Kathy + Wayne's Extended Family

It's been 2 years since we had a wedding in my family, and with the addition of Robin & Chris' sweet baby boy, we wanted to do extended family portraits of my family.

Coordinating 10 people is not particularly an easy task. Especially when your youngest brother lives in Illinois and your brother-in-law is an international pilot. But toward the beginning of October, we were all in the same place at the same time and Mike took some portraits of/for us (THANKS, Mike! You're the best!!!!!).

This photo is going to be a stellar 36x48-inch canvas gallery wrap above my parents' fire place, and I'm dancing with excitement to see it on the wall. :)

Happy Anniversary, Karen + Erik!

It's a little untraditional for us to start an anniversary post with a groom photo, but he's MY groom. :) I want to say a very public thank you to Erik, who one year ago today became my husband.


Erik has supported our dreams, goals and visions since the moment he came into my life. On days when circumstances get me down, he's always the one who picks me up, brushes the dust off of me, and tells me how much he believes in me. The job Mike and I do would not be possible without the support of our spouses ... and I just wanted to take a minute to honor Erik for his unwavering support.


Feel free to check out our wedding slideshow by CLICKING HERE.

I also want to give out a BIG shout to my business partner, Mike, and friend, Heather, for agreeing to document our wedding day. As a wedding photojournalist, I KNOW how physically demanding documenting a wedding can be. Please know how much Erik and I treasure the art you created from our wedding.

Karen + Erik's wedding slideshow

It's been a long time in the making but Karen and Erik's wedding slideshow is finally finished. Please CLICK HERE to see it.

You might notice that this project is somewhat different than our past efforts mainly because Karen set aside three hours on her wedding day for romantic portraits! After zipping through the formals and the ceremony, we headed off to a nice pasture just outside of town and then to a downtown alley near my favorite Wichita reception site: The Petroleum Club. As we neared the time for the grand entrance, Karen agreed to be just a few minutes late so that we could continue the portrait shoot. The lengthy photo shoot was possible because Karen and Erik agreed to see each other before the ceremony.

As we tell all of our brides, you have to set priorities for your wedding day. For some, it may be the dress, a particular wedding location, a certain caterer or any of the things that go into throwing the biggest party of your life. For Karen, it was definitely photography. But, as the founder of Heartland Photography, would you expect anything less? -Mike

Karen + Erik's wedding preview (Part 3)

I promised Karen and Erik *one* more sneak peek of their wedding photos before publishing their slideshow so here are a few of my favorite details from their big day. Erik's dad, Vern, loaned them a 1947 Ford Coupe to use as their getaway car. It was a sweet ride and made for some fantastic images!


And I'm sure Karen will be more than thrilled with the details that came out of her hotel room while she was getting ready.

Check back in a few days for a slideshow! -Mike

Karen + Erik's wedding preview (Part 2)

Karen and Erik went out of their way to plan a visually exciting wedding. Karen donned a birdcage veil. Aren't both of these images striking? I wish I could take credit for either of them but Heather, our other shooter for the day, captured both of these images as Karen was getting ready at the hotel.



Erik was a trooper all day, posing for photos here and there. While Heather was photographing Karen's preparations, Erik and the guys followed me over to a nearby parking garage.


Karen wanted some awesome bridal portraits, too. How do you think we did?



I can't say enough good things about Karen and Erik's wedding and these photos are just the tip of the iceberg. :) I'm thinking I could do an entirely separate post on the details alone before the slideshow is up. So if you check back toward the end of the week you might just get another sneak peek! -Mike

Karen + Erik's wedding preview (Part 1)

Heartland Photography's founding partner Karen and her fiance, Erik, were married yesterday at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Wichita. Following a brief portrait session featuring hay bales and a 1947 Ford Coupe, we headed to the Petroleum Cub for a short but sweet reception. I had the honor of shooting along side Dallas-based wedding photographer Heather Essian for the entire day and we have a ton of fantastic images! I'll be editing this week and posting a few gems as along the way so stay tuned! -Mike

Karen + Erik's engagement slideshow

I received a true visitor's welcome when I stopped in Salina last weekend for Karen and Erik's engagement photos. Karen had all her favorite Salina landmarks selected for our shoot, which included dinner at the iconic Cozy Inn, where burgers are served six to a sack sans wrapper. Erik doesn't like to go inside, so we ordered at a walk-up window and then they made themselves cozy on a nearby bench.


We were definitely hungry considering we had started the session at The Salina Journal, where Erik is a sports copy editor, nearly two hours before we made to The Cozy. Karen has deep newspaper roots, too, so spending time near the idle presses and in the warehouse was definitely fitting.

Our colleague, Heather Essian, will be joining me in September for Karen and Erik's wedding in Wichita. I'm definitely looking forward to it! Between now and then, CLICK HERE to see a brief slideshow of their engagement photos.

Karen + Erik's engagement preview

On the way back from Phillipsburg on Sunday, I stopped in Salina to photograph Karen and Erik's engagement photos. If Karen looks familiar to our Heartland fans, she should! Karen is the other half of Heartland Photography. She and Erik are getting married in Wichita in September.


I'm not completely finished editing the photos from their engagement session but I know they are anxious to get a sneak peek. We hit several locations in Salina but for now I'll just share these two from in front of the Stiefel Theater. Stay tuned for their engagement slideshow!