I am breaking the rules today for Teaser Tuesday.  Usually I pick one image from my most recent wedding but Saturday’s wedding gets two.

This past weekend I had the honor of traveling to Leesburg, Virginia to document the wedding of good friend and fellow wedding photographer Eric Laurits to Emily Spero Smith.  Getting the call to photograph the wedding of a fellow photographer is always exciting as well as intimidating but I love a challenge so I was thrilled to be asked.

I will elaborate more on this unique wedding that included lawn darts, dogs, wood-fired pizza, a 5K, and organic donuts at a later date but for now here are two images that in my opinion sum up the story of the weekend.  They wanted their wedding to be meaningful and fun and they got just that.

The first is Emily and Eric during the ceremony.  I love this image as it really captures these two perfectly.  Their ceremony was packed full of meaningful things including the lighting of four sparklers as a symbolic homage to Eric’s time as a camp counselor.  What they did not expect was the smoke and which direction the wind was blowing.  I love how they both found themselves gagging and laughing at not only the smoke but how hard it was to light each one.  These two are perfect for each other in their ability to be both deep and silly at the same time.  This photo embodies those traits perfectly in my opinion.

The other aspect of their lives that is very important to both Eric and Emily is family.  It was wonderful to be … Read the rest

Teaser Tuesday is back!

I am so excited to be able to do Teaser Tuesdays again.  I had my first wedding of the season on Saturday and it was wonderful.  Megan and Larry’s wedding was wonderfully designed by Trapp and Co. as well as coordinated by Kelly Ruff.

The day was great with so many moments it was hard to choose just one for Teaser Tuesday.  In the end I was so impressed with Megan and her relationship with dad that I had to use one of my favorite moments of the day.  Megan had just finished getting dressed and was waiting for her dad to come up the Staircase at Mission Hills Country club.  You could hear his voice as he made his way up the stairs to see his daughter dressed for her ceremony.  As he rounded the corner and saw her his knees literally buckled.  It was such a great moment.  I love this moment as he puts his hand to his face in amazement at the beauty of his daughter on her wedding day.

… Read the rest

Angela and James are an amazing couple. They both knew from the start what they were looking for in a person to marry, and held out hope until it happened. That is a dedication that is more and more rare in today’s world, and I feel blessed that I was able to be there to witness their wedding.

The morning of their wedding Angela was surprised by a slideshow that James had made and put on Youtube for her to watch. All of the girls watched as James told the story of why he wanted to marry her and how she was perfect for him. James is my kind of romantic.

I have been thinking a lot about family lately.

Sadly my extended family lost both an Aunt and a cousin within one week of each other due to cancer.  While attending the funeral for the first I sat in the pew starring at the enlarged photo of my Aunt mesmerized by her smile and her eyes seemingly looking right at me.  Out in the lobby of the church was a table full of photos of  her grand kids, siblings, and friends enjoying her and life.  It was amazing how those photos brought smiles to faces, how they helped to dry tears and gave all of us something to grab onto in such a time of loss.  About 3 years ago I was fortunate enough to finally realize the true meaning in why I am a photographer.  Telling stories of people so generations of new people can see for themselves the story of family members that came before them is a resolve I take into each wedding I shoot.   It is not about making images of people looking perfect, or of things, but more about images of who people are in their true form.  Being able to see my Aunt in photos showing her true form brought me some comfort thus strengthening my resolve even more.  So in thinking about what to blog today I felt it appropriate to blog a wedding I shot last year that was very dear to me.

The chance to document family does not come along to often and when it does it is always meaningful.  So when my cousin Gretchen asked me to be the photographer for her wedding to … Read the rest

I am still catching up on blogging from weddings I shot last year so today I am pleased to give you Mike and Alicia’s Kansas City wedding that took place at Our Lady of Sorrows and The Carriage Club.

I luckily inherited this wedding from Becca who used to work with us.  Becca was expecting her second little girl and was unable to be there for the wedding so I got the call.   I say I luckily inherited this one as I feel so fortunate to have not only documented Mike and Alicia’s wedding but also to have met these two.  They are such wonderfully thoughtful people who in my opinion have it all figured out.  The connection they share is undeniable to anyone who watches them for only a few minutes.  They are both pillars of strength literally and figuratively.  Mike is a die hard P-90X fan and the two of them have worked hard at their relationship over the years.  Surviving long distances and taking risks to be with each other.  It paid off and their wedding was the celebration of it all.  I was so happy to be able to meet these two and be asked to be a witness to their day.

The info-

Ceremony- Our Lady of Sorrows church

Reception- The Carriage Club

The photos-

Alicia getting her makeup done.

Alicia bought all of her bridesmaids these awesome tube socks.

Alicia sporting her socks and sharing a laugh with her girls. 

Alicia’s sister helping with the dress.

The kids at this wedding were awesome.  Including the little ring barer who was having some trouble staying awake before the ceremony.  … Read the rest