Even more pictures!

Apparently, they don't really do proof books anymore, it seems. Just like the newspaper industry has discovered: it's all online now, baby.
So, Craig and Sebastian have finished the online proofs and they're all online for everyone to look at. There's probably 1,000 pictures in there and every one is fantastic, even the photo of Matt at the urinal. Lynne and Matt spent their one-month anniversary looking at each one, for two hours.

OK, so here's how you can see them:
1. Click here.
2. Click on "wedding."
3. Click on "Lynne + Matt"
4. Put in the password: BeaconNews
5. The photos are separated into preparation, ceremony, portraits and the party.
6. Use either the slide show (set it on the fastest speed) or "View all the party."

There's one last category: “photographers picks” which are basically the best pictures, as determined by Craig and Sebastian. Those photos are not in the other categories. They have also been cropped and color corrected. Most of those are the same pictures in the slide show.

It seems there are photos of everyone in there. If you are planning to order a print, please talk to Lynne or Matt first. There are some good reasons to order through the website and some very good reasons to wait.
So, enjoy!

In the meantime, Peru pictures are coming soon. Honestly.

Picture that!

So, you're looking for pictures, right? Well, Lynne and Matt are still sorting through the 10 million Peru photos Matt took. And the wedding pictures aren't back yet, although Craig, the very excellent photographer, has posted two quick hits here.

For more fun, go here and watch a slide show of the wedding that Craig put together. (The pictures move pretty fast - you can pause by clicking on the down arrow in the bottom right corner, then using the controls.) It was great to see all these memories again. And, also, to see that we're all such awkward dancers. Yes, that includes you.

As far as the honeymoon, here's two favorites as an appetizer: a scenic shot of the unbelievable Macchu Picchu and a close-up of a woman who was weaving at a llama/alpaca farm Lynne and Matt visited. More to follow...

Told you there was a duck!

So, you thought Matt was just being funny. Nope.

There really was a bear cage and there really was a cement duck.

Makes you wonder - is Matt really wearing a cowboy hat in the engagement photo?

Only the shadow knows....

Engagement photos: A picture of insecurity

Well, Lynne and Matt got their engagement pictures taken Saturday. Barely.
It was an epic struggle, a battle against the elements, a fight of Biblical proportions. All this because Matt is a huge, giant, humongous, tremendous geek. Nerd. Dweeb.

So, Lynne and Matt's wedding photographers are going to be Craig Watson and Sebastian Szyszka. Craig, pictured at right, is an award-winning staff photographer at the award-winning Beacon News. Together with Sebastian, they make up Organic photography. They're both brilliantly talented and really nice guys.

We point that out so you know the photographers were not the problem. No, the problem was Matt. Matt gets through life trying to slip into the background, unnoticed, untouched and unapproached, if possible. That's hard to do with two photographers documenting every move.

On top of that, these engagement photos are a big deal, right? They're a documentation of how Lynne and Matt looked at this time in their lives. They'll be sent to family. Hung above fireplaces. Carried in wallets. E-mailed to the President. Traded for a near mint 1957 Roy Campanella.

All of this means - although he'll steadfastly deny it - that Matt was a little nervous about the pictures. He just wanted them to turn out right. He wanted Lynne to be happy, the Seagos to be happy, the Hanleys to be happy.

So, getting ready that morning was a challenge. Matt looked in the mirror and what seemed pedestrian before now appeared grotesque. Matt's mind started racing:

"Okay, Matt, you've got to look good. These pictures will be with us forever. Wait, where did that pimple come from? Are people going to stare at that baby tooth that never fell out? Did I wait too long to shave? Did I shave too early? Is stubble cooler or less cool than a baby face? Is that cowlick ever, ever going to stand down? Matt! Pull it together! You're awesome. The ladies love you. You can do this. Is that a hair growing out of my bottom eyelid? C'mon!"

Overreacting? When you've seen pictures like these, you can understand why he might be concerned.



So, three bottles of hair gel, five tooth brushings and a two-week boycott of anything with poppy seeds (could get lodged in teeth) Matt was ready to go. Almost.

The hair was solid, literally. The teeth were shiny. The nose was deboogerfied. But there was still one major problem: Matt does not have a good smile. When he's smiling naturally because he's happy - maybe he finished the marathon or his story made the front page - then he looks OK. But when he has to pose a smile? Yikes.

In preparation, Matt spent some time going over his smile possibilities. You just wish he was joking.

Smile one: The traditional.

Chin out and big teeth, this smile is popular with first graders getting their class picture taken, politicians trying to convince senile people to vote for them and The Joker.

Advantages: Outside chance, in the right light, might actually look happy.

Downsides: Cheek creases. High levels of cheesiness.

Smile two: The no-teether.

Lips sealed and slightly grinning, this smile is the favorite of people with secrets and smug jerks.

Advantages: Hides small aircraft that are lodged in teeth. Decreases cheese by one factorial. Allows subject to carry hidden microfiche in mouth during photo shoot.

Downsides: Family members may disown you.

Smile three: The near smile.

This half-open, awkward smile is preferred by inmates getting their first mugshots taken, nerds and stroke victims.

Advantages: Easy to do. Natural.

Downsides: Family members may feel sorry for you.


Well, there's only so much you can do. Eventually, you're going to be late for the photo shoot. So, Lynne (who, by the way, looked beautiful and perfect - unfair!) and Matt headed out to Geneva, to a park along the Fox River. Craig picked out a little spot that had some interesting architecture, falls colors, water and - this is not a joke - a building labeled "Bear Cage". Matt and Lynne stayed out of there.

Matt always used to see these pictures and wonder how they get famous people to do such a crazy pose, like this. Now Matt knows. Nothing about the photo shoot feels normal, so you lose touch with reality. Lynne and Matt were out on a bike path with two cameras less than a foot from their faces. Since it's incredibly difficult to visualize how this is going to look, you just go along with whatever the photographer suggests.

Basically, Lynne and Matt were life-sized Barbie and Ken, giant props to be positioned next to walls, near gates, in front of pretty trees and - again, no joke - on a cement duck.

"Okay, kiss Lynne on her forehead." "Now put your right arm over her left eye." "Stand under that bush while Lynne dangles from the tree."

But when you see work like this or this, you know these guys know how to make good pictures. And the truth is Craig might have just been having some fun with Matt since he's made Craig go to prison, to burning houses and near police stand-offs for various newspaper stories.

But, as you might imagine, all of this did nothing to ease Matt's awkward smile. Everyone tells Matt: "Just wait until the wedding day. You're going to have to take a million pictures." True, Matt responds, but on that day he'll have just married this wonderful, fantastic, outkicking-his-coverage girl. The pressure will be off - smiling will be a breeze. Not so this Saturday.

Craig: "Matt, smile for real. Don't look right at the camera."

Matt, inside: C'mon Matt, you can do this. Pull it together, man. Focus.

"Matt, no cheesy smiles."

Too cheesy? That was my actual smile. If my actual smile is cheesy, what have I got left in the Smile Bank? Should I pull out the no teether? Are they ready for that?

"Matt, chill. This is fun. You love her. Smile."

Yeah, that's right. I love her. Focus on that. How can I smile so she knows how much I love her? I'm going to smile the beejeezus out of this picture.

"Matt, can you relax? The veins in your neck are sticking out."

Relax the neck. No cheese. Love. Not at the camera. Some teeth, not too much.

"Matt, you look like your face is melting."

This went on for two hours.

But of course, Lynne and Matt eventually, got some good images. (Or Craig and Sebastian just gave up.) All along, Lynne and Matt wanted an engagement photo that was different, fun and a little off the wall - like them. Matt felt too many of the engagement pictures - and he sees a lot of them in the paper every week - look more or less the same. Boy with hand on Girl's shoulder. Girl and Boy lying on bearskin rug. Boy and Girl sit on bench. Dull, dull, dull.

So Lynne and Matt tried to come up with something a little more fun. What do you think?

Matt thinks it turned out pretty nice. He'll be sure to mail one to you and your cement duck.