It is with great excitement, peace, and joy that I announce to you the winner of the 2013 Free Wedding Photography Giveway!

Congratulations are in order to:

Miss Heather Chapman and Tom Nydahl!

Cannot wait to share more about this couple and their story!  For now, Heather and Tom’s entry:

René,
You may or may not remember me (Heather). We met a little less than a year ago in Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory when you came in and ordered some truffles. You’ll be pleased to know I am still (obviously) stalking your blog:-)
I cannot get enough of your photos. It is so evident that you pour your whole heart into what you do, and with every post, I feel transported. I feel like I get to partake in each event, like these people are my best friends or family and I get to experience a little piece of their joy. There is emotion behind every shot! I can’t even imagine what those couples feel when they get to look back at those photos, and relive, so beautifully, the happiest days of their lives! I’m sure the joy is without comparison.
We are excited to press on into marriage, even on a time crunch, and I just had to take the chance and submit our story to you. We are paying for everything wedding ourselves, which is definitely daunting, but is letting us get creative and really make us prioritize what’s most important to us. On top of that list, for multiple reasons, are incredible photos.
I have 3 (out of 5) brothers who are Air Force pilots, so if/when my whole family is able to be together, it’s a big deal and those moments are precious (as I’m sure you are familiar!). There is a big back story to this, but my brothers will be the ones walking me down the aisle. One of them is currently in Afghanistan, and will be for while, and another is fresh off the plane from Afghanistan, and leaving for his next assignment in South Korea in a couple months. So if they are all able to be there for my wedding (praying praying praying), it’s something I want sweetly documented. Something I KNOW you’re wonderful at. Our wedding will be probably the only time that all of the people we love and value the most will be in one place at one time, and those are memories I want for forever.
Tom lost his job as a paramedic about a month ago, which while certainly difficult, has opened up other neat opportunities, like going back to school in the fall for his degree in Nursing, while I play sugar mama for a little while doing what I love as a massage therapist. Starting out our lives together as broke college students was certainly not what we had pictured, but is already proving to be better than we could have dreamed up on our own. We are both so excited, nervous, but totally confident in God’s perfect will for our lives.
So, do we deserve your wedding giveaway the most? Perhaps not, we are beyond blessed, and honestly don’t really deserve anything at all. But it would be such a treasure and HUGE blessing to have you as our photographer. To capture our beginning of forever. You have already touched my life in so many ways, letting me get to walk through life and see the Lord’s hand at work through your gift. You are a blessing, more than to just me, and much more than you probably ever realize!
Thank you for all that you do!
Many Blessings,
-Heather (and Tom)