Well, as all of you have probably seen already, the 2010 Rawsii Wedding Photography Giveaway pulled in well over FOUR THOUSAND votes! It's not fair at all to say that the contest pulled in those votes because all three of these couples were working their tails off to spread the news and rally support far and wide. I was hearing updates nearly every day that involved campus rallies and mass emails, support groups, canvasing, flyers, and phone calls. It was so fun to keep track of the whole production!!! I watched the map with all the little dots on it for hits around the country and in a few cases around the world. Aaron's military connections brought in stories of platoons casting votes overseas in spite of massively slow internet connections. Amanda's Chiari support groups rallied around her and spread the word far and wide as well. But I loved that in spite of all that widespread publicity, I could definitely see huge hot spots in Iowa and Ohio and Colorado. That just shows that all these couples were surrounded by communities who love them. For a long time it was a very close race, but in the end, Aaron and Christle surged ahead and took the contest by over 500 votes. Congrats you two!!! I'm so excited that I was touched by your amazing story and now I get to BE at your beautiful wedding! I get to be the storyteller that captures the moments for your children and grandchildren...it's truly an honor!!
Aaron and Christle will be receiving 2-photographer Wedding Day coverage (that's me + an assistant) along with a 20-side Storybook Album, a disk of all their images, an Engagement Session, a Guest Book Album, Keepsake Cards, and Online Proofing at no cost.
But that's not all...
As the week progressed, I found myself becoming more and more saddened that two of these amazing couples were going to walk away from this contest having worked so hard for nothing. I mean, I chose each of them to be finalists because they deserved it. While it seemed like a grand idea at the time, I was beginning to see that they all deserved to win and even though I had avoided making the choice myself, I still didn't like that it would end with walking away and saying goodbye. So I did what any red blooded person would do...
I came up with a 2nd and 3rd prize...I know, I couldn't help myself!
Brock and Amanda will be receiving their wedding coverage for free and a complimentary disk of images and 50% off an album if they would like one. Brendan and Mollie will have their wedding covered by my good friend and business partner, Andrew Conrad of AG Conrad Studios. He has agreed to vacation travel with his lovely wife to Colorado for a few days to shoot their gorgeous wedding free of charge. He's very talented and even mildly amusing so I know that they will have a GREAT time.
I feel blessed! I feel that God led me straight to these three couples for a reason and that I'm fulfilling my purpose in extending His love directly to them. I'm blessed to have friends like Andrew who also see giving not as an obligation but as a privilege and opportunity. I'm blessed to know all these amazing people and to see how many other people love them and are touched by their lives. I know each of these couples were encouraged by the mass outpouring of support as well!!!
I'm looking forward to giving away more weddings in the future. Watch my blog for details about 2011!
And because I can't possibly post with out a picture, here's a sneak peek shot from a recent engagement session that I'll be blogging about in a few days...
