Be Chic and Be Wowed

I had the pleasure of working with my friends in the wedding industry at the Be Chic Event at Black on Burlington last Sunday.  The space is spacious with a dramatic warehouse flair that is perfect for any occasion.  Lynn Henderson with Above and Beyond Weddings and Events and Andrea Grist with Andrea K.Grist Floral Designs took a super-charged attitude towards organizing and marketing the event resulting in a great crowd streaming in all day.  The reviews have already started coming in with  brides commenting on how they loved the vendors and appreciated the ability to have time to talk with each of us.  As someone who has always shied away from bridal shows, I think I have a new attitude.

Beautiful Fall Afternoon

Kelsey and Curtis got married on a gorgeous day in October in Gardner, Kansas, and what a fun day we had. We first took advantage of the old Gardner military base which just happens to have air force fighter planes sitting around, then moved on to some fantastic abandoned buildings with great weathered exteriors and then finally a small farm property with a classic old barn.

Nita and I love riding around on the trolley on gorgeous afternoons with the entire wedding party.  An amazing day.  Thanks so much for letting us share this gorgeous October afternoon.

The ingredients:

Wedding Dress: Bridal Extraordinaire

Flowers: Golden Goose

 

 

 

Winter Wonderland in Kirksville

Jeff and I had a chance to travel to Kirksville, MO for a beautiful wedding with Whitney and Adam. We love Kirksville with its fantastic town square and we also always turn our Kirksville trips into a vacation by staying at our favorite hotel, the Depot Inn.  Whitney and her mother used a Christmas theme that was embraced throughout the entire wedding, from ceremony to reception.  Whitney in white and her lovely girls in red satin and black. Whitney also wore red satin shoes to match the theme. The church was perfect for the ceremony complete with red carpet and white everywhere, but the best part was the Gone With The Wind staircase!

Before the ceremony, we took off to a few fun locations in downtown Kirksville where we found fantastic brick walls and cool alleys. Whitney looked absolutely stunning in her gown and white fur bolero jacket. The weather was a tad cold but we LOVED the overcast look, not to mention the moment the wind embraced Whitneys cathedal veil and  lifted it up towards heaven and then wrapped around Whitney and Adam as they kissed. Adam and his guys in black and red ties and boutonniere’s looked “so cool” you’d never know they were all freezing.  After the ceremony, the bride and groom exited the church to gorgeous sparklers reflecting off the wet streets.

At the reception everyone was in for a great treat with one of the best and prettiest candy bars we have ever seen !!! The room was decorated as if Martha Stewart herself had come to Kirksville. The Christmas theme continued with nice touches like two trees that had the bride and groom’s photos in small old fashioned picture frames hanging on the trees as ornaments. The entire room SPARKELED with lights, Christmas tree balls, silver, copper, gold and red were everywhere, but one of the highlights were the snowflakes that danced above the bride and groom as they took their first dance as Mr. and Mrs. The only thing outshining this room …the love between Whitney and Adam.

Thank you for letting us be a part of this wonderful day !

The Mix:

The Wedding Dress: Teresa’s Bridal Boutique Kirksville,MO

Tuxedos: Shawns Bridal And Formal Shopp Kirksville,Mo

Flowers: Taylors Flowers Kirksville,Mo

Cake: Hy-vee Kirksville,MO

 

A Day in the Park

Maksim, Mindy and Rob ……..what a day we had at Loose Park.  This sweet and beautiful little boy is definitely one of our favorites to photograph. With the sunshine on our side and Maksim’s smiling face and laughing eyes, it just doesn’t get any better.  This little blue eyed wonder has been a joy to photograph from the very beginning, and I mean VERY beginning!

We did mommy Mindy’s pregnancy photos (Check a few of them out under our gallery - Baby Face.) Mindy was gorgeous with Maksim in her tummy and we knew then that this baby was going to be someone very special.

It would be impossible to pick our very favorite photo of the day, because Maksim loves the camera and the camera loves Maksim, but really driving the mustang are classic images.

We cherish the times we have had with first Mindy and Rob when we shot their engagement session and now the three on their family shoots.  This is not goodbye, this is just Thank You for giving us the opportunity to capture moments in time that might have otherwise been a memory but now are memories on paper that along with the ones in your hearts, will last a lifetime.

Jeff and I love our lives, partly because of people like ….Maksim, Mindy and Rob!

We start off with a few hugs and kisses

Cool Shoes

I'm gonna nail that camera guy

Strictly a Ford Man

Just Hangin'

Deep thinking

You lookin' at me

Making a right turn

It feels good to be me

Does this go with my hat?

Picture Perfect Summer Afternoon

Jenny and I met years ago and became friends right away, she saw some photos of a wedding I had shot and informed me ” When I get married someday, I want you to be my photographer”.

Well, that “someday” finally arrived, and on a warm beautiful August day,  Jenny and John got married.  We started out the day at Arista Hair Salon in Leawood  where they did a fantastic job on hair and makeup.

Then off to one of my favorite churches , Our Lady Of Sorrows , to get married!  I can’t explain how beautiful Jenny looked on her wedding day ,as she expressed nothing but sheer joy, all day and all night long. It also needs to be noted that the three little flower girls and the three little ring bearers were the cutest ever!

One of my favorite moments of a wedding day is when the new bride and groom exit from the church, and Jenny and John did it in such a unique way.  Everyone waved colored ribbons with messages on the ribbons.  People of all ages loved those ribbons!!!!! ( and it made for really fun photos!)

The crossroads district was where we decided to go for fun and fantastic photos of Jenny and John and their great wedding party.  WOW, did we have a blast there!!!  It is SO wonderful to take photos of people in love and having fun, and that’s just what Jeff and I did .

Once at the reception the fun continued as everyone danced the night away!

What can I say except thank you Jenny and John for asking us to capture your wedding day, it was an honor and it was Amazing!

The Wedding Details:

Church: Our Lady of Sorrows

Cake: Creative Cakes

Flowers: Cains Flowers

Dress: David’s Bridal

Event Center: AMP Event Center

Wedding at Our Lady of Sorrows

An Evening At Powell Gardens

Nita and I were invited to shoot Under A Harvest Moon at Powell Gardens on a gorgeous September evening.  We arrived to the aroma of smoked pig and was greeted by Chef Howard Hanna of the Rieger Grill & Exchange.  I covered the wine reception and shot guests while Nita had the pleasure of shooting the gardens.

At dinner time we all converged on the open air Missouri Barn where Chef Howard talked to us about his exquisite dishes prepared from the local gardens.  The seating was at two long tables which gave the feeling of a Sunday Night dinner with the family.  We were fortunate to sit across the table from the senior horticulturist for the gardens.  While everyone kept asking him questions about the complex job of  maintaining such large gardens, I kept asking him about the dead spots in my lawn.

I could do this all the time!  Here are a few pics but if you want to see all the images from this amazing evening check it out: Under A Harvest Moon

as seen in HER LIFE

We were thrilled to have one of our weddings featured in a recent issue of Her Life Magazine.  Ashley and John were the perfect couple for this shoot and would you believe it…their both doctors.  We started our day at the Aloft Hotel and then worked our way around the streets of Town Center in Leawood.  The wedding ceremony was at Church of the Nativity.  Nativity is one of those churches that just has a drop-dead gorgeous environment.  With a skylight in the middle of the sanctuary and tile floors, the light just bounces around the room creating an almost surreal look.

We ended up at the Leawood South Country Club with, of course, a few shots on the golf course before the reception.