A leitmotif or leitmotiv is a short, recurring musical phrase associated with a particular person, place, or idea.
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I first hear about leitmotifs while watching some behind-the-scenes features on Inside Out (I love Pixar movies) a week before Kristen and Brett’s session. The director was talking about the leitmotif they wrote for when happy memories are created, and the orb appears on screen. They showed a few examples of how they modified the sound for different moments through the movie. I’m not sure why but the concept amused me because it was so simple but impactful. I’ll come back to this…
Kristen and Brett have had many a date day at Brookside Gardens so they knew in the Spring the garden comes to life. And oh boy they were right. We have moved their session due to rain on their first date and I was so worried we were going to miss peak tulip bloom but instead we were perfectly in time. The bright orange blooms were massive! We also struck flower gold. Brookside Gardens have late blooming cherry blossoms and it was magical! And private! We had a sunrise session so there weren’t a lot of people around us and I love the photos of them surrounded by these fluffy white blooms!
However it was these Japanese Maples kept appearing throughout their session that just inspired me. Their red color coordinated perfectly with Kristen’s hair and flower drape. It was the visual version of a leitmotif. This signature color kept appearing, as if just for them. This of course is not new in photography- and in fact on wedding days its very much a curated effect due to theme colors in weddings, but there was something very charming about it occurring naturally and with such a specific color that felt personal to Kristen, that I was really tickled by.
As we wandered the garden, finding more and more spectacular flowers we talked about their wedding (that as of writing this is in 2 weeks!) and Kristen said something that kind of smacked me! Almost all of their guests will be vaccinated. A year ago we were postponing weddings. Last month maybe a handful of people had their vaccines. But in May, almost entire guests-lists are vaccinated. Its really amazing to see signs of this pandemic nearing an end, at least in our area. So a special shout-out to Kristen and Brett’s guests, and all those getting vaccinated. We are all working to keep each other safe and how amazing is it to know when we party in 2 weeks, we are doing so with minimal risk. When was the last time we could say that? Best part- this is a trend that I know will be continuing for the rest of the season. So let’s party!
I am so excited about these I’m crying. XD I can’t wait to show everyone!