Courtney & Kyle

A few weeks ago, Brian and I had the honor of attending the wedding of my cousin Kyle and his new bride Courtney. It was well worth the less than 24 hour trip to Wilmore, Kentucky to witness their marriage and support them in the love of Christ. We are so happy for them and their future.

We only wish we'd known about the gift their parents presented to them the night before. They received a cross that becomes "oiled" or finished as it is held. The natural oil in the hands do the work of a varnish, so they had people hold it and pray for them. Wonderful idea, if I do say so myself!

Here are just a few random shots I got from the day... and let me say, it's a bit different to shoot from the third row, rather than center aisle. Thankfully, I did my best to avoid getting my dad's shoulder in every single shot during the ceremony.

Oh, vacation photographs

Over July 4th weekend, Brian and I drove down to Jacksonville, FL to see his brother's family. They just had their third little boy, Jacob. So here's a smattering of my favorites from the trip.

Chris, Jacob, Jackie, Hunter, and Ben




These last three are my favorite pictures from the weekend.



Here is the cake mentioned in the last post made by Tin Pan Alley Custom Cakes in St. Louis. The "slouching" is purely my fault for lack of proper transportation technique in a full car, but I'd say it held up pretty gosh darn great for two days in the heat and winding hills of the Tennessee mountains!

Adventures with Cow Cow & Dog Dog

This little fella, Luke, was full of adventuresome spirit as we explored the area near the Lemp Brewery for some 2nd birthday pictures. Along for the fun were Cow Cow and Dog Dog! They were just so cute, I took pictures of them all along the way. My favorite of the two animals was of them on the newspaper box- now they will always know that when Luke was 2, he lived in St. Louis and that a Sunday newspaper cost $1.50.



Luke's mom, Jessie, was quite the trooper, both being in the pictures and trying to reign in the wandering 2 year old soul. He just had so many bits of unexplored territory that staying one place for more than a brief moment was a mini-miracle.






Besides being a mom, and singing excellent vocal harmonies with her brother Steve, Jessie just opened a small custom cakes business! I love photography, because it is an easy business to do a little bartering with. I got a fantastic birthday cake out of this exchange (see the "Hot Cakes" cake in her portfolio). I took it all the way to Florida, and it still tasted great. So here is a plug for Miss Jessie! Please use her services for your next event. Check out her website here: www.tinpanalleycakes.com and then promptly call her to order your dream cake!

Jessica & Bill

This lovely couple got married at a private ceremony in Jamaica, and then returned for a bridal shoot and reception back here in St. Louis. Though it would have been delightful to have gotten to go on a destination wedding shoot in Jamaica, it was still a wonderful experience to do their wedding photographs. It is always refreshing to take some romantic, loving photographs without the pressure of a large wedding party or many locations (even though it's fun!). Here are a few of my favorites from their afternoon. Please note Jessica's stunning, unique dress- with great accessories (not something I normally notice much). She said it perfectly matched the water in Jamaica. If only I could have seen that.

Bill is into photography himself, particularly black and whites, so I had a great time being able to do some dramatic black and white work, too. It was a lot of fun.

Since I'm pregnant, this might have been one of the last times that I get to climb up on walls and perform dangerous feats in the name of photography for a while... I've gotta do it while I still have my balance with a regular-sized belly.

Renee & Jeff

Last weekend, Renee and Jeff had a lovely day for a wedding. This picture is, in my opinion, the star of the day, as it showcases not only the reception location, but the church where they were wed as well as the arch, where we took many photographs. I had this one in mind all day...



This isn't a sight I see very often in a wedding mass, but she sure made my day. I wonder where I could get a pair of those shades.

Congratulations!

Last weekend, my best friend graduated college! Congratulations, Heather!

It was a wonderful day when I finally got to meet her family and take some family portraits. It was a dark, rainy afternoon that we spent at Webster University- a bit of a photo challenge for me, I must say, not quite what I has in mind from the scouting I did the day before. This picture shows what this session was like- full of laughter!

Hangin' with Mr. Cooper

Does anyone remember that show? Anyhow, with nap time approaching, I got a quick shoot of my nephew in while I was in town. Thanks to Nana for helping keep him happy while the sleepiness was approaching.