Wichita Wedding: Leah and Michael September 8, 2009

Relaxed. Calm. Serene. 

Not words that are usually associated with a wedding day…

Unless you’re Michael and Leah, their family, and their friends. Because relaxed, calm, and serene is exactly what they were. And exactly how their wedding day felt. And exactly why they were able to be so joyful, so happy to be getting married, and so excited about everything all day long. In other words, a photographer’s dream. :)

Leah and Michael got married this past weekend in Wichita, and it was an honor to be a part of their special day. I grew up with Michael (okay, okay… we call him “Mike”) at my house a lot… he’s good friends with my older brother, who was in the wedding! I got to know Leah over the past several months of their engagement… and what a sweetheart she is. It’s no wonder these two found each other. They both share a huge love for music (and were both part of the Singing Quakers at Friends University), and their wedding really reflected that.

I met up with the ladies as they were getting ready at the church, Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Wichita. 

Leah and Michael opted to not see each other until after the ceremony, so we opted for photos of each of them individually beforehand, and did their couples’ portraits after!

Leah’s dad walked her down the aisle…

…to her groom, who was absolutely beaming. :)

I have so many favorite ceremony shots to share with you, because they were just smiling and giving each other these “I’m-so-in-love” looks throughout the whole ceremony! It was amazing! I’ll be sharing both my shots and Jeff’s with you here… the first two are mine:

And Jeff’s (I love this one so much)…

Mine again:

And Jeff’s:

Back to mine… here they were just announced as husband and wife!!

And Jeff’s of the same moment (is he good or what?!)… and isn’t Leah lovely? 

After the ceremony, we had some time for a portrait session with the bride and groom at the church (one of my favorite parts of the day!).

Jeff took these awesome shots of their rings!

And then we were off to the reception at the Homewood Suites at The Waterfront in Wichita. They incorporated such great details and colors into their reception decor — I loved the personal touches, and the details I kept finding all over the reception venue! They had a great indoor space and a beautiful outdoor patio that overlooked a lake. It was gorgeous! I’m going to share some of the details first…

They incorporated their engagement photos so nicely, blending them in with florals or placing them amongst other details.

They used old doors painted a light lavender color to display photos (attached to ribbons) of each of them, their relationship, and each of their parents’ relationships. It was really cute!

They had a “wishing tree” where guests would write notes or advice or congratulatory messages to the newlyweds, and hang it on the tree! I love this idea.

The toasts had everyone laughing. I love watching the couple during the toasts…

And their first dance was just so sweet… just like them! :)

The new bride and groom even let me steal them away for a few minutes for outdoor portraits in the late evening. Of course, I loved that. :)

Leah and Michael, congratulations on your marriage! I’m wishing and praying for you to have the most beautiful life together. Enjoy your honeymoon with no plans in the Northwest… it sounds amazing! :) Congratulations!

Friends and family can view all of the images online (or just sign in and you’ll be notified when they’re ready to go!).

Backyard Wedding Ceremony in Wichita: Allyson and Rafe – Part 3, The Ceremony June 4, 2009

We’re on to part three of Allyson and Rafe’s wedding photos! This post is all about their ceremony. I love wedding ceremonies. It’s my favorite part of every wedding day — after all, it’s the reason we’re there! I love the vows, the rings, the heartfelt words and emotional glances. I’m moved to tears more often than not. I’m a girly girl, and I live for things like this. :)

Here was the setting for their ceremony in the backyard (Jeff took this one):

They key to getting a flower girl down the aisle? Candy. :)

The other flower girl (Jeff’s):

Jeff also grabbed this moment of Allyson and her dad right before he walked her down the aisle. I can’t get enough of photos like this…

And, one more of Jeff’s awesome shots:

Meanwhile, I was capturing these shots:

It was an emotional ceremony for everyone. I love when two people commit their lives to each other. Allyson and Rafe’s ceremony was so sweet. The pastor, German, talked about loving like Jesus demonstrates and how He taught us to love unconditionally — it was an awesome message.

The next two are Jeff’s. I love how the first sets the scene and captures the awesome glow from the setting sun.

My perspective:

Husband and wife! I love this moment!

I also love the moments right after the ceremony, and watching reactions of family members and friends.

One more post to go — the reception! :) That will be a fun post, I can guarantee that! Coming soon (I’m hurrying, I’m hurrying!). :)

Outdoor Wichita Wedding: Allyson and Rafe – Part 2: Bride and Groom Portraits

If you missed part one, click here to view the first set of images from Allyson and Rafe’s wedding day — some of the details and the preparations!

There were so many fun photos to share from their backyard wedding in Wichita (at Allyson’s family’s gorgeous home), that I’m breaking this up into sections. :)

Part two is here, and I’m going to dedicate this post to only the portrait session we did with Allyson and Rafe. These were all done in or around her parents’ backyard. They opted to see each other before the ceremony for a “first look” and portraits outside before the day’s festivities began. This works out especially well for weddings that have everything at one location.

So, on to their super sweet first look — under Allyson’s favorite willow tree in the front yard:

(This one is Jeff’s):

A few individual portraits:

The yard has some beautiful spots for photos with lots of shade, which was great since we were shooting in the middle of the afternoon heat on a 90+ degree day! :) I love these:

Allyson was seriously stunning.

And Rafe had the “handsome groom” look down… :) The first one is Jeff’s.

Allyson’s dad built this huge, awesome playground set in their backyard years ago. They repainted the set white for the wedding, and it was a great spot for photos.

Rafe proposed to Allyson on this merry-go-round after he planned out a reenactment of their first date. So cute.

I love this one Jeff captured of Rafe’s expression. Can you feel the love? :)

The rings!

There was a beautiful wheat field right next door. When I showed up, they said “We knew you’d be excited about that wheat field over there…” and they were all for heading out into the field for portraits. Do I have the best cliets or what?! We did these immediately after the ceremony, when the sun was lower in the sky and we had some beautiful golden light and storm clouds were headed in from all directions… except for right over the wedding. It was great!

Jeff’s shot:

And one more… :)

Stay tuned for the photos from the ceremony and reception! You won’t want to miss those… trust me! :)

For family and friends who want to see all of the images once they’re posted online, click here to sign the online gallery guestbook and you’ll get an e-mail when they’re ready! :)

Backyard Summer Wedding in Wichita: Allyson and Rafe – Part 1: Getting Ready

I am super excited to start sharing Allyson and Rafe’s gorgeous wedding with you. I know it might have been just a little mean for me to only post ONE image and then make you wait a few days for any more… :) I realized that I have so many photos I want to share with you from this wedding that I’m going to now break it up into parts. So you might have to keep waiting in suspense to see all of the parts of the day, but I think you’ll agree that it’s worth it. :) In the end, you’ll get a more complete idea of what their day was like and the awesome moments that made for great photography. :)

So this first “installment” will cover some of the details and the preparations before the ceremony. Allyson and Rafe’s wedding was held in the backyard at Allyson’s parents’ house — a gorgeous location for a very elegant yet casual atmosphere. I absolutely loved the vibe of the whole day!

I love images of brides getting ready for their big day. The first set of photos were all taken during the preparations to make already gorgeous ladies even prettier. :)

I love this!

Beautiful… Allyson is just beautiful.

And, the handsome groom… waiting for the fun to start…

And getting his microphone on for the ceremony:

Okay… now on to a few of the details. First, THE DRESS. Allyson chose a gorgeous Maggie Sottero dress… which are always some of my favorites to photograph. The details are amazing.

And the shoes (in a cute wicker rocking chair in her parents’ master suite):

The bridal bouquet (in front of the fireplace screen in the living room):

And one of the tux jackets, hanging on a water spout outside. I loved that the guys wore brown pinstriped tuxes. Jeff grabbed this unposed shot:

Alright… coming up in the next post: the bride and groom portraits! :) Stay tuned!

Molly and Trevan’s Wichita Wedding March 8, 2009

I traveled to Wichita this past weekend for Molly and Trevan’s wedding. It is always a joy to see two people commit their lives to loving one another, and it was so special to be a part of Molly and Trevan’s big day. They are both from my hometown, and I really like stories that start in a small town and end up in awesome things. Molly and Trevan’s love story is one of those. 

We started out the day with all of the girls getting ready at the church. They were one of the most relaxed groups I’ve ever spent a wedding day with, which was just so much fun. I love the behind-the-scenes preparation shots. 

Isn’t Molly just beautiful?

Molly and Trevan opted to see each other before the ceremony. I love these photos, too, because there’s something so special about the one-on-one time.

It was a warm but cloudy day, so we were able to go outside for some of Molly and Trevan’s portraits. We didn’t go anywhere far away — just right outside the church doors. I love how these turned out… and it’s a great example that keeping things simple can result in some amazing photos! After all, it’s not about the location — it’s all about the people!

The beautiful bride:

And the handsome groom:

The wind came up right on cue for these next two photos. :)

More cute couple-in-love shots. I can’t get enough of these! :)

Their ceremony was very romantic, with lots of candlelight and twinkly lights wrapped in tulle. It was perfect for a Friday evening wedding.

Molly and Trevan’s “getaway” vehicle was this great car that belongs to a friend of Molly’s grandpa. I love the shots we got with the car!

And the ring shots… I love these, too. I really like positioning the round shapes of rings against other patterns and lines. Any guesses where I took these ring shots?

The reception was at Tallgrass Country Club, just around the corner from the church, and it was just beautiful. Check out this cake! It is a masterpiece.

A few fun dancing shots:

A girls huddle before the bouquet toss… so cute!

Trevan and his mom:

And one last shot of the newlyweds — their first dance!

Molly and Trevan, thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of creating your wedding day memories. Best wishes to you both for a wonderful honeymoon and marriage!

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Wedding: Nic and Julie, Take Two September 24, 2008

As promised, here are more (a LOT more!) photos from Nic and Julie’s big day. I always love photographing weddings of people who I know (either previously, or who I get the chance to know through wedding planning with them!). It makes the day so special and everything runs so smoothly, because we are all able to collaborate beforehand.

We started out the day at Edgez salon in Wichita, where all of the ladies got fantastic up-dos. They were all so classic and beautiful — I was seriously impressed with what the Edgez team created!

Then it was back to Central Christian Church, where the girls did make-up and finished getting ready in the parlor room. I could’ve shared tons of great photos of the beautiful ladies getting ready! They were all so lovely…here’s Julie’s sister helping with the finishing touches:

I love Julie’s shoes, and the details in the parlor room:

Julie’s dress was stunning, with great classic details – an Anjolique:

Nic and Julie decided to see each other before the ceremony for photos, which I love and recommend. It not only gives the bride and groom time to themselves (with me in the background, of course), but it also allows us the creativity to do some fun and creative portraits. They decided to do theirs at a neighborhood park in Eastborough. It worked perfectly.

This shot is a classic Nic expression…here, he’s waiting for his bride! 

Through all of their portraits, they were just so cute and smiley! That’s how you can spot a couple in love… :)

Julie was just breathtaking in her dress — I love her long veil, and how it really added to her classic beauty.

The ceremony was one of the most beautiful I’ve been to. The personal touches were so great, everything from Nic’s sisters’ beautiful rendition of The Love of God to these awesomely designed wedding programs — illustrated by Nic. This was one of my favorite details of the day, because it really captured their personalities.

During the processional, the readers cited Scripture over Canon in D. I had never seen this touch before, but it was beautiful and moving and captured the essence of Nic and Julie’s bond through their faith. I thankfully held in my tears until I got to the back of the church. :)

Jeff’s perspective during the ceremony:

I love this shot Jeff grabbed from his view behind one of the videographers — check out the screen!

Such joy!

My view of the grand exit…

…and Jeff’s view:

The reception was held at the Olive Tree, and it was just really well-done. With fun details like a coffee/espresso bar, a chocolate fountain, a buffet, dance and a photo booth (so cool!), it was very personalized.

These two have parents who couldn’t be more proud of them. They were all beaming the whole day — I love that, when you know that two people have awesome role models! Nic and his mom:

Julie and her dad:

Julie’s dad gave a great toast to the newlyweds, and a really heartfelt speech about how proud he is of his daughter. It was so special…I’m not sure there was a dry eye in the room. :)

The little ring bearer (Nic’s nephew) was so worn out! Jeff caught him snoozing…what a cutie!

Nic and Julie, thank you for letting us capture your special day. It was such a joyful day!

Family and friends, I could have shared so many more photos on here of the happiness and love you all showed throughout the wedding day. If you haven’t yet pre-registered for their online album, click here to sign in.

Wedding Preview: Nic and Julie September 22, 2008

My good friends Nic and Julie got married this past weekend. It was absolutely lovely — the kind of day you’d expect when two amazing people make a lifelong commitment to each other. 

Here’s a very small sneak peek into the day. There will be many more photos coming your way from these two…they’re just too fun not to share! :) Enjoy this little teaser of the moving, emotional photos to come!

I’ll explain more about these awesome details from their Wichita wedding in the next post! Nic and Julie, congratulations! :)

Family and friends, don’t forget to pre-register for the entire online album! Click here to sign in and receive a notification when the rest of the photos are online!