tyler + hillary • day after session • kansas city, mo

These will be images I don't forget for a long time. I LOVED getting to to a Day After Session with Tyler and Hillary. (For those of you who may wonder what a "Day After" Session is- it's when we meet up with the brand-newlyweds the day after their wedding to capture an extended session of portraits in their wedding day attire. Since the main festivities are over, we get to go a little more extreme without the fear of getting the dress dirty.)

This session was special because we met up with Tyler and Hillary and shot in downtown Kansas City. The cityscape was wonderful, and we found so many textures and color within a few city blocks. Thank you- Tyler and Hillary- for hanging out with us just a bit longer- I hope these images are ones you'll treasure forever!

tyler + hillary • wedding • st. joseph, mo

Tyler and Hillary were married in St. Joseph, Missouri- just a few minutes outside of Kansas City. When we arrived, it was a little drizzly, and it stayed that way the entire time. I have shot weddings where it rained briefly and then subsided, but never one where it was literally wet ALL DAY. The best thing, though, was how little it mattered! 

These two are so precious and so perfect for each other. Their love for the Lord and their excitement about marriage was so clear, and I had the best day working with them, even if we all were soaking wet!

Here are some of my favorite details. Hillary did so much of the work herself and it was special how everything had such a personal touch.

Hillary and her Mom have such a sweet relationship. I love these two images.

Ok. Time out. Just in case you are an avid follower of this blog, you may have seen my second shooter Shanna's husband before (Zach- on the far right), not to be confused with the groom (Tyler- in the middle). Tyler and his brother (Ryan- far left) are actually cousins of Zach...and if you haven't noticed, their dads are twins! I'm hoping you were able to follow that....just wanted to make the connection!

Tyler and Hillary's wedding party was such a cool bunch to run around downtown St. Joseph with me (in the rain!). It was totally worth it!

The ceremony was beautiful. Tyler's Dad married them.

Hillary gave Tyler her purity ring she'd been saving since she was a little girl. It was a pretty cool part of the ceremony.

The reception had lots of good friends and good food- from popcorn to all sorts of cookies and homemade cobbler. Yum!

Lots of heartfelt speeches. It was a really wonderful night.

Thanks so much you guys- I so enjoyed being there for your big day!

Thank you Shanna for being a fantastic umbrella-holder!

Stay tuned for Tyler and Hillary's Day After Session in Kansas City!

stop motion video

I have always wanted to make a stop motion video after seeing this one. We finally found some time to last week. It was a lot of fun and I'm sure I'll be doing it again! Enjoy!

joshua + suzanne • engagement • lubbock, tx

I knew I would like Suzanne within one minute of talking with her. She has this instant comfortable-ness. (Is that a word?) She was so easy to talk to and I loved getting to hear about her vision for her wedding day. Joshua is a Lubbock Police Officer, so I'm pretty sure I questioned him the entire time about various things- police officers always have the greatest stories. :) 

We had a severe thunderstorm warning in Lubbock the day of their shoot, but these two decided to stick it out with me, and I'm so glad they did! You can't get clouds like this without a little daring and adventure!

matt + monica • engagement • lubbock, tx

What a fun photoshoot! Not only are these two darn good looking (you'll see later), they are great people and were so fun to work with. Matt and Monica made the trip in from Dallas for their engagement shoot last week. (I'm a tad bit late on this post- there were just too many images I loved- sorry Monica!) They'll be getting married at the McKinney Cotton Mill (woo hoo- love that place!) this September. 

I wanted to incorporate some of their favorite things into their photoshoot, and since they had told me they love to ride bikes together, I called out to the Twitter community asking if anyone had a bike I could borrow. Truthfully, I expected to get someone's old-ugly-used-to-be-cool bike and do my best to make it look good. And then I got a call that some of my favorite clients had two vintage Schwinn bicycles they could lend. Jackpot! They were perfect. Thank you so much, Jonathan and Mitzi. 

Now for some images! Like I said, there were too many to choose from....enjoy!

Yes, this was someone's home...someone who was NOT afraid of color...

doug + megan • engagement • lubbock, tx

Doug and Megan traveled in from their current city of Dallas to do their engagement shoot at their alma mater- Texas Tech! We had such a beautiful day (although I still got a sunburn...never fails!). I enjoyed getting to hear their love story- apparently Megan was working as an intern at the accounting firm where Doug was an associate. Doug was assigned to help with Megan's first audit and was less than friendly! By the time that Megan's internship was over, though, their friendship was blossoming and would soon become a romantic relationship. These two are so happy and comfortable together. Thanks guys for a great session!

Doug + Megan are huge TTU Football fans (they are season ticket holders), and Doug's "Joe's Pizza" shirt has attended every game with them in the past few years!

travis, mandy, and lois • lubbock, tx

I met Travis and Mandy when they first moved to Lubbock (which was when we first moved to Lubbock). They just been married recently (as had we) and it was fun to meet some other newlyweds. They're making a big move to Houston, and wanted to commemorate their time at Texas Tech with a photoshoot while Mandy's Mom, Lois, was in from Virginia. So we made it happen! I'm sad to see them go, but I'm glad they are getting to embark on a new adventure together. Best of luck, guys!

smith + family • amarillo, tx

I wish you all could hang out with little Smith- he is such an all-American boy! I loved his chilled out attitude and the variety of cute (and hilarious) expressions. We had a great session in the park thanks to his fabulous parents and grandmother, who made sure he was completely entertained at all times (thank you!). 

The lips! So precious!

These two may just be my favorite pairing. Is it weird that I find drool adorable?

I love that Smith seemed to smile the most when he was with his parents. 

Gorgeous family? Check!

blake + lindsey • engagement

It was a gorgeous, sunny day in Amarillo, Texas- perfect for an engagement photoshoot! I was excited to meet up with Blake and Lindsey, because after stalking them on Facebook (I confess), I knew they would be a lot of fun. And they were!

I have every couple I shoot fill out an Engagement Questionnaire previous to their photoshoot, so that I know a little bit more about them. I noticed that Lindsey had mentioned Blake owns his own P.I. firm. Being the dork I am, I had no idea what that meant...so I Googled. What I eventually decided was that he was either a Personal Injury Attorney or a Private Investigator- either way, pretty cool! So when I met them I had to ask- it turns out it was the latter. Haha, I'm so glad I had the guts to ask- I'd hate not knowing after my "research". 

Here are some of my favorites from the day- these guys are having a destination wedding in just a few weeks, but you'll see them back on the blog in June after I shoot their reception.

I know. I have good looking clients.

They brought the rest of the family for a few pictures! Loved playing with their pups.

natalie • expecting • mcpherson cellars, lubbock tx

Natalie and her husband Nick are expecting baby Tenley very soon, so we had to get a session in to capture Natalie's new curves before sweet Tenley decided it was time! It was super windy and ugly in Lubbock the day of our shoot, and I knew that Natalie loves colorful, modern design, so McPherson Cellars was the perfect setting. We had a great afternoon and I am in love with the images! Check out this baby bump:

 

Isn't Natalie just gorgeous? I want to look this good 7 months pregnant! (CORRECTION- 8 1/2 months- BIG difference!)

P.S. Natalie has her own BLOG which is always a fun read. She is quite a talented lady in many ways!