A few months back I found out that the company I used for my wedding albums had gone out of business.  I was pretty bummed, but only for a few days.  I am SO excited about the new company I have found!  They are similar and price and quality, but they have a lot more options that are super groovy.  (Yes…the word “groovy” is in my everyday vocabulary.)  There are a ton of awesome options of cover materials, from traditional to modern and bold!  They also offer several different cameo options so every album can be a complete reflection of your own style.  Here is a recent one from Mandy & Brian’s wedding I shot on Fort Myers Beach last year.  Enjoy!

The albums come shipped in a durable black box for storage (which why would you use that anyways…display your album!!).  When you open the box you see this pretty little bow that makes me happy!

OOOOOOOHHH!!!!  I got so excited when I opened this for the first time!

This is a metal strip cameo.  It is not on photo paper people…it’s on metal!

Full spread and lay flat pages.

You can see here how seamless the double spreads are.

One of my favorite pages from the album.  Such a great wedding and I love that they have such a beautiful keepsake to remind them of how awesome their wedding was!

Kelly and Jamie were married on March 27, 2010 and the day was absolutely beautiful!  The sun was shining and it was a bit cool, but perfect for March weather.  The wedding ceremony was at the First Lutheran Church in Princeton and their reception was at Senica’s Oak Ridge in LaSalle.  I’ve chosen a few pictures to share (I’d love to share the whole wedding, but that’s not possible!) of the bride, groom and bridal party for part one.  I’ll post part two of the ceremony and wedding soon.  Congrats Kelly and Jamie!  Love you guys!

Stunning!

Hotties!

Beautiful flowers from Flowers by Julia in Princeton.

I am behind on blogging so it’s been quite awhile since Dede & John’s wedding, but I still wanted to share.   They were married at Starved Rock State Park on June 13, 2009.  It was a beautiful day, but a bit muddy from the flooding we had this Spring.   The reception was a Wise Guys in Princeton and was just a beautiful as the ceremony.   The day went off without a hitch and they left plenty of time for lots of great photographs all around Starved Rock.  Every corner we turned was a great backdrop for photos!

Dede made a stunning bride!  I love the detailing on the back with the simple lace up corset.

John was looking pretty handsome himself!

Dede chose to have her two sons walk her down the aisle.  So sweet.

Everyone was very emotional after the ceremony.  I love these special moments!

That is me…getting the bunny ears from their youngest son.  I had no idea this was going on while I was photographing the guys so when I was editing the photos (my assistant snapped this one) I sure got a good laugh!

Dede and John were so into each other that I had a hard time getting them to look at the camera!  I actually prefer these type of shots so I was in photographers heaven that day!

Dede’s mom was a hoot!  She was in charge of cutting the cake and it got a bit out of control.

I am going to end this post with their new family photo.  I wish you all a very happy life together!

I’m finally catching up on my blogging.  It’s been a busy summer with weddings, family photos and getting my new studio settled.  Once the studio is finished and I’m finally open I will blog about it, but for now I’m just going to catch up on the recent photo shoots and weddings.

On June 6th Lydia & Gabe were married at the First Baptist Church in Geneseo, IL.  It sure seems like we keep getting lucky with the weather!  The day started with rain, but by the time the outdoor reception began it was beautiful out.  Lydia & Gabe had a ton of help with everything from flowers and decoration to the dinner.  Lydia’s mother even made the bridesmaid’s dresses and I think she did a wonderful job!  Last weekend Lydia’s sister was married and I got the chance to see her again.  She says married life if wonderful.  Congratulations!

Lydia’s mom & dad did a skit at the reception that had everyone in stiches!

I confess…I am pretty behind on blogging.  I’ve had a very busy month (with some big news that I will share very soon!) and I have gotten a bit behind with the posting.  I apologize!  I am going gang buster this week and getting a lot done so check back very soon for all the full blog posts!  For now here is a sneak peak at the past four weddings.  Enjoy!

LYDIA & GABRIEL 6-6-09

DEDE & JOHN 6-13-09

GINA & MIKE 6-26-09

LEAH & BRIAN 7-4-09

I wanted to post another bride & groom shot from Leah & Brian’s wedding, but I just LOVE this shot of the girls.  They were a blast!

This is the second part of Mandy & Brian’s wedding post.  My first post was mostly formal shots of the bridal and groom and their bridal party, but I had to share a few from the amazing ceremony.  I still can’t get over how simple and beautiful everything was!  I hope you enjoy theses shots from the ceremony and a few detail shots.  I sure hope there is another beach wedding soon!  Keep your fingers crossed and if you know of anyone send them my way!

Brian had the best reaction I have ever seen from a groom as his bride is walking towards him.  Adorable.

At first glance this looks like a boring picture, but check it out a little closer…video camera, digital camera, Kodak throw away camera…too funny!  Their own front row Paparazzi!

Brian continued to choke up throughout the whole ceremony.  One of the sweetest moments I’ve ever witnessed at a wedding.

A few details from the ceremony and dinner.  The sunset was gorgeous that night!

Katie and Andy were married on April 18th this year.  I did their engagement photos a few months before and I knew that their wedding would be beautiful from the way that they interacted with one another during the session.  They are so comfortable with each other and loving towards each other.  I believe that being able to laugh with your partner is one of the most important things in a relationship and they definitely have that!  Their wedding day was beautiful and went off without a hitch.  I loved so many of the shots from the wedding that this post is a bit long.  I might make a second post with reception shots…their guests tore up the dance floor!!  Check back for that soon.

Thanks Katie and Andy for allowing me to share in your special day.  It was an honor and a pleasure getting to know you!  May the Lord bless your marriage and life with each other!

Kate & Andy had a fabulous bridal party that was full of personality.  We did tons of individual goofy shots that will make it into a blog post at a later date, but for now here are the tame ones!

Aren’t these ladies beautiful?

And these men handsome?  (Especially the little guy in the front! Such a cute little smile!)

This was one of my favorite parts of the wedding day.  They had a bagpiper lead them out of the church and boy was it loud!  I am pretty sure this is the second time I have photographed a wedding where this man was the bagpiper.  I have to go back and look in my archives to check it out!

Bubbles don’t usually work out very good, but Katie & Andy had awesome guests that blew bubbles til their faces turned red.  You guys rocked! These are by far the best bubble shots I have gotten at a wedding to date.   Don’t you love how excited Andy is?!?

Maybe my favorite from the whole day.

Flowers by Julia always does exceptional work!

Elizabeth and Jeremy were married in a civil ceremony a few months back.  Elizabeth’s mom wanted to have a reception for the two of them and hired me to photograph it along with some “formal” photos.  They were a hoot!  I should be including more of the goofy shots, but I really like a lot of the photos of the two of them so this post would be forever long if I included all my favorites.  Maybe some day I’ll do a post about goofy reception photos and Jeremy’s garter retreival and toss will definitely be part of it.  I have done a lot of weddings and I’ve never quite seen anything like his performance!  Cheers to you Elizabeth and Jeremy.  I wish you all the best in your marriage!

Elizabeth and her mom.  Thanks Kim for asking me to do this!  Maybe grandkids will be on the way soon and we can work together again!?

This is my favorite! The way he is looking at her makes my heart go pitter-patter.

On May 15, 2009 Brian and Mandy were married on Fort Myers Beach.  This was my first “beach wedding” and I couldn’t have been more excited that they hired me as their photographer.  They booked me for their reception in August that is here in Illinois and when I found out their wedding was going to be on a beach I was chomping at the bit!  I dream of being a destination wedding photographer.  In my mind not many cooler jobs exist (besides of course the people on the travel channel who get paid to travel the world, experience new cultures and cuisine, all while going on amazing adventures).  They decided to have me travel to Florida and photograph their wedding as well!  I was stoked.  For weeks leading up to the wedding day I had dreams about what the wedding would be like…some good, some bad. Well, not really bad, but just a little weird I guess.  The worst one was that I forgot to pack my suitcases because I concentrated so hard on packing my gear.  I had to shoot the wedding in old grubby jeans and T-shirt that I had on for three days!!  (For the record I didn’t forget to pack.)  I think I could shoot weddings on the beach everyday.  I hate wearing shoes and dress clothes (unless a romantic date or a night on the town with my girlfriends is on the agenda) and for this wedding I got to shoot in bare feet while wearing shorts!  WOOOHOO!

My sister, Mindy, flew down with me and was my assistant.  She has helped with several weddings before, but she rocked it at this one.  Several of the shots I will post are from her.  She was very creative and got her exposures spot on.  If she didn’t have a business of her own I may be worried she would be competition!  I’ve tried to hire her with no luck.  I am hoping when her kids get in school I may be able to convince her!  Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I will be posting photos within the next few days from the ceremony and dinner as well as a bit more details about the actual wedding.  For now here are some of my favorite “formal” shots.

I can’t take credit for this shot…I saw it in the Pink Shell Resort’s wedding brochure and it made me smile so I tried to re-create it.

Still makes me smile!

Mindy got quite a few adorable shots of the Ring Bearer and Flower Girl.

This one was a ton of fun.  Cracks me up every time I look at it.  I am sure the beach goers were laughing too!

Here is an example of how creative Mindy was.  I saw her in the roped off vegitation and looked at her like she was crazy.  I was pretty sure the wedding planner was going to come bust us.  Classic case of shoot first and ask permission later!

Maybe my favorite one of the whole day.  Thanks Mandy & Brian for fabulous time and for allowing me to be part of your wedding day!

I knew as soon as I photographed Mark and Tracy with his daughter Brooke last summer that I was going to LOVE this couple.  They are so laid back and a riot to be around.  After their family photo shoot  last year, Mark took me flying in this go-cart looking contraption with a parachute attached (it has slipped my mind what the technical name is).   It was probably one of the coolest things I have had the chance to do, especially since it was a total surprise!  They have given me an open invitation to go flying again and I intend on taking them up on it as soon as it gets warm.  Tracy picked up her proofs last week and she brought me a present!  I was so touched that she thought of me while out shopping!

On February 14, Valentines Day, Mark and Tracy tied the knot.  It was a day full of love, laughter and tons of fun.  I have never done a wedding where the whole bridal party was so easy going!  One of the groomsmen decided it was his day’s mission to give the photographer a healthy dose of crap…it will go down in my all time most memorable days.  Thanks for the laughs!

The reception was held at Hunter’s Ridge Golf Course in Princeton.  Behind the club house is this old suspension bridge.  I’m so glad we took advantage of a few free minutes before the reception began because I love the shots we got.  I have shot at this bridge many times and it never loses it charm!

I love when the first kiss is a big one!

Mark pulled a fast one on his bride!  Outside of the church was a car decorated with the traditional shoe polish and tin cans waiting to take the bridal party away, but as soon as they walked out it pulled away and made room for this beautiful limo.  Good one Mark!

Finally I had to show you what a cut up Mark was.  Any and every opportunity to be a goof ball was taken.  This is only a small sampling of his goofy faces and poses.  His freakishly long tongue also made several appearances!