Ellen and Jeff will be married on October 17, 2009.   I love October weddings!  With the way the weather has been I bet that the color on the trees in three weeks will be beautiful.  Ellen and Jeff were a bit shy at first, but they soon opened up and we got some great shots.  I hope you enjoy.  Come back soon to see the wedding photos!

I am not a shoe girl…my family makes fun of my shoe choices, but I loved Ellen’s shoes!  Aren’t they sassy?

I’ve known Emily and Nathan for a long time.  Emily is the daughter or my Dad’s best friend and Nathan and my Dad work together.   All of our families enjoy duck hunting…A LOT!   I can remember the first time I went hunting with Nathan.  He was passed out in the corner of the blind and when a group of ducks landed in the hole, he jumped up shot and went right back to sleep.  Too funny!   Anyways, back to the happy couple!  I had a blast with Emily and Nathan.  I could have photographed them all day (as you can tell from the number of photos I am choosing to post!) because they were so much fun and the chemistry between the two of them is undeniable.  I am looking forward to their wedding next May!

The location they chose for their session is very special to both of them.  Emily’s dad had this log cabin built and some would say this is where it all started for the two of them.  My Dad tells the story of the summer Emily and Nathan started to be interested in each other.  It was the summer that this log cabin was being built.  Each day at lunch time the two of them would sit next to each other and as the summer went on they sat closer and closer!  Everyone knew it was the start to something great!

They wanted to try a few shots in the pond and I think they turned out great!

This is my ABSOLUTE favorite of the day.

Since I am behind on my blogging this post is already being published after Alicia and Marshall have been married!  We had a great time on this photo shoot.  They brought along their beautiful baby girl for the first part of the session and then we finished up with just the two of them.  We created a beautiful guest book for their wedding from their engagment session.  Maybe I can snag it from them for a few photos and post them on here so everyone can see what they look like!  Check back soon for their wedding photos…Alicia was a stunning bride if I do say so myself!

It was so sweet to watch Marshall interact with his baby girl.  He spoke to her in this most ridiculous, but adorable voice!  I am pretty sure she will have him wrapped around her little finger when she grows up!

This is one of my favorites from the day.  Isn’t Alicia just beautiful?

This is my other favorite…they look so happy!

In March, Taylor & Ben won a free engagement session at a Bridal Fair I had a booth at.  Their wedding is in her hometown in Iowa this summer, but once they are married they will be making Princeton their home.  Both Taylor and Ben have such a sweet, gentle spirit about them.  When I asked them to lay down on the ground for a shot and they both got dirty I felt horrible, but they rolled with it and insisted it wasn’t a big deal.  (Sorry again!)  You guys are wonderful!  Thanks so much for making my afternoon so much fun.  I can’t wait to see photos from your wedding…I’m sure they will be stunning.  I wish you all the best in your marriage!

This one reminds me of the movie “Greese” a little bit.  “I got chills…they’re multiplyin’…”

I can’t stop laughing at this jumping shot.  I’m not sure why, but every time I look at it I think of Pee Wee Herman and the scene where he dances on the bar to the “tequila” song!  So funny!

Don’t they look like they stepped out of 1920?  I just love their classic look.

A few weeks ago my cousin Jessie was in town with her fiance, Ryan, and we had a great time shooting their engagement session.  We were rained out once a few weeks before and the skies were cloudy again, but thankfully the rain held out.  Jess & Ryan have been dating for years, but since they don’t live in Princeton I haven’t really gotten to know Ryan very well.  It was so great to get to see the two of them interact and to get to know my future cousin-in-law!  You guys were so much fun and I hope we can hang out again real soon!

They will be married next March at Starved Rock State Park (which is beautiful and an absolute photographer’s dream to shoot at!).  It’s also my Dad’s 60th birthday so it will be a day of many celebrations!  Jess and her mom approached me shortly after the engagement and asked if I would like to photograph the wedding.  They were a bit hesitant to ask me because they were concerned I would be too busy with taking pictures to really get to enjoy the day with our family.  My thoughts are the exact opposite! I think being the photographer at a loved one’s wedding is even more special than just attending.  I get to spend so much more time with them through out their wedding day and I get a front row seat for all the special moments that you don’t get to see as a guest.  It is such a great feeling knowing that I am capturing on “film” one of the biggest days of their lives and I’m honored that they are trusting me with this.  This will be my second family wedding that I have shot and I can’t wait!

I couldn’t decide if I liked this one…

…or this one best.  So I posted both!

Can you feel the love?!?

I think this shot is pretty groovy.

Leah and Brian’s wedding is scheduled for July 4th of this year.  I’ve never shot a wedding on July 4th, but I am sure it will be a blast!  When I photograph engagement sessions I love getting to know the couple a little more.  I usually ask a lot of questions about the wedding day, but I also like to get the low down of how they met and fell in love.  Leah and Brian have a great story.  If I would have done this post directly after the shoot a few weeks back I may have more details to share, but as I grow older my brain is feeling more like a colander than a steel trap!

They met on the internet of all places!  I am a skeptic of this (my sisters even signed me up on one of those dating sites without my permission once…I was not so happy about this) internet dating phenomenon, but Leah and Brian are a true testiment.  The first time they met Leah said she had 911 dialed on her phone just in case he turned out to be a wacko, but thankfully she didn’t have to use it!

Leah and Brian, you two were so much fun to work with and I am looking forward to July 4th.  And Brian, thanks for the laughs…I’ll never forget your squinty eyes!  Hopefully we don’t get too bright of a day for your wedding.  Maybe you should get rid of the sunglasses for the next few weeks and get your eyes used to the brightness!  See you guys soon!

What can I say except that I love my job!  I have had an amazing run of photo shoots lately.  It seems that my clients keep getting cooler and cooler by the minute.  I hadn’t met Sarah and Josh until the day of the shoot since they don’t live in the area anymore (Sarah’s mom came in to book me for their wedding).  When I finally got to meet them and I saw how stankin’ cute they are I was SO excited to photograph them.   Sarah and Joshua’s love for one another just radiated from their smiles, laughter and gentle touch.  They were so comfortable with each other and they had so much fun with it.  We had a VERY windy, sunny day to work with so we had some obstacles, but I think they all turned out great.  I tried to keep my favorites down to a minimum, but I still am posting quite a few.  If I had my way I’d post the whole gallery because I love them all!  Sarah and Joshua, you guys rock and I can’t wait for your wedding day.  Thanks for a great day!

I think this one might be my favorite.

This series was so much fun to shoot.  We were waiting for the sun to go back under the clouds because it was so bright.  Think you can tell how most of them turned out from the top right image.

Did you notice they both have engagement rings?  Such a sweet idea.  I think this should become a tradition.

They were goof balls.  Love it when my clients work it for the camera.

Yummy.  Chocolate. Sepia on a dark image.  Does it get any better?

Love the first shot where Joshua is showing off his choice of bling for his future bride.

What can I say in a few words to sum up this couple?  A ball of laughs!  I had so much fun photographing Andy & Katie’s engagement session.   We laughed until we cried (well, maybe only Andy cried which promoted even more laughter!).  They have had their wedding booked with me for quite some time and finally the wedding day is almost here.  On April 18th they will tie the not and I’m so excited to be there to photograph their day.  When a couple is as relaxed and silly as Andy and Katie are with each other my job is easy…all I have to do is hang back and capture the love!  Thank so much for a fun shoot guys and I’ll see you in a few weeks!