: Ryan and I are coming upon our 5 Year Anniversary!  Wahoo!  We were married on June 16, 2007 in our hometown of Montoursville, PA.  It is funny, we were just talking about our wedding the other day with some friends and we were laughing at the “bloopers” from the day… like, when my dress got caught on a candelabra walking back down the aisle and knocked the candle over without me even knowing it and how a thunderstorm rolled in just in time for the ceremony (we were indoors thankfully) and rolled out just in time for our exit out of the church!  The “bloopers” are definitely funny to look back on, but I think my favorite moment from our wedding day was walking out of the church and being surrounded by all of our family and friend’s excited faces as they threw flower petals and blew bubbles in our direction! I remember holding Ryan’s hand extra tight and looking back on the photos reminds me of the HUGE smile we had on our faces!!!  Love that moment! ;)

Ryan: For our wedding, I must have been a nightmare to photograph.  The day before the wedding I decided to go play paintball with all my groomsmen.  On the last match of the day I managed to get hit square in the face in the one little spot that was not protected by my mask.  Well, needless to say, I ended up with a nice cut and bruise for the wedding.  Fortunately, Liz didn’t get too mad at me and she still said I do ;). My favorite series of wedding photos was also of us walking out of the church.  The rain had just stopped so the pavement was still wet, people were throwing flowers and blowing bubbles, it was just so much fun to be married!

Q: I often wonder if photographers were “born” that way or if there was a moment that made them want to capture life one snapshot at a time.  How did the love of photography blossom for you both?

Liz: If my first photo album (full of pictures of my Cabbage Patch Doll) says anything… you could say that I was born with a love of photography!  ;)  I always had a camera in my hand.  My mom had a 35mm film SLR camera that I used to play with a lot while growing up and I took a summer photography class in middle school.  I used to dream of owning a photography business, but often pushed that dream aside after being advised that “owning a photography business and having a family is difficult.”  In college, I saved up all my pennies to buy my first digital SLR and the rest is history!  ;)  I took a lot of pictures of Ryan (& the rest of the team too!) playing football at Bucknell.  When I was a junior in college, my cousin, Amy, got married and I followed her around all day taking pictures!  Then Amy had a baby and Ryan and I couldn’t get enough of capturing these incredible moments in their lives!

Ryan: My love of photography started while playing football and baseball in high school.  My dad would always bring his 35mm SLR camera to the games and take photos of our team in action.  It was so neat to see how an instant could be frozen in time with a simple click of a shutter.  As I went off to college and became an engineer, I craved an outlet to be creative.  It just so happen that there was a digital photography class being offered.  It also just so happened that Liz was taking that course as well ;) From that point on I couldn’t put the camera down.  For me, the ability to think technically (lighting, composition, depth of field) while also being creative is what truly drives my love for photography.  Plus having someone put their trust in you to capture some of life’s most important moments is one of the greatest feelings in the world.

Q: Weddings…if you are in the industry, you love them, but I always like to hear from other vendors why they like weddings…especially since you are photographers and can take pictures of any subject?

Liz: Ahhh!  This is such an amazing question!  To be honest, when we started Elizabeth Ryan Photography, we thought our niche was going to be kids and family photography.  Seriously, we had a whole business plan based off of that!  ;)  haha!  However, after our first wedding, our thinking completely changed!!!  There was something incredibly magical about playing such a crucial role in one of the (if not the) most important day in two people’s lives.  Going on our 4^th wedding season, we can’t get enough!  Over the last few years, it has become incredibly clear to us that weddings and engagements are our true passion.  Knowing that we have the ability to provide moments for couples to escape the everyday routine and focus on the beauty of their love is something that we cherish with our whole hearts!

More of this amazing interview with Elizabeth Ryan Photography tomorrow…see Liz and Ryan’s favorite detail shot from a wedding, along with some amazing self portraits!  Until tomorrow…check out these great shots of Liz and Ryan and Ryan’s notes about how these photos came to be!

From Ryan: Above are photos of us as models in Justin and Mary’s Walk Through a Wedding Workshop in San Francisco.  For this, we had to be a “model” bride and groom for an entire day and be photographed by 20 photographers! It was truly an amazing learning experience to be on the other side of the lens.  (Photos by Justin and Mary Marantz)