Chris & Tina

Our last wedding of this season was a very special one. Tina is a co-worker of my husband, KC, and she and Chris have been through some real struggles to get to this point. The couple was planning to be married last summer, but a few months before the wedding the bride was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After undergoing treatment and regaining her health, they were finally ready to walk down the aisle on June 27th, and we were able to be there to capture every moment.

The wedding was held in Topeka, so it was a bit of a road trip for us, but a lot of fun. Tina did not want Chris to see her before the ceremony, so I got to hang out with her and her bridesmaids to take pictures while KC & Forest handled the guys.

The ceremony was beautiful, and very moving...

Afterwards we traveled a few miles away to beautiful Shawnee Lake to get some romantic pictures of the happy couple.

It was so touching to see how genuinely happy all the guests were for this wonderful couple. A huge crowd turned out to wish them all the best.

We wish Chris & Tina all the best and are so happy they are finally able to start their life together.

Mark & Cathy

We had the privilege of shooting Mark & Cathy's wedding a few weeks ago. This wedding presented a special challenge to us, as it was the first wedding ever where the bride & groom wanted absolutely no formal posed pictures at ALL. Everything was strictly photojournalism, which was fabulous for me, as that is the style I greatly prefer and am very comfortable with. It did mean we had to really be on our toes and catch every moment as it occurred spontaneously, though, rather than trying to set anything up :) We arrived in time to catch Cathy in the bride room with her daughers, putting on the finishing touches. Cathy was joking that I was catching her being girly and no one would believe it without seeing the pictures...everyone is apparently way more used to seeing this retired Air Force officer in her combat boots :)

After relaxing with her daughters and greeting her family and a few special friends as they arrived, Cathy made her way out to the sanctuary to be escorted down the aisle by her son.

The service was performed by two pastors who were both a very large part of the bride & groom's lives. The bride's three children and the groom's two sons made up the wedding party, and when it was time to light the unity candle, the whole family participated. It was a very special, very personal ceremony.



After the ceremony we all headed over to the fabulous Eaton Hotel for the reception, which was beautiful. Mark & Cathy spent the evening catching up with old friends in between dinner, cake, and dancing.



This special couple has been through a lot in their lives, and we are very happy for them and wish them all the happiness in the world.

Tara & Chad

Tara and Chad actually came to us after seeing the work we did for some friends of theirs at their wedding a couple of years ago, which is of course our favorite way of getting new clients :) They are a very kind, easygoing couple, and it was a real pleasure to work with both of them. They were married at St. Peter's in Schulte, which was actually a new church to us, but it was quite beautiful. We were able to find plenty of spots inside & out to shoot everything we needed.

Even though we were all shooting outside at the same time, we managed to keep the guys completely separate from the girls to make sure Chad didn't catch a glimpse of Tara before it was time for her to walk down the aisle.

The ceremony itself was beautiful...

Even though it was blistering hot outside, Chad & Tara were still willing to get up close & personal for some romantic pictures before heading in to the reception.

Congratulations!

Keith & Jennifer

Earlier in June we shot our one and only outdoor wedding of this season with Keith & Jennifer at Botanica. It was a bit of a challenge being midday in June (I think it was something like 400 degrees outside), but it was a beautiful day and everyone was willing to do whatever it took.

Keith & Jennifer held their ceremony in a small circular garden towards the back of the gardens. Afterwards we spent some time walking around the rest of the gardens taking pictures of the bride, groom, and wedding party. We had to make it quick because of the heat, but everyone was very gracious and nobody complained, even when this very pregnant photographer had to take a break :)

After the ceremony we all headed over to the Petroleum Club for the reception. This was the first wedding we've done where there was a mariachi band at the reception, and it was so much fun.

Everyone had a blast at the reception...lots of good food, awesome music, and dancing. We can't wait to see Keith & Jennifer again!

James & Andrea

Well I just finished wrapping up the work we did at the wedding of James & Andrea, who were married at the Wichita Scottish Rite Center on May 30th. The SRC is one of my very favorite indoor venues to shoot in, and this family is near and dear to our hearts, so it was a really great day. We shot James's sister's wedding last year, which turned out beautifully (she's beautiful), and we've known the whole family for several years from church, so we were more than happy to sign on for James & Andrea.

I knew after shooting this couple's engagement pictures last month that they were a very fun & affectionate couple, so I had really been looking forward to their wedding, and I wasn't disappointed. They were a dream to work with, and didn't even complain when I kept saying "Oh, can we just try this one more idea I just had?" I love them :)

The ceremony itself was held directly in front of the large stained glass window on the grand staircase, which was just gorgeous. The reception was held there in the same room, which the couple had decorated with hundreds of strands of white lights.

We took the entire wedding party all over the building and the streets outside, and it was totally worth it.

We love James & Andrea and wish them all the best!

Mark & Cathy, Tyler & Kylee

So I'm getting a little behind on the blog, but it's June...not exactly our slow time around here. We've been continuing to keep very busy with engagement shoots and weddings. We recently were finally able to take care of two engagement shoots with couples who had had to reschedule three or four times because of the crazy unpredictable Kansas weather.

Mark and Cathy are both retired Air Force pilots who are getting married on June 20th. Because Mark is still working as a pilot and is not always in town, this was the first time I had actually met the couple...they had to hire us over the phone :) We met at Botanica and then moved on to the bridges around the famous Keeper of the Plains, where Mark & Cathy had their first "non-date." Mark was appalled when I couldn't recall the exact model of plane my dad flies, but I'm hoping he'll forgive me eventually :) I had a lot of fun with them and can't wait to see them again.

Tyler & Kylee are another couple who have had trouble rescheduling, due to the fact that they don't actually live in Wichita. However, the third time was a charm with them and we ended up having a beautiful sunny day to work with and ended up with tons of fabulous pictures...so many we couldn't even fit them all into their engagement album! We walked around Old Towne for a while and then went over to the Hyatt Hotel, where they were actually willing to get INTO the fountain for me to get some really cute shots. I just followed them in and the results were so much fun. Their wedding will be our first one after we have our baby in September, and I know it will be a great one!

Platinum Salon

Last week I was able to take part in a special annual event at Platinum Salon in Wichita. When Tambra, the salon owner, was married last year, we were here wedding photographers. So when she needed a photographer for this special event, she came back to us and we were happy to be a part of it. Every year Platinum Salon has people write in with their stories of special women and mothers in their lives and why these women deserve a makeover. Then for Mother's Day they select a few of these special ladies to surprise with the makeovers.

This year there were eight ladies selected, and Tambra had me come in to do before and after photos of all of them. While they were all beautiful to begin with, the makeovers were really remarkable, and everyone involved was having a blast.

I had a great time meeting all of these ladies as well as all of the stylists at Platinum Salon, and we can't wait to work with them again!

Mark & Traci

The other day I got to do a really fun shoot downtown with some good friends of mine who were celebrating their 10th anniversary. I met Mark & Traci downtown and we soon realized we were going to be facing a few challenges...first of all, it was FREEZING. Mark was dressed in shorts and poor Traci was just wearing a sundress, so we tried to stay out of the wind (not really possible in Kansas) as well as out of the way of the thousands of people who were downtown that morning for the River Festival. We walked down to the waterfalls on the river bank in front of Century II, which is where Mark proposed to Traci. The river was super-high and covering some of the steps and even a couple of park benches. After that we decided to let the poor couple put on some warmer clothes and move into Old Towne, where it was considerably less crowded.

We walked around Old Towne for an hour and had a lot of fun...Mark and Traci are a very fun, goofy couple, so they made it pretty easy. I had a lot of fun and we got a lot of beautiful images.

Happy Anniversary!

Fearsome Foursome

So a few days ago we did a photo shoot with some of my favorite subjects...my nieces and nephew. I've been shooting their pictures since they were babies, so I love to see how much they've changed every time. I also enjoy how much easier it is to shoot the triplets now than it was when they were first learning how to be mobile!

The kids came over dressed up in their Easter clothes and we did some formal portraits for Mom's gallery wall that she's planning for their brand-new home.

When I told the kids I wanted to try something different, something that would involve them posing for a picture while fighting with each other, they were more than willing to accommodate me, and everyone in the family is appreciating the "true" personalities of the kids reflected in the final product :)

Alexa, Kaydran, Josie, & Gaige...we love you!

Courtney Family

Last week I finally got to meet the newest member of a family near and dear to my heart. The Courtneys used to be the youth pastors at my church for several years before they were called to be missionaries to Paris. I met them when they were newlyweds and had the opportunity to do family pictures with them when they had their first baby, the beautiful Natalie.

This time the Courtneys were in town for a visit and wanted to have some newborn pictures done of their brand-new son, Landon (who looks exactly like Natalie). I was more than happy to see them again and meet their new little man. He was an amazingly good baby, very cooperative, and we had no trouble at all getting a bunch of images of him by himself, with his big sister, and with his whole family.

The Courtneys will be off to France very soon, and I will miss them like crazy, but wish them all the luck in the world!

Engagements

April has been a crazy month for us with engagement shoots. We ended up having to reschedule several due to the crazy unpredictable Kansas weather, but it was well worth it. Jennifer and Keith opted to have their pictures done at Botanica, which is always a fabulous choice. It is nearly impossible to get bad pictures in such a beautiful setting.

I had a lot of fun with Tara and Chad walking around Old Town and trying out new stuff whenever any of us saw something that looked remotely interesting. They were willing to put up with my crazy whims and try anything, and we ended up with some really great images.

James and Andrea are actually friends of ours from our church, so we had an advantage in that we all already knew each other and were comfortable around each other. They are also a couple whose love & affection for each other shows in everything they do, so we definitely took advantage. We walked around Old Towne for a while before heading out to the farm where James grew up to continue our adventures. It was one of the longest engagement sessions I've ever done, but it was completely worth it...we wound up with a ton of beautiful pictures to choose from.

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all of these couples and can't wait to see them again on their wedding days!

Brox-Koftan Wedding

On March 28, in the middle of the worst blizzard Wichita has had in years, we braved the weather to shoot the wedding of Nancy & Ken. The two were married at the beautiful St. Vincent de Paul church in Andover. Luckily this church is so beautiful on the inside that we didn't need to go outside to shoot, anyway :)

Nancy and Ken are another of our couples who met online and fell in love. The priest told a bit of their story during the ceremony, which was fun to hear. The wedding itself was beautiful, and the happy couple very photogenic.

The reception was held in a fabulous room created to look like an intimate little courtyard somewhere in Europe. There were building facades, spiraling staircases, and beautiful chandeliers everywhere you turned. The tables were decorated with beautiful daffodil centerpieces grown in the gardens of the groom's parents.

We had a great time working with Nancy and Ken and wish them all the best!

Leslie & Lucy

I recently had one of the most fun photo shoots in recent memory...with my cousin's amazing daughters, Leslie & Lucy. Two more fabulous supermodels in the making I have never seen. These girls were completely comfortable in front of the camera and made my job so incredibly easy. They had no problems striking crazy poses and being totally and completely themselves for me...all I had to do was push the button. They also had no problems being close & affectionate for some of their pictures together, which turned out beautifully. We ended up with tons of great images....I can't wait until our next photo shoot together!