Sneak Peek — Mary + Tom's Wedding Album Design

I have to admit, I love wedding albums. When our designer is working on one, and I hear she has the first few pages designed, I start pestering her for ... "just a peek or two." I'm like that obnoxious kid in the grocery checkout line, begging for candy. The thing I like best about Amy is that she never tells me no. She always sends me killer album design teasers. :)

In a few weeks, I should be able to share the ENTIRE design! Until then ...

Cristina + Josh's SMOKIN' HOT wedding slideshow

In Cristina + Josh's wedding preview, I decided to go with a fire station theme. It made sense, after all, considering I'd labeled their wedding SMOKIN' HOT, which it was! So for their slideshow post I decided to again go with a theme, this time a black-and-white theme, to highlight some of the best moments of their day. We always recommend our couples see each other before their ceremony. Doing so allows for more time for romantic portraits away from the hub-bub of the day's activities. But that doesn't mean that there can't be a special "first look." Because the weather was less than ideal, we chose to have Josh see Cristina for the first time at the hotel bar. He couldn't wait to see her.


And why not? She's a gorgeous bride!


Josh was still pretty smitten to see her at the altar.


The feeling was mutual!


They embraced for their first dance ...


... and were embraced by their friends and family the rest of the night!

Thanks again, Cristina and Josh, for inviting us to share in your special day! We had a blast touring the fire station and partying with you late into the night! Click here to see the slideshow! -Mike

2009 Holiday Cards

I'm so excited to announce our Holiday Cards are ready to be unveiled!!!! :)

Once again, our cards are 5x7, with printing on both sides. They are sold in sets of 24 and come with an envelope.

Check out the awesome designs our Amy came up with for this year:

SNOW:


BRIGHT:


CRANBERRY:


GARLAND:


WHIMSY:


LEMON LIME:


RETRO:


PEACE:


CANDY CANE:


JOY:

If you would like to order a set of Christmas cards, please e-mail me with the design name and the number of the photo from your session or event that you would like to have on the card.

Once again, we have re-released all events from 2009 to allow you time to consider giving the gift of memories to your family and loved ones. Our ordering deadline for Christmas prints and Christmas cards is Dec. 1. Thank you!

Amber + Bret's country wedding preview

There are so many great images from Amber and Bret's country wedding this past Saturday, I'm not exactly sure where to start. So, I'll just start here, with their first look! Amber and Bret chose to have an outdoor wedding at the Kauffman Museum in Newton and we chose the prairie grass preserve, which serves as the museum's front lawn, as the location for their first look.


The Kauffman Museum features an awesome outdoor venue for a country wedding with a big, red barn and vintage prairie house.


Of course, Amber and Bret added their own personal touch including decking the guys out in black overalls!


Their dog, Hoss, a purebred Australian Shepherd, served as ring bearer.


And in place of a unity candle, they spliced some wire!


These two are so sweet together! I just love how Bret's got his arm around Amber as they leave the altar. And that look on his face!


Following the 10 a.m. ceremony, we set out to explore the grounds around the museum. We found a fence deep in a wooded area that provided the perfect backdrop to photograph their rings.


It was also a pretty good spot for some romantics, too! We'll share more of these, and some fantastic bridals of Amber, in a slide show shortly so be sure to check back soon!

Bria + Adam's Family

Check out how cute Bria and Adam are ... and I love that they still make each other laugh after years of marriage and three kids.

Today, I've finally found the time to put Bria and Adam's fabulous family portraits into a slideshow (Where has this week gone?!????! Seriously!). :) Even though it was cold, we had some fun. Especially going to the pumpkin patch at the Smoky Hill Bison Co.

Please CLICK HERE to view the slideshow of my favorites from their session.

2009 Holiday Card Preview II

After posting a holiday card preview a few weeks ago, I've had some inquiries about when the rest will be ready for viewing.

So today I thought I'd share another teaser with ye faithful blog readers. :)

We have 10 beautiful card designs in the final stages of design by our fabulous graphic designer, Amy, and they'll be ready to share in a week or so.

Once again, we will be re-releasing all sessions we've photographed in 2009 to allow you the opportunity to order prints for Christmas gifts or to order Holiday Cards. You will receive an e-mail once that happens, so keep an eye on your inbox.

Cristina + Josh's SMOKIN' HOT wedding

Pardon me for taking a page out of Karen's book by typing in all caps, but Cristina and Josh's wedding on Saturday was seriously SMOKIN' HOT! (Figuratively speaking, of course, considering the temperature was hovering around 35 with gusty north winds). Josh is a fourth-generation fire fighter and so he'd arranged for us to spend some time at Salina's Fire Station No. 2.


Despite the weather, which included a brief snow, they had every intention of riding in the bucket of the ladder truck.


The view from the bucket was quite impressive, to say the least. If you look closely, you might see a few of the aforementioned snowflakes.


And check out Karen's bridal portrait of Cristina! SMOKIN' HOT, right?!! Fire fighters have a good sense of humor, too, so we heard plenty of "So I married an axe murderer" jokes during this portion of the shoot.

Check back in a week or so for more photos from Cristina and Josh's SMOKIN' HOT wedding, including a slideshow.

Sneak Peek — Bria + Adam's Family Portraits

This afternoon, I met up with Bria and Adam's adorable family here in Salina for family portraits. This group really braved the cold to have some fun and allow me to capture some beautiful portraits.

Check out these beautiful kiddos:


Alexa.


Mason.


And beautiful Elle.

This month is incredibly busy, and there will be lots of blog action, so I wanted to sneak this portrait session in while I have 8 seconds to think.

Bria, thanks for the awesome afternoon! Your slideshow will be up in about a week! :)

Ella + Gabe turn 1!

Twins Ella and Gabe are turning 1 on Sunday! Aren't they adorable in their birthday hats?


They love to chase bubbles in the front yard. Or, at least Gabe does!


I'm thinking this photograph of Ella makes up for the last one. ;)


Happy first birthday, Ella and Gabe! Hope you have a great day!

2009 Holiday Card Preview

Our little elves have been hard at wok preparing for this holiday season. :) We'll be able to share the rest of our 2009 line in a few.

On a side note, for any families wanting to have portraits taken for Christmas cards/Christmas gifts, NOW is the time to book those sessions! Our weekend slots are extremely limited, and we want to be sure you have adequate time to select the right photos for family and loved ones. If you'd like to grab a portrait session, please feel free to contact us via our Web site.