My old Rexburg pal and his daughter's wedding

This is a post about a wedding, but first, some back story. I need to tell you about my friend Craig Pack. Here are three quick stories about Craig, with whom I was friends in high school.

One time on the 4th of July, after the parade, we went behind the school and hit smoke bombs with a tennis racket out in the street. That ended when we mistakenly hit an unmarked police car.

One time around midnight, we drove to the Hibbard Bridge to jump off into the Teton River in pitch dark. We took off most of clothes, not all, but most, since we were wearing our good clothes having just come from a youth dance, and didn’t want them to get wet. After jumping off the bridge a few times, after we got out of the river, we didn’t have towels, so we just got back in the car “as-is” and headed into town before getting dressed. When we got pulled over for not having tail lights in the car, the officer’s face revealed quite a bit and suggested he was confused about why four soaking wet kids were driving around town in their underwear.

One time, me and two other buddies went to Craig’s house on a day he wasn’t around, and each took one of his shirts and one of his pants and all wore them to school the next day. When Craig came to school and saw that we were all wearing his clothes—and this next part will certainly come as a shock—he did not think it as funny as we thought it was.

Craig and I were friends in high school and had a lot of great times. We even worked at Kentucky Fried Chicken together. We’ve kept in touch and text each other every so often. So I was delighted when he called and asked me if I would photograph his daughter’s wedding. After high school, Craig joined the Navy, went to medical school, got married, and so hanging out with him on his daughter’s wedding day was really something special. I loved seeing the adult, grown up version of Craig, although I sure like the high school version, too.

Here are a handful of pictures from the wedding day. The third picture shows Craig and his wife Camille (who’s amazing) and their kids.

Ok, and just one more picture. That kid waving, that’s Craig when we were in high school.

Craig Pack at Madison High School

Father of the bride, my buddy, Craig Pack, from way back when.

Working

Here’s a couple pictures of me, working, photographing weddings. Both were taken by my assistant, Tia Horito, who has been at Justin Hackworth Photography for six years. Both were taken the same week.

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Utah wedding photography

The wedding of Tiia and David.
Click on any image to view it larger.

Utah Wedding Photography - Ruby + Lee

Ruby and Lee wanted a different wedding. Low key, just family. No party. Just a get-together the night before. So that's just what they did. Family members gathered at Ruby's father's house in Salt Lake and had dinner, and make beautiful speeches and tributes to Ruby and Lee. The next day they got married in the Provo Temple, across the street from my studio. There were a few formal pictures taken, there, then Ruby and Lee came back to the studio, just the two of them, for a few more pictures. And that's it. Then off to the honeymoon!

I met Ruby a few years ago when I photographed her sister Meredith's wedding in Santa Cruz. I was always hoping she call me when it was time for her wedding. And what do you know!

Meet Ruby and Lee. (Click on any image to view it larger).

Justin Hackworth photographs extravagant weddings or small gatherings and he wants to photograph you. 
Let's chat!

Salt Lake wedding photography - Kristen + Matt

Some time ago Kristen came to my studio for headshots and after that, I always secretly hoped that when she got married, she's hire me to photograph the wedding. So, I was delighted and flattered that she told her friends and family she had to check what days I was available before she picked a wedding day.

The night before their wedding in Salt Lake at the Memorial House, they had a dinner with close friends and family at the Salt Lake Hardware building. Beautifully decorated, of course, because Kristen's classy. 

Kristen is the sort that's loved by all, and Matt is a lucky man.

Meet Kristen and Matt.

Bridal Portraits in Provo Canyon

I kept calling him Andrew even though his name is Tyler but I had a good reason. He has a brother named Andrew that looks and sounds just like him, who I also photographed. But that was four years ago, so basically you could say I have a great memory.

Meet Tyler and Sydney, soon to be wed. 

Photographed in Provo Canyon, and my photography studio in downtown Provo.

Favorite photographs of 2016

This is a list of my favorite photographs I took in 2016. They are compiled from the client work I got, in addition to the things I shot on my own.

It's an incomplete list, really. I initially selected more images than shown, here, but narrowed it down to a more blog manageable size. And for any one event, I tried to only include a single image. So calling this post my "favorite images" isn't entirely accurate. It is some of my favorite images. 

So, out of the thousands and thousands of pictures I took in 2016, here are 165 in random order, that for me, rose to the top. 

(Click any image to view it larger, then click through individually)

There is a lot of variety, here, but I hope you can see some stylistic consistency. I hope a unique point of view and perspective comes through. Thanks for looking through these.

And maybe you'll be in the mix for 2017? 

What Say Ye Podcast

Photo by Spencer Heaps

About 8 months ago, Derrick Clemments and Court Mann, a couple of cool guys, a couple of writers from Provo's Daily Herald started a podcast, talking about the city of Provo, it's people, and the arts. I was honored to be their first guest on their very first show. Thanks for having me on, fellows! If you care to listen to the episode, it's below. 

Since then, they've had a string of smart, clever, interesting guests, including the mayor, Cjane Kendrick, Mallory Everton and Jeremy Warner from Studio C, Tyler Glenn from Neon Trees, and others.

Their site is here, if you want to see their full lineup so far. 

And here's a fun fact. At the time, Derrick Clements was not married, but got engaged shortly after the interview. And after interviewing me about my process, why I'm a photographer, and how I approach weddings, he hired me to photograph his own wedding. Court, you're next, buddy.

Provo engagement photography

Here's Emily + Eric, they're married, now, but they weren't when I took these pictures. I'll post some of their wedding pictures soon.

Bakersfield Wedding Photography - A vow renewal

Here's the vow renewal ceremony of Sherrod and Emily in Bakersfield, California.

One the best parts about being a wedding photographer is witnessing the happiest days in someone's life. I leave the event feeling good about the world, about life, and love.

Emily and Sherrod's vow renewal ceremony felt just like that, except newlyweds often have no idea what they're getting into and have a wonderfully optimistic, yet untested sense of hope. Emily and Sherrod, on the other hand, after being married for 20 years, knew just what that marriage road looked like, and they loved what they saw. The whole event was very inspiring. 

(Click any image to view it larger)

 

The best vendors were involved, of course.

Flowers: Amanda, from House of Flowers
Band: Lonely Avenue
Caterer and Event Location: The Padre Hotel
Event Planner: Cassandra from The Fairy Godmother
Cake: Anamie Mahanke

Wedding guests

I photographed two weddings last week. Both, originally intended for outside. After all, it is still September. But, cold weather forced a change on the days of both weddings. Here's a photograph from my friend and former UVU student, Mackenzie's wedding. I'll post more from this happy day once I have them all edited.

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