Nicolle :: Wedding Consultant Extraordinaire

Let's face it; planning a wedding is tough work. While I was planning my wedding, I scoured the web while I was at work and spent meant late nights (and early mornings) researching different locations, florists, DJ's, stationary stores, photographers, bakeries... there's just so much to do and I had never planned a wedding before, so I was pretty clueless. If I had to do it all over again, there are a lot things I would have done differently. The first one would be to lay off on the caffeine right before the wedding. I had a frappacino (make that a venti, please) and the caffeine jolt pushed me to nearly run down the aisle.

Another thing I would have done differently would be to hire a wedding coordinator. More than just a planner, a wedding coordinator is a limitless wealth of information on-all-things-wedding. And if I could have hired just one coordinator, it would be Nicolle.

I've worked with Nicolle on several photoshoots and she's one of the most organized, fashionable, and personable people I know. In addition to working as the head wedding coordinator for The Journey, Nicolle also works for Alred Wedding Consultants, a St. Louis based consulting service providing as little or as much assistance as you desire. She needed some new headshots for the updated Alred website, and I was happy to oblige.

We started off in the Clayton for some quick headshots




And since we were there... I took advantage of the gorgeous light and got me some sunflare:)


And since she was game, we took Nicolle up on the roof of a luxury Clayton hotel for some more shots




... and since we were there, we decided to shoot a little more :). Love the vintage feel here.




And in addition to being a wedding consultant extraordinaire, Nicolle is also a pretty fierce model

Baby Gabriella

Oh my cuteness.


Just a little while ago, I shot maternity photos for Jackie and Michael and now, adorable Gabriella is here! I visited Gabriella's house for a session just a little while ago to catch her interacting with her parents in her natural environment. Jackie had me come over just as Gabriella was waking up, which is when she is the happiest.


She's not used to seeing bearded men first thing when she wakes up, so my trusty assistant startled her for a bit


but she was all smiles just seconds later :)




Seriously, could Gabriella get any cuter?!










She is one stylin baby. I'm lovin the pink beanie.




kinda makes me want one...

Kinsey's going to Brazil

During our lovely warm spell, I couldn't resist heading out to Queeny Park to take advantage of our break from the St. Louis snow. This is one of the first times this year that it has actually been warm enough to shoot outside and not get frostbite :).

Meet Kinsey.


Kinsey is a college student and this summer she's taking a 6 week missionary trip to Brazil with Campus Crusade and let me tell ya, this chica is so excited :).



See what I mean? I asked her to tell me a little about her trip and she couldn't contain her excitement.






Here's some new texture that I've been experimenting with. At first, I didn't like textured photos at all, but now, they're really growing on me. What do you think? Does the texture work?


Going on an international mission trip is not only a sacrifice of your time, but also of funds. Kinsey plans to use these photos in the support letters she'll send to her family and friends. If you're interested in supporting Kinsey as she serves in Brazil , shoot me an email and I will get you more information :).


Kinsey, I'm so proud of you and I'll be praying for you while you're serving in Brazil. God bless you!

Welcome Home, Colin

My cute, cute cousins added a little brother to their bunch on January 17. After being sick with jaundice for a little while, Colin made a full recovery and is now doing just great :). I had the chance to go visit Colin at home for a little photo shoot, which was, I'm sure, the first of many :). I just can't get enough of these kids!

I had some fun ideas for some shots of Colin while he was sleeping, but he was one alert baby!  I thought we were getting close to a nap here, but it was just a yawn.  A super cute yawn.

Sleeping (momentarily) with mom and dad.

When Kathy (mom) went to the hospital to have Colin, she left her oldest daughter, Maddie (5) cute little post-its all over the house to let her know that she was thinking about her.  So when Kathy came home with Colin, she found these on her mirror from Maddie.  Isn't that just the cutest?!

Sarah and Maddie with their new brother

winter weather woes

After Christmas is over, I really don't see the need for winter. I mean, it gets dark way too early, the weather is miserable, and there's always someone getting the flu. And, um, who likes to be pasty white for months at a time? Not me, that's for certain. So, next year, I vote that we cancel January through February and start the new year with spring. I think that should be the platform for one of our presidential candidates. Or maybe I should just don my new chunky scarf I got for Christmas and be thankful that puffy vests are still in style...

Anyway, to rescue me from my winter woes, here are some photos from warmer days that I've not yet posted:). I did this engagement session with Davey and Ashley before I became a regular blogger, so I've been meaning to post it for a while. Enjoy and be warm!

Could Davey and Ashley be any cuter?? They are one of those couples that makes me really enjoy my job. They've got that adorable, genuine giddiness with each other, so as a photographer, my job was easy:).


I'm really looking forward to their wedding in downtown St. Louis later this summer. They've got an awesome ceremony location right in the middle of all the the downtown action, and I can't wait! And God bless Davey's family... his brother Tyler is getting married just a month prior (I'll be shooting their wedding too:) ).

Shooting engagement photos in Queeney Park is always a blast. The park has tons of great architecture and beautiful landscaping.

So Davey and Ashley have lots of personality. And attitude. And really big sunglasses:).

Love this photo. I put this one on the front of my business card.

Oh! And for all of you wondering... I have beaten my caffeine addiction! I still love the stuff, but I'm no longer a slave to it. For now ;).

Scott Family

The last time I got together with the Scott family, we were on the sunny beaches of Jamaica for Jason and Lindsay's wedding. It was so great to catch up with them again to do some fall family photos at Queeny Park not too long ago. They're such an easy-going bunch, they made my job of photographing them easy! Here are some of my favs:




non-posed AND sunflare?! Love it!


They're such a photogenic family, I literally could have posted all of the pics I took at this location.


And of course I had to post some of the newlyweds!





Gotta love this one. They all brought their sunglasses so they could do a fun pic with some attitude.


Grandpa and Hayley. So cute!