Dance like no one is watching

Last weekend I captured a wedding that grounded me on so many levels. I have learned so much from this couple and their story has truly touched my life. As I was processing some of the images I ran across this image that reminds me why I love wedding photography so much.

Planning a wedding takes so long, except for this one but more on that later. When the wedding day finally arrives it quickly becomes a blur from all the big important stuff having to fall into place to all of the people coming to witness the amazing union. The moment captured below is a great example of how we can still connect with the ones that mean so much to us in the midst of all the noise around us. It is as if they are dancing like no one is watching.

What are you doing this Christmas to connect on a deeper level with the people that mean so much to you?

Thankfulness

Because today is the day of giving thanks I wanted to say a big thanks to all of my clients who so generously give me the chance live out my passions and dreams. Without the encouragement you have given me I would not be the person I am today.

Today is also our little Ainsley’s first Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving around our house the past five years has been loaded with family packed into our home. With nearly 15 people I quickly run out of room to stack them so most choose the floor to sleep on. With all of the noise, crowdedness, and lots of dishes I found myself enjoying those few days a year when everyone comes over to my house for food and fun.

This year nobody came over. It was a slow and quiet day with just the three of us. We did spend a few hours over at my brother-in-laws house but most of the day was spent with my new three-person family. It was a welcome change of pace and a day full of thanksgiving for me as I am surrounded by the two people that mean the world to me.

Here are a few shots of my little Thanksgiving.

The day started off by mom doing a little bit of “Pre-Black Friday” shopping. She got up at 4:30 to snag this cool noisemaker of a table for Ainsley at half price. By the time Ainsley woke up we had it set up for her to begin the play of a new toy.








Because this was Ainsley’s first Thanksgiving Sarah and I have been doing a lot of talking about traditions. Today we started our first Thanksgiving tradition of drawing turkeys by tracing our hands on construction paper. It was obviously difficult for a 6 ½ month old to hold her hand still but we made it through it. Once we finished coloring each of us wrote a few things we are thankful for this year. The goal is to do this every year and write down five things we are thankful for. We will move this to small index cards in the future. It will be fun to read through all of them and see how our kids change their priorities over the years.








Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Mark and Kathy's Family

My latest family photo session was one of my most unique family sessions. In what is considered a very rare occasion, Baby Ainsley made a special guest appearance at my photo session. She came along with Sarah and I to capture my brother-in-law and sister-in-laws family and did a fantastic job at entertaining them. She held up great even with the cooler weather in which she hardly complained.

Mark and Kathy are our closest geographically located family. Most of my family is either in St. Louis or the great state of Texas. Having them near by has given us a chance to watch their three children grow up. It was a joy hanging out downtown with them and I look forward to our big Thanksgiving dinner over at their house this year!

Caroline's 6 Months: Part 2

Caroline and her family have become special to Sarah and I. We have been meeting up with them during Caroline’s first year of life to capture her continuous changes. Our sessions are always full of sharing stories and comparing notes as new parents. Being new parents ourselves we completely understand how fast changes occur.

This session we enjoyed the beautiful fall and took Caroline outside. As you can see sweet hats complement little girls like icing on an already perfect cake. I am so excited for Caroline’s parents and continue to be amazed at how fast our children grow.

Caroline=6 Months!!!

Just last week I took my family to our very first family picture session. We followed Betsy King around as she guided and directed us through our photo shoot. I was amazed at all of the excitement and anxiousness I felt after the session was over. I can't wait to see my families pictures!!!

A few days later Sarah and I headed back to Quinn and Jody's home to shoot Caroline's 6 month photo session. I now know what it is like to keep the photographer's blog up on my computer while hitting the refresh key on the hour so I wanted to give a quick sneak peek at Caroline's photo shoot so we can give that refresh key a break.

Gabe + Michelle = Wedding

With the wedding of Gabe and Michelle, my wedding season has ended but not without inspiring me. I always intend to inspire others but I often find myself as the inspired one. Working with my clients gives me insight to their lives and their stories.

Everyone has a story and Gabe and Michelle are no different. Gabe and Michelle joined hearts in the beautiful Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, Indiana. On the staircase of the historic showroom floor family and friends witnessed the joining of their families.

I had a great year watching the weddings of beautiful couples such as Gabe and Michelle and I am thankful for the inspiration they bring me. I still have one more wedding story to blog about so check back to see Eric and Leah's beautiful Ohio wedding.