Caleb & Cassie | Maternity

Another catch-up post today! Caleb and Cassie have since welcomed this adorable little guy into their family, but we took some maternity photos in November that I didn't get around to posting till now. They were troopers with the chilly weather, and Cassie is officially the spunkiest pregnant lady I think I've ever met. Let's just say climbing fences may have been involved, despite my protestations... It was her idea, I promise! :-)

They had me laughing through the whole shoot. :-)

Aaron & Megan | Wintery 2nd Anniversary Session

They're baaaack! I joked with Megan that people are going to think that I only ever take pictures of them. :-) I shot their engagement pictures, their wedding, their first anniversary pictures, their maternity pictures, pictures of their adorable baby (haven't posted those), and now their second anniversary shoot! It's so fun to keep doing pictures long after the wedding has ended - and it's an interesting exercise to come up with something a little different each time when you have shot the same people so many times! :-)

They got married in the winter, but the last anniversary shoot was in the summer, just because we waited for nice weather. This time Megan wanted to do a snowy anniversary shoot, for something new and since it would be more in line with their actual anniversary. Schedules didn't line up for a while, and we hit March; the snow melted. We thought we'd have to toss that idea when we were enjoying temperatures in the 70's, when it suddenly plummeted and we found ourselves dumped with 4 inches of snow once again. It was a date we were both available so we spontaneously met up at a local preserve and made it happen!

Aaron & Megan | 2nd Anniversary: Preview

Here's a little teaser for you! Megan so wanted to get 2nd anniversary photos in the snow, but our schedules weren't lining up. Spring weather (as in, 73 degrees) arrived and it looked like it would have to be next year... and then we were obligingly dumped with several inches of snow, and on a day that I was free! So, all you midwesterners complaining about the snow - blame Megan, she was praying for it. ;-) Come back soon for the rest of the shoot!

And just a reminder... I'm going to be in Paris and the south of France next month and I would just love to photograph a few lovely people if any of you live near there, are traveling there, or know somebody who is. :-) Drop me a line!

Frank & Katherine | Wedding

Katherine contacted me before she was even officially engaged to make sure I'd be available to shoot her wedding. :-) We went through quite the process of finding a date that she could find a venue and that I was available and in the end, she moved her wedding date just so I could shoot the wedding! That's dedication! It means a lot to have someone love your work that much. :-D

Frank and Katherine's day started out chilly and a bit rainy, but by the end of the day it was a beautiful autumn afternoon. It was an honor to capture this wonderful, Christ-centered day - enjoy the pictures (there's kind of a lot of them)!

And huge thanks to my second shooter and "shadower"/assistant, Laura and Renee! They were invaluable and I'm using several of their shots in this post!

I always love when my couples do a first look! It opens up the schedule so much and allows for capturing some priceless moments!

I think he liked the dress. :-)

They nailed the cheering shot on the first try! :-)

Time to get married!

Due to the number of guests at their wedding, they had a big cake reception following the ceremony and a smaller dinner reception in the evening.

Before heading into the dinner reception, we took some more couples portraits around town and I am SO glad we did this. They are some of my very favorite images of the day! I highly recommend still taking some portraits after the wedding even if you do a first look!

*happy sigh* I will always love classic architecture.

Candid, folks. Apparently they're just naturally models.

Ok, hilarious moment. We were walking back from the riverfront and these two guests were waiting with armfuls of leaves and proceeded to fling them dramatically on the bride and groom. It was hysterical and also made for a pretty great shot, so thanks, guys! :-)

It's now my official challenge to get a candid picture of Justin & Jessica when they don't know they're being photographed at every wedding we end up at together. :-P

Credits:
Dress: David's Bridal | Bridesmaid dresses: David's Bridal | Ceremony venue: Lincolnwood Baptist Church | Reception venue: Veterans Memorial Hall