Jacksonville Florida Wedding, Portrait, and Music Industry Photographer » Tag Church

Katrina & Kyle’s Jacksonville Wedding

Thomas Lester — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 01:51:59 +0000

It was a beautiful day for a wedding, framed by thunderstorms before and after. But during Katrina and Kyle’s wedding, it was perfection! I had such a good time watching Kyle peek over at Katrina. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her during the Catholic Mass! Then, I’d catch Katrina smiling back at Kyle. True love! The party was amazing and everything looked beautiful. Big congratulations to Katrina & Kyle!

AJ & Abby Get Married

Thomas Lester — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 18:59:31 +0000

There are few things in my vocation as a photographer that beats photographing good friends on their wedding day. There was so much love surrounding AJ & Abby on their wedding day. So much joy! I was so excited for them. Congratulations AJ & Abby!!!

I had to include the above picture of my girls. The blondie is my daughter. The gorgeous lady in the middle is my wife. Lizzie (on the right) isn’t one of my girls… but close enough. We think of her as one of the family.

Mary & David’s Jacksonville Florida Wedding

Thomas Lester — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 23:00:47 +0000

Great couple, great church, killer reception, surrounded by friends… that equals a great wedding. Fun fact… the pianist, Don Isabel, was my son’s middle school band director. Don’s wife played flute for the wedding. The bride’s mother was Don’s substitute teacher at school. I love it when stuff like that happens. It was a blast. So, we got finished with the ceremony and I headed over to the Cummer Museum to set up for portraits before the reception starts. I headed out into the garden overlooking the St. Johns River and it looks like all hell is about to break loose. The waves in the river are big enough to surf on. My heart sank… Mary really wanted to do portraits in the garden. However, by the time the wedding party arrived and had snacks, the storm broke. The sky cleared and it was perfect! We got some great shots and then continued to party at the reception. Here’s some highlights of Mary and David’s big day.

John & Rachel’s Jacksonville Portraits

Thomas Lester — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:03:08 +0000

This was a bitter sweet portrait session. John and Rachel are dear friends of mine. I love them the death. We’ve all served together at Church with long days hauling equipment around. John gave my son his first chance to play in the worship band. Brian was 9 years old and playing drums in the high school band. Rachel is one of the most loving caring people I know. She’s also really funny. So, naturally… I was looking forward to this shoot. However, we were doing this session because they are moving to Ireland to be the new Pastors of our Celebration Ireland campus. We did this shoot a couple of days before they left. It was fun, but sad. I’ll miss them… but I’m also looking forward to visiting them one day. Hopefully soon.

My Grandmother’s Funeral

Thomas Lester — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:44:39 +0000

This is a difficult blog post to put together. My aunt, uncle, and mom wanted me to photograph my grandmother’s funeral ceremony. They knew they wouldn’t remember much from this day when it was all over. I was a little torn inside. On one hand, having a task to do helped me cope with the sadness I was feeling. On the other hand, it’s quite a different feeling when the people I see through my lens are MY people and they are hurting. I don’t think the funeral was the hardest part for me, though. It was almost surreal. Going to her house and not seeing her in her chair. Not hearing, “Well hello Tim-Tom”. That’s the sound I hear in my head when I think of her. I miss her already.

Below is a slideshow of the images. I knew the song I wanted to use immediately after the service. The lyrics completely sum up this experience. My grandmother is now free… no more pain or suffering. “This ache I feel inside is where the life has left your eyes. I’m alone for our last goodbye, but your free.”

Bubba’s Funeral from Thomas Lester on Vimeo.