{Wichita Wedding Photography} Ashley + Gavin's Backyard Wedding

Ashley + Gavin were married last week in an intimate, backyard ceremony in Wichita. A wedding planned for mid-July can be brave, especially for an outdoor ceremony, but the entire day was perfection, from the ceremony that began with one of their all-time favorite movie quotes: "Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday. Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam… And wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva… So tweasure your wuv." 

With all of this crazy rain we've been having, it was so lush & beautiful back there!

The left shows the bride's grandfather's watch ... and the bracelet is made from a favorite tie of her other grandfather. Such a sweet tribute to two men who were so important in her life!

No wedding is complete without Great Grandma's pearls! The beautiful earrings were worn by Ashley's sister when she was married.

The bride's father told such a touching story about the first time his daughter grasped his finger, as a preemie ... so he handed Ashley's hand to Gavin, allowing her to grasp her groom's finger. Such a personal touch to the day!

Seriously - such a gorgeous backyard for a wedding!!!!

With an early morning ceremony, we spent some time afterward doing romantic pictures with the couple.

We met up with the bridal party at the Museum of World Treasures in Old Town for some more casual portraits.

Who doesn't love awesome groomsmen socks? :)

Of course, a movie-themed reception begins with a Lego cake!

Each table had different centerpieces that showed one of the couple's favorite movies .... it was fun to try to guess each one!

Loved this father/daughter dance!

Ashley + Gavin, thank you for trusting us to capture your most special wedding memories! It was such a joy & honor!

{Roller Derby} Salina Sirens Bout

This spring, I photographed a bout from the Salina Sirens. I'd love to join the team, but am pretty sure my docs would never allow it ... so I'll live vicariously through photographing them! :)

{Personal} Summertime

As we gear up for another wedding this weekend, I hope you're enjoying this fabulous July.

May your summer be filled with running through the sprinklers, dancing in the rain & many evenings of catching fireflies.

:) ~Karen

{Photojournalism} Fr. Kyle & Fr. Andrew's Priesthood Ordination

At the end of May, Fr. Kyle & Fr. Andrew were ordained priests at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Salina. I photographed their diaconate ordination (see it here) and it's always a pleasure to document the Ordination to the Priesthood as well.

The prayer of ordination.

Vesting by a fellow priest.

A hearty hug of congrats from Fr. Kyle's childhood pastor.

Participating fully in the Liturgy of the Eucharist for the first time.

This is the giving of the First Blessing. It's a very special blessing & such an honor. Traditionally, the First Blessing is given to the newly ordained priest's parents.

Another tradition is to kiss the hands of the newly ordained. Fr. Kyle's mom kisses his hands during the reception.

Stay tuned for some photos from Fr. Kyle's First Mass!

{Personal} What to do with old digital camera(s)?

We photographers are a little bit like pack rats. We don't like to throw anything away. My wide angle lens that's broken beyond repair? Still got it. My first film camera (manual focus & settings)? It's sitting atop a shelf in my living room, looking cute. The boxes all of our lenses & cameras arrived in? If you'd go into my storage room, you'd find them stacked neatly together. The point is we just hate to throw anything out that relates to our cameras.

This is my very first digital camera. I got it in 2003 when I started my first newspaper job as a photojournalist. Man, that thing was a tank. It was HEAVY.

As technology advances & changes, these guys become obsolete quickly. But what to do with them? They have basically no value and I couldn't bring myself to chuck it into the trash (after all, I photographed some amazing assignments like the America 24/7 book on it! Ditto my amazing African Adventure in 2006 - you can see pix HERE). 

When Salina, where I lived, announced an electronic recycling day this spring, I thanked my lucky stars. Cameras weren't listed, but there was a graphic of a camera on there, so I took it. Really, recycling it was better than throwing it away. Right? 

I lined up, held my emotions in check and was not completely relieved when the worker said they'd take it. Secretly, I must be a hoarder because I'm not sure I really wanted to part with it, but it was time. The quality of the images on my new cameras far surpasses those of the one from 2003 ... so it was time. I will admit I did get a little teary, but I managed to not lose my composure and look like a complete sap in front of this 20-something guy who was muscling around a mountain of electronics.

If you have some old digital camera sitting around, gathering dust, check out your local city. Call either the Public Works department or the Department of Household/Hazardous Waste. They should be able to point you in the right direction!