Joseph & Megan Trash the Dress

If you have been following my blog for a while then the faces that you are about to see will be familiar ones.  My brother Joseph married his sweet wife Megan on 11.11.11.  I had the privilege of taking their engagement photos in Boulder and then photographing the reception at their wedding (I was in the ceremony).  They are some of my favorite people in the world and it is not only because I’m related to them.  :)   Joseph is a wonderful man, very caring and thoughtful, entrepreneurial and inventive.  Megan is a bit more structured although no less hospitable, an amazing cook (especially with a crockpot), a hard working nurse, and quite the go-getter.  Her non-profit, Wawaza Movement, raised money to build an orphanage in Kenya by asking teenagers to give up a Chipotle and two Starbucks a month.  These two are bound to be world changers, in fact, they already are!

Getting ready!

Thankfully they’re up for adventure and we pulled off the side of the road and took the first half of these in a field before heading to Downtown Harrison to take the rest.

My little assistant, Megan’s youngest sibling, Molly.

Cincinnati Trip Preview

This past weekend I took a trip to Cincinnati, Ohio to visit my brother & sister-in-love and take a bunch of pictures!  It was such a great trip!  We were blessed with marvelous weather and some really fun locations, not to mention amazing people to photograph!  There will be much more coming soon!

We started the weekend off right with lots of good food.

Then we did a super fun “Trash the Dress” shoot with Joe & Meg.

Then we had more good food.

I got up reeeeeally early on Monday to do a sunrise engagement shoot with Alex & Jessica!  They were such good sports braving not only the dark but also the freezing cold weather.  I’d say it was worth it for those colors!

I went back to Joe & Meg’s house for about an hour and then headed to the other side of town to do a fun maternity shoot with Brayton & Nikki.  When I say fun, I mean fun.  We’re talking finger paint, musical instruments, and their super eclectic style.

We took Megan’s bestie Melissa out for her 21st birthday right before I left and we surprised her by doing a mini shoot downtown.

I also made a quick 12-hour stop in Columbus, Ohio on my way home and did a mini-shoot with my friend Tina Marie.

More than anything it was truly a delight to get to spend so much time with my dear brother and his lovely wife.  I had only seen them once since their wedding in November and it was so nice to get to hang out together without the wedding rush.

Lots of editing ahead but I’m so excited to share these pictures with you that it should go quickly!  Keep your eyes peeled (what a weird expression) for more!

Joseph & Megan Tie The Knot {Cincinatti, OH Wedding}

My sweet brother Joseph got married to his dear girl Megan (click to see their engagement pictures) on 11.11.11 and I had the privilege of not only being a bridesmaid in the wedding but also of taking pictures during the reception.  They are two of my favorite people in the world and their wedding was so sweet and fun.  My brother David and I got to sing a song during the ceremony which was another special moment and memory that we enjoyed.  Thanks Joe & Meg for including me in your day!  Love you!

I snagged a few pictures while we were getting ready and then I had to stop and actually get ready myself!  The lovely bride getting her hair done.

Megan reading the letter that Joe sent with her wedding gift.

Megan’s wonderful Daddy peeking in as she was getting her hair done.

Fast forward to the reception!

Megan’s dear Baba, Pastor Julius, who runs the orphanage that her organization, Waweza Movement, started in Kenya.  It was his first time in the US and at an American wedding.  He was quite the picture taker throughout the entire event. :)

I don’t know what they were laughing about but it sure was funny!

My brother Joshua looking studly in his tuxedo.

All of my brothers are so good looking!  This is Ari, the “baby” of the family. Me and my “little” bros!  They’re so big and handsome (L-R, Josh [17], me, Ari [14]).

Our family friend Amy, The Groom Joseph, the brother born after me & before Joe – David (who got married to Alicia – in August), Josh, Ari, and Alicia.

My beautiful sisters (in-love) – Alicia & Megan

Now for the dancing!!

It was fun because the reception photography ended up becoming almost like a photobooth in some instances.

The Moms – Mother of the Groom, Karise, (my Mom) on the Left and Mother of the Bride, Beth, on the Right.

Ryan & Christy

Ryan and Christy met three years ago on a missions trip to Kenya, after coming back to Boulder, continuing with school and their friendship, going to India together, and Christy spending several months in Peru they have finally gotten married!  They have quite a wonderful journey and story, complete with dreams and prayers and friends and living life together.  I had a special assignment for this wedding.  We got up early in the morning, everyone in their bridal party got ready, and we went downtown and did a two hour shoot after which I ran home, edited like a mad woman, picked my top three faves and got them printed.  Then I brought the prints to the wedding that afternoon so that they could have them at the wedding for people to sign around.  Then I just enjoyed the wedding (didn’t take any pictures) and spent time with my dear friends.  The lovely Anne Story second shot with me and it was such a joy to get to be a part of their day.

These were the three we ended up taking to the wedding:

Christy is so photogenic, I could take pictures of this girl all day long…

This might be my favorite shot of the day.

Sassitude

Kendra & Jake’s Wedding

My friend Kendra and I met a few years ago at a conference, I had been on ministry teams with both of her parents and they kept saying that we needed to meet.  For one reason or another I was a total spazz when we finally did meet and so I thought I ruined my chances of being friend with this tall, gorgeous, kind of quiet, blue eyed girl.  I’m happy to say that it turns out that I was wrong!  =)  Kendra and I became great friends!  In fact she was one of the first people I ever did portraits of a couple of years ago.  What a gal!  About a year ago she started talking about this guy Jake in glowing terms.  Now I’m a tad bit protective of my friends and I wasn’t so sure about this Jake guy, but the more I heard about them and as their relationship progressed I began to see that this was the man she would be with forever.  It was so exciting to get to be part of Kendra’s big day!  Because of my crazy travel schedule I ended up being a second shooter just in case I couldn’t make it back in time.  Without further ado, Kendra and Jake!

They did a “first look” where they saw each other before the wedding.