Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Avery and Greta :: Twins!

When Kendall and I first chatted over the phone about photography, Kendall was still pregnant. She had called to inquire about newborn photography, and I was so elated when she said she was expecting not one, but TWO sweet baby girls! This is the first time I've had the pleasure of photographing twins and I loved every minute of it!

And now, meet Miss Avery and Miss Greta :).





These little eight-day-old girls were the picture of serenity. There was hardly a peep throughout the entire shoot


Can you believe she had twins -TWINS!- just eight days before this photo was taken?? Seriously, Kendall, you're gorgeous.


Holding hands already. I have a feeling they're going to be bffs.






Pretty much my favorite photo of the day.






Kendall had an Etsy seller make her girls these adorable hats.




Sunday, February 21, 2010

Kasey and Jordan

For several years now, I've been shooting photos for collegiate perfomance groups, and last spring, I shot this photo for a group of actors who were performing in a showcase in New York:


I have been photographing this group of actors for most of their college years, and it has always been such a pleasure to work with this talented group. But during this shoot, I noticed a ... friendliness... that I hadn't noticed before. Mostly between the two on the left side of the photo. I later learned that they had started dating and I was thrilled to find out late last year that they were engaged!

Kasey contacted me last year about shooting their 2010 wedding, and I was unfortunately already booked for their date, but I had the pleasure of meeting up with them this month for an engagement shoot. So, very fittingly, we began their session outside the Fox Theatre.









Quite appropriate :)




FAVORITE. BY. FAR. Jordan and Kasey, you're so romantic.


Just a short drive down Washington Ave is one of my favorite coffee shops in St. Louis, so we decided to stop in for a bit to warm up. (If you missed my crazy coffee house guy story, you'll definitely want to check that out :) ).








Love these next two.






Best of luck to you, Kasey and Jordan! You two are rockstars :).

For more, check out my facebook page.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Jordan Proposes to Kasey and a Crazy Coffee House Man

During an engagement shoot last week with Kasey and Jordan, we stopped at one of my favorite coffee shops downtown and warmed up for a bit. While Jordan was changing into his second outfit, Kasey sipped on her latte and told me about their engagement story. "Have you seen it on YouTube?" she asked me. I was giddy with excitement and immediately pulled out my phone so I could watch it. I big puffy heart LOVE a good engagement and I love it even more when I get to see it on video! Kasey and Jordan were both very active in theatre during college and Kasey was recently in a performance of "Bye, Bye, Birdie." During their dress rehearsal... well, I'll let you see for yourself...


(click here to access the video on YouTube)

While Kasey and I were watching the video, I heard a man who was sitting a bit away from us start talking. I assumed he was talking on his cell phone since he was alone, but after the video was over, he got up and walked straight towards me.

"I saw you," he said. "I saw you aiming your cell phone waves at me. Turn it off. It's getting white stuff all over my tea."

He pointed the lid to his hot tea, but there was nothing there. I told him I didn't understand, and was waiting for him to crack a smile. I figured he was just being silly and wanted to have a little joke with two girls in a coffee shop.

That was not the case.

"You were aiming it at me. Turn. It. Off."

His eyes were starting to look a little crazy... kinda like John Locke in recent episodes of LOST.

"I wasn't aiming anything at you," I said as I slipped my phone in my pocket. It was getting a little tense and I suddenly wished we weren't the only patrons in the coffee shop at that moment.

"TURN. IT. OFF," he said again. His brow started to furrow and I wondered who this guy was. He was clean shaven and dressed in a nice, clean wool overcoat. His eyes looked they could be kind, but he wasn't being too kind at that moment. I wasn't about to cause a scene in the middle of what was a really enjoyable engagement shoot, so to appease him, I took the phone out of my pocket, switched it to vibrate, and dropped it back into my coat.

"It won't bother you anymore," I said to him with more confidence that I really had. I didn't let my gaze waiver and he knew I wasn't afraid of him. I could tell. These last four weeks of working out with my trainer have obviously made me a force to be reckoned with. Don't hate. You know it's true.

He turned to walk away, but not before he looked over his shoulder and called me some words I'd rather not repeat on my blog. I raised my eye brows as if to say "oh no you di-ent" and the barista who had been observing our altercation sprang immediately into action. He asked me what happened, and I repeated the conversation verbatim. Without hesitation, the barista walked over to the man and said, "We're going to have to ask you to leave. You can't talk to our customers like that. It's not appropriate."

Our hero.

We laughed a little about the audacity of what had just happened after he had exited the building. At that moment, Jordan came into the seating area and said, "hey, what just happened in here??"

Kasey and I laughed with the barista as we retold the story to Jordan.

What a night. A story we won't soon be forgetting, that's for sure.

I'm still finishing up editing their photos, but here's just one appetizer photo of Kasey and Jordan from the coffee house. Aren't they just the best?!? More to come soon :).

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Need Inspiration?

When I got married almost six years ago, I planned my wedding based on what I knew about weddings... which was all gleaned from weddings I had attended or episodes of "A Wedding Story" I had watched on TLC. I WISH WISH WISH I had done a little more research on what was available, but I just didn't have the time... or so I thought. More so now than 6 years ago, an overwhelming amount of resources are available literally at your fingertips. Blog, websites, and message boards provide an amazing wealth of information for all things wedding.

So, even though my wedding has come and gone, I'm still addicted to wedding sites, so I thought I would share a few of my favorites :).

Style Me Pretty
www.stylemepretty.com

(from the Style Me Pretty website) All About Style Me Pretty
Style Me Pretty is a style savvy wedding resource devoted to the modern bride. We cover everything from gorgeous real weddings to up and coming vendors and seasoned pros in the invitation, floral, fashion and photography industries. We feature only the most chic and style centric wedding related content, continually discovering new and brilliantly talented vendors, brides with an eye for all things gorgeous, and the personal loves of editor, Abby Larson.

Wedding Bee
www.weddingbee.com
Another site I could peruse for days on end... Wedding Bee has a host of brides-to-bee's who blog about their wedding planning journeys and provide valueable tips and resources. And you might just recognize the newest Bee, Miss Argyle. She's one of my fantastic clients and is a wedding planning genius :).

Green Wedding Shoes
www.greenweddingshoes.com
I know, I know, this site showcases Southern California wedding style... but it's one of the most beautiful places in the world with, in turn, some of the most beautiful weddings on the planet. Great details and great photos.

The Bride's Cafe
www.thebridescafe.com
Another lovely blog to garner lovely wedding inspiration... and to top it off, the coffee foam art in the header looks so good I can almost smell a tasty caffeinated concoction.


What about you? What are your favorite wedding sites for information on all things weddings?

Shane and Patty :: Married in Kansas City

I love getting the opportunity to go back to my hometown of Kansas City to shoot a wedding. It's great to photograph a couple there because, even though I grew up there, I hardly explored the city at all. Every turn and corner and alley and eclectic neighborhood... they're all fresh to me. And I love that.

So when I found out I'd be shooting Shane and Patty's wedding at Club 1000 in Kansas City, I was elated.




Shane and several of his groomsman are serving our country in the Marines.






Because the sun sets so early in the winter, Shane and Patty decided to see each other before the wedding so we could enjoy the sunlight in their photos.




Jon and I drove around the day before the wedding scouting out locations for the wedding day and I came across this parking garage that I though would work rather well. Jon looked me like I was crazy... a parking garage?? But I think it was a pretty fantastic setting, don't you agree?














Cute kids make me smile :)








These next two are my favorite favorite favorite.






Beautiful candlelit ceremony in Kansas City's Club 1000














When the evening is over and I see something like this, parked outside, I get excited