Light and Bright Wedding

This past weekend, I assisted my photographer friend Nathan from Nathan's Photography at a wedding and reception. We had a great time, as usual, and I'm so happy with the images we captured! He posted the sneak peek on his website early this morning, so I decided to go ahead and share some of our work on my blog, as well. The wedding was very springy, with the bridesmaids in black dresses with bright and colorful bouquets. The centerpieces at the reception featured handmade pinwheels made from brightly colored card stock, and the wedding cake was a huge cupcake tree with different bright colors of icing and adorable handmade paper cups! My favorite part of the reception, though, was the dessert table, that featured mini cheesecakes and the bride's grandma's homemade cherry pies!
These are 4 of my favorite images from the sneak peek, and they all feature my shooting and/or editing work.

Ballroom Wedding

This beautiful couple has been on the schedule for quite a while! I photographed a wedding a couple of years ago for an extended family member, and, little did we know, a bridesmaid and groomsman that met for the first time at the rehearsal dinner for that event would be walking down the aisle themselves just 2 years later! It was so fun to spend this special day with them! The ceremony and reception were both located at the Crystal Ballroom of the Renaissance Grand Hotel in Downtown St. Louis, which was a simply stunning location. Beautiful fresh cut peonies, a gorgeous bridal gown, a fun wedding party, a surprise carriage ride, and loving family and friends all combined to make this a truly amazing day. I assisted and shot "second camera" for my friend Nathan Payne again, and we are SO HAPPY with the images we captured! There's lots more in the sneak peek album on his Facebook page, but I wanted to share a sampling of my work on my blog, so I picked out a handful of my favorites :-)

Lookin' Great in Green

When we got started on this session, Mom laughed because she had been shopping and choosing clothes for everyone to wear, and realized that everyone was in green! It looked awesome with the browns, golds, and reds around us for this outdoor session. It was another of those chilly, windy days, but we made it work and got some great stuff!

How do you not love a face like this?!?!?

If this baby looks familiar to you, it might be that you're recalling her newborn session images...
Isn't she beautiful?

Western Chic Wedding

My photographer friend Nathan from Nathan's Photography asked me to shoot the second camera for him at a recent wedding. It was one of the most personalized and creative weddings I have ever attended! They were married on their own property, and a tin barn was transformed into their wedding ceremony location. There were little country decorative displays here and there, and huge chocolate tulle curtains billowed from the entrance to each end of the building. They had built a rustic arbor to stand under for the ceremony, made from old tree branches and bound with rope, and had rusty wagon wheels, mason jars full of fall colored flowers, and weathered wood frames flanking either side of the arbor. The table behind them, which was where their unity candle was displayed, was made from a wood barrel with an old glass table top. Music was provided by a country singer with an acoustic guitar, and everyone was dressed in their country best with cowboy boots for the entire wedding party. Everything about the setting seemed to suit the couple's style perfectly. And we couldn't go wrong with the location, we had a dried bean field, barns, and a path through the woods readily available!

Nathan posted their sneak peek this evening, and he featured some of my shooting and editing work! I now totally have equipment envy, since he gave me a few minutes with the couple and let me use his Canon 5D Mark II and the "big gun" 70-200 prime lens... and I'm thrilled with how the images came out! Thanks, Nathan, for openly crediting me for my work and for letting me use your gear for a few minutes!

Here's some of my work that was featured in the sneak peek:

This one was my first time playing with the 70-200 on the 5D... *love*

 

I *need* that lens...

Tutus and Tea Parties

These little girls had some stunning golden hour sunlight for their session! I've been to this property several times to photograph this family, but this session was special, as their cousins from out of state had come to visit! The little girls had several matching and coordinating outfits to wear, I think this was the most wardrobe changes I've seen squeezed into a session yet! We started with the girls in their matching tutus, and ended with the two of them in coordinating party dresses with a little tea set out in the grass - so stinkin' cute!

Beautiful Baby Girl

This little sweetie has frequent play-dates with the sweet little boy I photographed this summer on his porch on the white swing in his Cardinal's attire. I was so worried about the weather for the day of our shoot, since the heat had been fierce and there were storms that morning. We had to bump back our session from morning to mid -afternoon, which isn't usually the best time for photos... but the rain stopped just in time, and we were blessed with some pretty phenomenal lighting. Isn't she beautiful?

First Birthday!

Earlier this spring, I photographed this little sweetie with his first Harley, some cute sunglasses, and a rockin' leather jacket. He was just 8 months old then, and time has flown - it was time for his first birthday photos! We had a great session at the park, near a fountain, doing a cake smash, and then playing with the hose afterward. I LOVE LOVE LOVE his big blue eyes, he's gonna be a heartbreaker someday!

The newest cowboy on the range

You may remember the maternity session I posted a few weeks ago with the beautiful goldenrod and excited mommy, daddy, and big sister... well, he's here! We had such a fun time with his photos. Mom suggested that we incorporate some of their riding accessories since they have horses on the property, and I was so happy with our results! Daddy is also an outdoorsman, so we had to incorporate some orange and camouflage, too. Welcome to the world, little cowboy!

Sweet Baby

This little girl was probably the best behaved newborn I've seen so far! She barely fussed the entire time, and when she did cry it was because she was hungry! She was such a doll with her whispy blonde curls!

Happy Independence Day!

I hope you have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend!

High School Sweethearts - Wedding Sneak Peek

Once again, I was worried about the weather for this wedding, but aside from being a bit humid, we had a great day! I just loved the combination of the bridesmaids' aqua dresses with the mix of white and soft pink roses, it was so springy and refreshing! The bride and groom have been together for 6 years, and are high school sweethearts, too! Their day was filled with joy right down to the details... the bride cut a piece of tulle from her mom's wedding veil from 30 years ago and hand beaded the trim to make her own veil, the ring bearer carried in the bride's grandmother's Bible with the rings tied on in coordinating aqua ribbon, and she also added the coordinating ribbon to her adorable shoes. The couple chose to see each other before the ceremony, so my co-photographer, Nathan Payne, and I set up the couple for an intimate meeting... the groom stood outside the church and the bride approached him from behind and placed her hand on his shoulder to cue him to turn around - it was the sweetest moment! After the ceremony, the couple exited the church to a crowd of guests blowing bubbles, and the cloud of bubbles was HUGE! The reception was great... an awesome best man's speech, a tender father-daughter dance, and lots of laughter. Thanks for asking us to capture the memories of your special day!