Jacob & Jessica | Wedding

Years ago, before I was even doing photography as a business at all, and certainly before I'd shot any weddings, Jessica told me she wanted me to shoot her wedding. I laughed, flattered that she liked my pictures that much, but also thinking that scenario was pretty unlikely ("Me? Shoot a wedding? Ha! I only take pictures of flowers!" Haha. Much has changed :-). Well, fast forward several years and here I was, a professional photographer, and she was engaged. I got the email from her: "I get to ask you the question I've waited years to ask - will you shoot my wedding?" Uhhhh, let me think about this for a nanosecond... YES! It was so wonderful to shoot a wedding of someone who has followed my work from the very beginning and was so committed to me and my style - not just hiring me because I'm a friend who takes pictures, but because she truly loves my work in particular.

And this wedding... Oh, it was just dreamy. First off, her dress. was. incredible! She got a tulle dress and then had a custom bodice put on to it (by the inimitable Lily!) using lace from her great-great-grandmother's jacket. WOW. It was too stunning! Combine that with a perfectly lovely day, beautiful bridesmaids in mint dresses, gorgeous light in a lush green park, and a reception on a river boat... yeah, it was fabulous! Jacob & Jessica, thank you so very much for entrusting me with capturing your amazing day. May the Lord bless your life together!

There are probably too many pictures in this post... but I don't care. :-P THANK YOU to Laura for her stellar second-shooting-dress-fluffing-keeping-me-hydrated skills! As usual, I included some of her captures as well!

Her mom tipped me off that she was in the sanctuary by herself, practicing. When I asked her if she was ready, she gravely replied, "I don't think I've quite got it yet."

Dad's first look at the bride! He couldn't wipe that grin off his face. :-)

Love candid moments like this!

Their reception was on this fabulous river boat, The Spirit of Peoria! SUCH a fun venue!!

So much beautiful food!

Cupcakes and cheesecake by the amazing Simply Grace

Instead of the traditional clinking of the glasses, guests had to sing a love song at the mic. :-)

One of my favorite sequences of the day. *melt*

That's Jessica's nephew... completely adorable and very mic-happy. ;-)

We snuck out on the deck as the sun went down for a few more portraits and I'm SO glad! These are some of my favorite photos ever.

The crew let us go up to the top level!

Credits:
Wedding Dress: David's Bridal with alterations by Mode de Lis
Bridesmaid Dresses: OK Bridal
Ceremony Venue: Providence Church
Reception Venue: The Spirit of Peoria
Florals: Floral Designs Ltd
Hair & Makeup: Cori Rivas at Studio 117 & Kathryn Loughman
Cake/Cupcakes: Simply Grace

Blogging Better | Q&A

Good morning all! I've been thinking about the blog lately, and how I have not been very consistent - my posts are irregular and tend to come in big spurts with long intervals of nothing in between, depending on my flow of work at the moment and how busy life is. I would like to try to be more regular with blogging, and attempt (a little scared to say it), at least for a trial period, consistently putting up 2 posts a week.

I will probably be doing some more posts geared toward photographers, as well as some more personal snippets instead of exclusively using the blog as a portfolio.

My current plan is to put up new work on Mondays, and a miscellaneous post of some sort on Fridays. Previews will either be in with Friday posts or just whenever (do you all even like previews? Should I keep doing them?). So... to kick off "break out of just posting work" - I'm opening it up for questions! If you have a question about photography, weddings, my cat, or what I order at Dairy Queen, drop it in the comments below and I will do my best to answer it next Friday! :-)

I'll leave you with a sneak peek of Aaron & Megan's anniversary session! I was starting to think we had exhausted our location options when we stumbled on this little vine covered old building. More coming soon!

Gretel | Senior Portraits

Today I'm sharing some of my very favorite pictures I've ever taken. :-) I've been looking forward to shooting Gretel's senior portraits ever since we first talked about it months ago, because I knew two things: 1. Gretel is lovely (duh), and 2. there would be ballet involved. Recipe for success! And it didn't disappoint. After considerable scoping out of locations online, we set out for a morning of portraits and I am thrilled with the results! Ballerinas just might be my new favorite. Enjoy!

I love her laugh!

I also need to bring her mom along to all my sessions. ;-)