Seeing the 3 of them hang out this afternoon and play around town showed me the fun people that they are and the love that they give and that will help me so much more for their upcoming April wedding. Enjoy a few images from our afternoon together. Just a few short months until I get to hang with them again. Looking forward to it even more now!

On the wedding day, Cat and Brett lived the whole spectrum- they laughed so hard it hurt, and they shared personal love letters during their ceremony that brought the whole house to tears.  It was such a good party that there will be stories that will last a lifetime.  Love you guys.  Here’s a peek at my last full wedding of 2011.

Cat poses for a “senior picture” for her friend’s camera

Jewel’s photo below.  Cat’s brother showing Brett a video he made touring their honeymoon suite.

Jewel’s photo below

Jewel’s photo below

I loved the way Cat’s brother Chris looked at her that day with such affection.  What a sweet brother

It was very important to Cat to remain unseen until the ceremony.  Here Chris guards grandma and grandpa’s eyes

The next two photos are Jewel’s

Jewel’s photo below

Jewel’s photo below

the two dads- yeah!

The short film of Gina and Justin:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I met Gina’s parents before I met her.  They both came into the studio for a meeting and I immediately knew this was going to be a great wedding to photograph and more importantly a great family to document.  I loved how down to earth and grounded they all were.  I loved how they were completely themselves with no apologies and made their wedding day reflect that.  It was great to be able to watch them all show the family they are.

There were a few highlights of the day for me.  The first was Gina wanting to surprise Justin with a custom hot rod get away car after the ceremony.  What a great moment as Justin, who is a car nut, comes out to see flames shooting out of the exhaust pipes of a spotless red piece of art.  Then at the reception Gina’s dad gave the best father of the bride toasts I have ever heard.  Brandon will be posting his film of the day at a later date so you will have to watch that to really get the feel of how great it was, but the general idea revolved around the idea of driveways.  He talked of their driveway and how many people over the years had come to their driveway and left from their driveway, some to never come back.  He talked about how Justin had come to their house via their driveway.  He wished Gina and Justin a life full of great memories and important people coming to their driveway.  It was fantastic.  Just went to show again how much this family valued the ones close to them.

Thanks to Gina and Justin for letting us into your lives for a day!

The info-

Ceremony- The Cathedral of Immaculate Conception

Reception- The Clubhouse on Baltimore

Gina getting the final touches done.

Guys being guys.  One of Justin’s groomsmen and Justin’s dad react to the smell of what Justin had for lunch…..that cleared the room.

Justin and his dad have a great relationship that was fun to watch.

A flower girl keeping busy.

Bridesmaid running interference.

Loved how the girls were watching football.

Leaving for the ceremony.

Gina gets a hug from her mom minutes prior to leaving for the ceremony.

I love this next series when Gina meets up with her dad for the ride to the church.

Love the attention on Justin in this moment when Gina makes her way down the aisle.

Just married…..with fire.

A fast portrait with the car on the way to the reception.

Waiting for the call into the reception.

It was great how the kids were allowed to have the fun they all wanted on the dance floor before the adults got to it!

Gina’s dad’s toast.

All the men of the family performing a song as a tradition they do at all events.  The name escapes me…as did the lyrics to them as they needed a smart phone to read off of.

The final dance.

Stay tuned for Brandon’s film of the day.

In addition to immersing himself in the mid 19th century, Eric served in the United States Army. In the summer of 2010, right after he got back from 15 months in Afghanistan, Eric out of the blue asked if we could shoot a video for the song “Hard Times Come Again No More”. A few days later, we had a video made. It was a bit rough around the edges, since we literally just got up early the next morning with no plan and shot it. This year, Eric suggested shooting another video. We made an effort to organize it a bit more, and even roped some of the other Wirken team into helping. Big thanks to Jewel and Brady for their hard work.

Here is our most recent effort. A music video of “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair”. This might just end up being an annual tradition.

If you are curious about our first video, here it is:

Finally I’d like to share something I had no hand in creating. A video of Eric and a couple of his buddies (Kyle Shaw, and Chris Gore) playing “Hard Times Come Again No More” during a bit of downtime at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Wilson in Afghanistan, back in April of 2010. There is something extremely poignant and inspiring about three soldiers a world away from home, playing a song about hard times written 156 years ago.

If you’re looking for a charity to support this holiday season, IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America) could use your support. Donate today.

Really all we ask here at Wirken Photography of our clients is for them to just be themselves in front of our cameras.  Not to hold back any emotion or trait that makes them truly who they are.  Katie, Andy and their family and friends had no problem with that at all and I loved it.  I love Katie’s no bs approach to life.  She knows what she wants and she goes for it.  I admire that about her and Andy is such a calm go with it type if guy making the two of them a perfect match.  It was great to watch them interact with their friends and family all day.  You could tell the people in their lives mean a great deal to them.  The entire day was filled with such a relaxed, laid back flow that nothing could rattle.  Not even the rain.  They all just rolled with whatever came their way and enjoyed the day with an unwavering calm.  It was a joy to be involved.

The info:

Ceremony- Good Shepard Catholic Church

Reception- Lake Quivira Country Club

Florist- Blue Bouquet

Video- Wirken Films

The photos-

Andy’s brother decided it would be funny to write a message on the bottom of Andy’s shoes.  Here Andy discovers the prank.  Image by Kate.

Then makes his brother remove it.  Image by Kate.

Katie gets a bit of help with her veil.

Katie and her parents on their way to the ceremony.

Loved this little tiny shaft of light in the church.  Katie and her dad make their down the aisle.

Checking the ring.

Time for some quick portraits at the bar.

So this next sequence was pretty impressive.  Katie was working hard to get the cork out of another bottle of champagne.

She finally got it to pop.

As the cork popped out of the bottle it hit the wall and bounced back and like a ninja Katie caught it.

Katie is a nurse and her father is also in the medical field.  His toast was a very touching message about how his time working together with her meant so much to him.

The first dance.

The bouquet toss which was rigged in my opinion.

The garter toss was questionably rigged as well.

The result of the rigged toss was Katie’s bridesmaid Kelly and her boyfriend both caught the bouquet and garter and are now engaged.  Thank goodness for the intervention as I will be shooting their wedding as well!

The lake view from the reception with the city lights aglow.

Thanks so much for letting us document your day!

Sit back and enjoy a short film of the day by our film guy Brandon Parigo.

I remember Laren and John’s engagement session as remarkably fun.  As I was shooting, a few times I had to pull my camera down to my knees because I was laughing so hard.  We got together about a week ago to relive the wedding together, and of course, how would I expect it any other way, they showed up with both sets of parents in from out of town, a platter of French cheeses, and a favorite Chianti.  It was a real, deep, hard laughter, flowing tears kind of get together.  True fun, and that is just how their wedding day was.  Laren’s dad described their view on the Catholic ceremony in this way; that the covenant that was happening that day at the Cathedral was as sacred as the ordination of a priest- that it is taken very seriously, and I could feel it, and it was so beautiful to me how invested in that ceremony everyone was.  And then, they celebrated with the same passion, getting guests out of their seats and out of their self-consciousness with silly glasses, hats, and boas.  I love the way John look at Laren, I love the way Laren, a perfectionist like me, ended up being one of the wildest ones on the dance floor at the end of the night.  It was all great, and we thank you for your hospitality and friendship.

Killing time with YouTube videos

Jewel’s two beautiful photos of John below

Jewel’s photo below

This picture was special to me and this moment was probably pretty memorable to some people there- John’s dad isn’t one to dance, but someone tapped me on the shoulder and let me know he was on the dance floor.  I love the joy on mom’s face.

I love the Michael Beers band so much.  They played at my wedding, and the get the dance party going, every time without fail

Fun with Booth Booth

Jewel is the expert at our long exposure scene setters

Here are my favorite moments from Tori and Chris’ warm October wedding

One of the bridesmaids was expecting

Tori’s sister, the maid of honor, had a last minute zipper malfunction, and for about 20 minutes, no one was sure how her dress was going to get closed.  Bridesmaids teamed up and got it figured out.

The next two are Jewel’s

Tori surprised Chris with some alligator boots that he had been coveting for a long time.  He decided on the spot to wear them for the wedding

Jewel’s photo below

Jewel’s photo below

It is always an honor for me to document two people celebrating their love for each other while being surrounded by the wonderful people in their lives.

The day started at Katherine’s parents’ home in Topeka, Kansas, where the reception is going to take place later in the evening.

Katherine’s mom. Excitement is in the air…

(The two images above taken by Peggy)

At the church waiting and getting ready.

(The two images above taken by Peggy)

At the marina where a small boat is waiting to take Katherine and Brandon to the reception.

Final touch up at the shelter before the boat ride.

The “Lake Patrol” person thought that Brandon reminded him of John Travolta so he used his cell phone to take photo of Brandon for souvenir.

Beautifully hand-made signs.

Katherine’s dad delivering the toast.

Later on I learned that Katherine was trying so hard not to cry on her wedding day.  Here she is doing what she can to hold back the tears.

The best man during his speech trying to hold the emotion in check.

A guess doing the splits.

The sorority sisters serenading the bride.

Congratulations, Katherine and Brandon. And thank you for sharing your hearts and lives with us.

To see more of this wonderful couple- (The photos from their engagement portrait shoot can be viewed here)

-David