The lifetime joy of printed photos
Can't you feel the joy in Nonna Connie's eyes? Connie is 97 years young and her wedding was 67 years ago! Last year her granddaughter married, and her wedding was photographed by the team at The Beautiful Collective. Connie realised that they all shared a passion for printed photographs, so after the wedding, she invited them back for homemade limoncello and a viewing of all her photo memories.
"Connie is living testament that we should hold photographs in our hands and celebrate them for as long as we breathe." - The Beautiful Collective
This series of photos were shot by Darren and Haley on their return visit to Connie's place, and we thought they were so beautiful we had to share them with you.
Connie frocked, pearled and curled in preparation for the visit then took them on a journey down memory lane.
She confided that she still loves looking at her wedding album and printed photographs, as it connects her to times when her beloved husband Giuseppe was alive.
She walked them through the hallways, bedrooms and her formal living room, pointing out photos of her parents, her childhood, her children and of course Giuseppe.
Connie reminisced as she leafed through the pages of old photo albums, and launched into stories of the past. Haley and Darren were swept up in her enthusiasm, and moved by the joy she was obviously experiencing from sharing her memories with others.
She marvelled at her younger self and her lover, and 63 years on she still recalled how wonderful she felt putting on her gown and strutting down the aisle.
She giggled about the magical times that she had shared with him wishing he was there but thankful she had the photographs to keep his spirit and their stories alive.
So strong is her love for Giuseppe, she still lights a candle for him every morning next to his framed portraits.
We hope that one day you too experience holding your wedding album in your wrinkled hands, reliving the magical moments, laughing and crying as you share the stories with your children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
The moral to our little tale of Connie is that if you want to enjoy your photos forever, and maintain a connection with loved ones who are no longer sitting beside you, print is the only format guaranteed to last for decades and centuries to come. Digital is great for the now but losing USBs or passwords to online galleries is way too easy to do, and who knows the future of your storage device? Remember the floppy disc and the CD-ROM?
So if you haven't printed your wedding photos yet, we hope this has inspired you to preserve them in a photo book before the files, and time slips away.