Lori + Derek's "down home" wedding preview

"I've decided it won't rain today" was the greeting I received from Lori when I arrived at her parent's home in rural Windom on Saturday morning.

There was too much planned — tractor rides, outdoor portraits, a petting zoo and fireworks. Even though it was forecast, there was NO room for rain on Saturday.

And to our great pleasure, the rain held off!


Isn't Lori stunning?!??!?!?


Derek looks pretty good, too.


This is Lori and Derek's "first look." Aren't they adorable??!??!?!?

We love it when our couples opt to do a "first look" and see one another before the ceremony. It allows for WAY more time to photograph our signature "romantic portraits" during the day. Because Lori and Derek opted to do a "first look," we had TWO HOURS to make some stunning portraits of the couple!


See? Stunning! :)


After Lori and Derek had their first look, we headed to the house where Lori grew up. The day before, Mike and I scouted this fantastic red barn, and we wanted to use it for some portraits. When we arrived, Lori told us her grandfather (great-grandfather?) built the barn. I love it when the areas we photograph have special meaning to the family!

I also love how breathtaking she looks in Lazaro!


These two are SO SMITTEN ....


This is on the way to the reception ... which we'll post more about with the upcoming slideshow!

The evening was one full of merriment, llamas and s'mores. The Gregg Woodall band provided the soundtrack for the reception.


Lori and Derek, THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for inviting us to capture your wedding day. We hope you're doing some serious relaxing in Maui!

We're working on your slideshow, so don't be strangers to the blog! :)

Erin + Shane's Rock Chalk Wedding preview

Karen and I spent this past weekend in Lawrence for Erin and Shane's wedding. They were married in Danforth Chapel on the University of Kansas campus, where Shane graduated from the School of Pharmacy. The chapel is located near the student union, which made for a fantastic location for some romantic bridal portraits!


We scouted the union and its architecture prior to the rehearsal on Friday. In the event of rain, these arches were part of our Plan B. Thankfully, the rain passed and the sky cleared but we still managed to use this location to make this stunning portrait of our beautiful bride!


To get to the chapel, the bridal party and guests met at the reception site and boarded a bus. We thought this was an incredibly kind service for Erin and Shane to provide their guests considering parking is tight around the chapel.


A Tiffany bracelet that Shane used in his proposal accented Erin's bouquet.


Shane wipes a tear from Erin's cheek during the ceremony. Later, at the reception, Shane told me, "I've got a great girl."


Shane escorts his new bride through a cascade of bubbles as they leave the chapel.


A wrought iron decoration proved to be a great prop for shooting a detail of their wedding rings.


Lastly, these two images are two of my favorites from the day. Shane suggested shooting near the KU World War II Campanile, a KU landmark that his ancestors had a hand in constructing. We spent some time there before capturing my favorite image of the day near Potter Lake. You'll have to wait to see it, though, as I'm saving it for another post. ;)

As hard as it might be for this pair of K-Staters to admit, we had a great time in Lawrence photographing Erin and Shane's wedding. Thanks so much for inviting us to share in your special day! Check back soon to see their slideshow. -Mike

What's Mike been up to?

It struck me this week that Karen's been posting an awful lot lately which might be making some of you wonder, "What happened to Mike?"

Well, you see that cutie little girl up there? That's Madison, my daughter. She arrived on Christmas Eve night. So for the past four months or so, my wife and I have been adjusting to life as parents. And as any of you parents out there can attest, that can be a chore! But we're so blessed. She's healthy and so fun to be around. I know it's cliché but we really do have the cutest baby in the world! And the best part? She's already sleeping through the night!

If you're so inclined, feel free to jump on over to Maddie's blog. My personal project for the next year is to post one photo a day during her entire first year. It's already amazing how much she's grown and changed.

Sneak Peek — Sarah's Fashion Bridal Portraits

Last week, I worked with some awesome Wichita wedding vendors to put on an amazing fashion shoot. There's a LOT of editing going on right now, but I wanted to share a few quick faves with our loyal blog readers. :)

I also have a few shout outs to do: Thanks to Lisa and the crew at the Scottish Rite Temple for their kindness and accommodation.


The fabulous flowers were provided by Pam and her fantastic crew at The Flower Factory. You can check out their blog HERE.


Of course, we had to have some stylin' shoes. :) Surprisingly, I selected these ... oh ... in about 15 seconds. I labored for WEEKS selecting my own fun wedding shoes. But I just adore a pop of color on a bride's feet!


A HUGE thank you goes out to Diane and her ladies at Simplistic Bride for loaning us FIVE dresses for the day.

And lastly ... a MASSIVE thank you goes to my best friend, Sarah. She braved some less than ideal weather to show off these gowns.

Mike and I have a busy next few weeks with weddings (starting with Erin and Shane's rockin' wedding in Lawrence this weekend), so I probably won't get to post more photos from this shoot for a few weeks.

Thank you to EVERYONE who made this amazing day and fantastic portraits a reality!

Still Life

While working in Oklahoma last weekend, I took the opportunity to snap a few still frames that spoke to me.


Lemme tell you ... these chairs seduced me. I wanted to throw them in my back seat and bring them home with me. But sadly I couldn't find someone who belonged to the chairs. So, they stayed in Oklahoma and I returned to Kansas.

Hope the tidbit keeps you satisfied. I'm working on a fabulous post, and I'm excited to share it ... next week. :)

Tina + Jose's Slideshow

This week is flying by ... and I'm pleased to share another slideshow!


Tina and Jose also wanted to have family portraits done while I was in Oklahoma. The more the merrier! They have a young family, but a truly adorable one! Their little guy, Ely, almost made it into my camera bag and came home with me. ;) He was SUCH a darling.

Tina and Jose, it was a true pleasure meeting you. Please CLICK HERE to enjoy the slideshow!

Cristina + Josh's Slideshow

Every once in awhile you meet a personal cheerleader. Through the grapevine, I met Cristina and she became one of our top fans (I can't say she's our No. 1 fan because Mike's wife and my husband are battling for that title!) ;)

She has so enthusiastically has cheered us on as we've been working on a new Web site (which is still under wraps) ... and her enthusiasm is contagious! I suggested we try to coordinate a portrait session.

When we travel for portrait sessions, I rely heavily upon our clients to come up with fabulous locations. And boy, did Cristina deliver on a super-fabulous location! We met up and headed down to Medicine Park, Oklahoma ... and I'm ready to move there TODAY!!!! The visual possibilities were simply ENDLESS!!!!

Cristina and Josh, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your spectacular hospitality! Your warmth makes me want to up and move to your neck of the woods! Please CLICK HERE to check out your slideshow. :)

Sneak Peek — Tina + Jose

Check out this super-cute family!


More absolutely fun locations to come soon!

*distracted*

One of my most secret addictions is reading.

I can't help it.

When I was little, I'd read late into the night, and if I'd hear my parents' footsteps coming downstairs, I'd quickly shut my light off and shove the book under my pillow. Fifteen years ago, my books of choice were mystery. Mainly Nancy Drew. Today, it's everything under the sun.


In the last 4 hours, I got sucked into a book called "Hug Your Customers" by Jack Mitchell.

I know a variety of people read this blog ... from brides to fellow photographers to .... well, whoever! But regardless of who you are, this book has a POWERFUL message. It's incredibly insightful and a highly enjoyable read. I'm about half way through it, but MUST be responsible and get some sleep! There's a busy week ahead of me.

SO, Cristina and Josh and Tina and Jose, I'm back to working on your photos ... stay tuned!

Sneak Peek — Cristina + Josh's Family

HELLLLLLLLLLLO OKLAHOMA!!!!!!!!!

I'm on location in Oklahoma, and today had some fabulous family sessions, and know Cristina's been hitting the "refresh" button since our session ended this afternoon, waiting to see something ... *anything* from our session.

So here you go, Cristina! This will have to satisfy you for tonight. :)


Ok, here's another one .... I gave it a little rustic treatment to go with the fantastic area we photographed at.

Like old friends ...

One of the most unexpected blessings of being a wedding photojournalist is the people we meet and ultimately get to work with.

You might remember Lori and Derek's engagement preview HERE or their slideshow HERE.

One of the coolest parts about working with Lori is her attention to detail. Check out the awesome wedding invitation that arrived in the mail earlier this week:


With words like "as the crow flies" and "party till the cows come home" on a wedding invitation, I KNOW this is going to be one heck of a fun wedding!

Working with this couple has been so special. I truly consider them friends, so of course they'd send their new photo friends an invitation to their wedding! :) We are honored to be a part of what I know is going to be a very special day.

Oh, and I have to give credit to the designer! Lori worked with uber fabulous graphic designer Andrea Bettinardi to come up with these invites.