St. Louis Staycation

A few weeks ago, I got a rather somber voicemail. It was from a client of mine who was informing me that they had decided to call off their wedding.

I hate voicemails like that.

I was immediately so upset for the two of them, knowing that they must surely both be devastated. At the same time, though, I was so proud of them. It's such a tough thing to do to call off a wedding, especially when it's only 5 weeks away. It takes guts and gumption and a whole lot of humility. And I really respect them for that.

So fast forward 5 weeks.... I found myself with a free Saturday and I hardly knew what to do with myself. Seriously... a weekend without a wedding? Maybe I could hold a shoot or book another event or spend the day editing away or work on my new website or ... spend time with my family. Yeah, my choice was pretty easy :).

Being a photographer who's married to someone who works at a church means that weekends are never stress-free for us. But last weekend was dang near perfect. Blue skies.... mild fall temps... crunchy golden and red leaves covering the ground... it was quite the departure from the dreary weather that's recently covered the St. Louis area. So, instead of sleeping till noon (which is always my default on the rare occasion I should get a day off), we decided to go to Eckert's for some apple picking and pumpkin patching.

It was Kaden's first trip to Eckert's and he was elated from the get go.


I think the hayride might have been his favorite part


But of course, the apples were pretty thrilling.






Jon took these of Kaden and I. It's clear to me that I look a little looney, but I treasure these photos. Because I'm usually behind the camera, I so rarely have my photos taken. I'm so lucky to have such a talented man.


Peach trees in their autumnal bliss.


And then it was off to the pumpkin patch.


Thank you, Kaden, for appeasing your cheesy parents.


And when we were finished, we made a stop by my favoritest bakery in the whole wide world, the cupcakery.


Nearly every Saturday, we're shooting in Forest Park and I always sigh in jealousy as I watch families walk by, just enjoying the day. Don't get me wrong, I love love love shooting weddings. like really love it. But every now and then, it's nice to be the little family just enjoying the day :). So we stopped by Forest Park after our cupcake fest.


My boys. I love them.


yup, that's my Kaden.








Jon saw this patch of tall grasses, and since I usually like to photograph my clients in such scenery, he thought we should try to shoot some pics of Kaden there. I didn't think it would work out too well, but I was wrong :).


It was the perfect fall day, and I enjoyed every minute of it.