Five Years Later

Five years ago we gathered for a family photo shoot at JC Penneys to celebrate our parents' 50th wedding anniversary. Some debate was given as to what to wear, but not much. We quickly settled on black and blues. Everyone showed up on time and the staff at Penneys (women we had gotten to know over the many years of taking Ashley to be photographed) had a lot of fun putting us in different groupings. The end result was great! 

<<insert pictures from 2018 here>>

Flash forward five years. The kids have all gotten taller, and our middle sister (Rebecca) is in a solid relationship. When I asked everyone before Thanksgiving if they were up for doing another family, Rebecca replied within five minutes with a resounding YES! 

A date was quickly settled on, then the debate began of what to wear. Should we repeat black and blues since it worked? What about greens? Reds (ironically) were quickly eliminated because they tend to clash. We kept coming back to black and white with pearls.

Where should we have the photo shoot? The photographer I hired (Jenna) specializes in outdoor photos. She is one of my favorite COVID-era success stories. Jenna started her business in 2020 when she was a high school junior by offering $20 porch photos. We used her twice that summer. She learned how to take good pictures, how to get people to listen to her, and how to build a business model that is competitive. Now a college sophomore, her business is continuing and thriving. She listens and follows through.

We decided behind my parents' house would be the best location. Everyone is comfortable with the house. New Jersey weather being iffy, we brought my great-grandmother's red loveseat over in case we needed to take pictures inside. Here's where the red comment becomes ironic -- we decided to each add a pop of red to our outfits in homage to Gigi. Mom decorated the mantle (which you can't see in this picture) with antique toys and a picture of Gigi and her brother, which used to hang over the loveseat when she owned it. After the outdoor photo shoot (we'll see the pictures in a few days) I set up my camera and took one last group photo of my parents surrounded by their children and grandchildren.

Once again, everyone showed up on time with smiles and followed the photographer's guidelines. Our forty-minute photo shoot was finished in a blink of an eye. The drizzle at the beginning when Don, Ashley, and I were posing went away pretty quickly. We all agreed, another five or ten degrees would have been nice, but the cloudy day meant no shadows and no one squinting. I can't wait to see Jenna's pictures!