~D&J~ Say I Do! {Nebraska Wedding Photographer}

 

I was so pleased to be able to help this wonderful couple and capture their blessed day. through a snow storm and all they were nothing but smiles! You can just see the love between these two when they were around each other and how blessed they are to have found one another. It was a true honor to witness such a wonderful day. 

 

 

 

 

 

Am loving this photo the more I look at it! I love teasing the groom while he waits patiently to see his bride!

Oh how I love first looks!

 

 

Perfection

 

 They were so happy!

 

 

 

 

 

 Stunning bride

 

 

 I love getting goofy with the bridal party!

 

 

 

Precious moment

 

 

 

The groom wrote and sang a song for the bride. I was tearing up!!

 

 

 

 

 Delicious cake by Michelle Sage of Sparks, NE

 

Again, this couple is so blessed. With love for each other and the amount of love surrounding them. I wish them a lifetime of happiness!

How they chose their colors~
Jason and I both like blue--his favorite. The lime green I decided to use because it was springy and went well with the blue. After I got to planning more, the only thing that ended up being blue were the bridesmaid dresses.
Dress~
I bought my dress in Loomis, NE. It is very small town southwest of Kearney. My aunt had gotten her wedding dress there a few years before, as well as a cousin. One weekend, my mom and I met in Kearney and stayed with my aunt. We went to one shop in town and then out to Loomis. It was the 2nd dress I tried on a that store.


Quote from the bride~ "Literally up through the day of rehearsal, it seemed that everything that could have gone wrong, did. The wedding day turned out to be wonderful. It was a peaceful day and in the end, we got married!"

~S&J~ She said YES! {Nebraska Wedding & Engagement Photography}



When S &J requested a coffee shop for their engagement shoot, I thought, "warm, coffee, warm, YES!" It happens to be where S works and one of the best businesses in Valentine, NE. Speaking of Valentine, what better place to capture love? There are hearts EVERYWHERE in this town, and I "love" it!

 

 

We HAD to get the shots of the hearts on the sidewalks...perfect!

 

 

 

 

Ring shot and date shot on a coffee cup? Yes please!

 

 

This was a sweet request from the bride, adorable.

 

 

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The counters were a photographer's dream!

 

 

Practicing their dip kiss for the wedding, many giggles were heard.

 

 

 

Who would have thought coffee house light would work so well? ;-)

 

 

It's those natural moments I just love capturing!

 

 

 

Have to show some love to the iron gate!

 

 

 

Thank you Auntie D's for your wonderful hospitality and delicious coffee!!

 

This couple is so cute. I just adored watching them discuss shots and ideas. I am so looking forward to their June wedding!!

The kindess of strangers {Nebraska Photographer}



How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours. ~Wayne Dyer

I have two memorable "random acts of kindness" moments in my life.

The first one was when I was 20 years old and a junior at Michigan State University. I drove a 1997 Chevy Cavalier and would push the gas mileage to it's limits. I worked 20 miles away from campus on a horse farm and on my way home one evening I tried to make it on the little gas I had left. I broke down literally YARDS from the gas station. As I walked across the highway (a four lane busy intersection) a gentleman stopped and asked if I ran out of gas. I told him I was just going to walk over to the gas station and he insisted I go with him to his work and get some gas, "they'll charge you for a gas can at the gas station" he told me.

I took him up on it. He had a young girl in the front seat, and I thought, "he has a daughter, nothing bad can happen to me." I was very naive when I was young. So I get in the back seat of this old Oldsmobile and then started to notice little things. There wasn't a radio in the dash (it had been torn out), the little girl was talking about scary movies and the man said, "your Mom and Dad won't let you watch those, will they?", Oh my gosh! She wasn't his daughter. I got nervous, and dialed 911 on my cell phone ready to take action.

He drove to a used car lot and got a gas can and drove me back to my car. I tried to pay him and he simply said, "No, now you go do something nice for someone". Wow. I felt foolish and lucky all at the same time.

My second encounter was yesterday. I was feeling down as the day wasn't shaping up to the way I had planned, and went to the mall to try to find a sport coat for my son. They didn't have any in his size at one store and the second store I couldn't find JUST coats, they all came with pants.

At the second store the sales lady stopped and asked if I needed help. I mentioned I just needed a coat not a whole suit. Her face lit up and she told me she had one at her house that her son wore years ago. They were just going to donate it so she called her daughter to bring it to the store! She had no idea who I was, but was willing to go out of her way to get me a suit coat even out of her own home. I was floored. She could have just told me they didn't sell just coats and send me on my way.

The coat is too big, but STILL, she helped a perfect stranger. I hope I see her again, she was the sweetest lady.

In our society, we all assume people are out to harm us. But it's nice to know that there still people out there that will stick their necks out for a stranger.

Pass on the love, I know I will.

Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity.

~Edwin Hubbel Chapin

~B&C~ She said YES!

I got the pleasure to shoot my friend's engagement photos on Friday. We haven't seen each other in five years! We met up at Blue Bell Stables in Custer State Park and relived our glory days in the saddle, or at least those funny moments that will always make us laugh.

B&C are absolutely hilarious! I knew he had to be, seeing as C cracks me up constantly! We had so much fun traipsing around our old stomping ground and getting some really sweet AND fun shots.

It wasn't hard to get C to smile at B, you can just feel the love between these two.

I love natural laughter!

Probably my favorite shot of the day. This was completely C's idea!!! lol

These two will have a lifetime of happiness, I just know it. We can't wait five more years to get together though, it was entirely too long!!

Friday Photo Week 10

It seems as though spring is in the air! It was in the mid 60s on Monday and even low 70s on Tuesday! The wind has picked up, but the warm weather has returned for the end of the week and weekend.

My son and I definitely took advantage of the nice weather and ran around the yard. We didn't have any trees in our yard at our old house, and here at our new house, we have quite a few! I am very excited about this, as I grew up with swings and tree houses, and I want the same for my son.

There is a little cluster of trees at the Y of our driveway and my son loves hiding behind them and jumping out at the dog. Now, the dog doesn't find this as amusing, lol. I am thrilled that my son finds so much joy in the trees. We have a tire swing and he giggles whenever he is on it. Lots of memories made here, I'm sure!

I wanted to bust out my camera, as I haven't gotten a lot of photos of my son here yet. I wanted to capture his long eye lashes that make me melt. He put up with my camera banter pretty well. What really made me laugh was the next day, he picked up his play camera and was telling me "turn around Momma, say cheese!" and then would "click" and show me the photo. Oh I was laughing so hard! Apparently, I am always telling him to "turn around" and look at me. Oh how I love my child!

Happy Friday! Get outside for a bit this weekend!

~F~ Family 2011

Last year I was contacted by the ~F~ family for a session here on the ranch. They were so much fun to work with and little ~E~ was such a little ham! I was so pleased to hear from them again this year. This time I made my way across the pass and headed into Steamboat. Now, I haven't shot a lot over there so locations are a complete mystery to me. I have always noticed this foot bridge down by the river each time I would go over there and wondered what it would be like to shoot there. Well, my wish came true, and another favorite location was born!

It was a tad chilly, but we all "weathered" through, and we got some really nice shots! Little ~E~ has grown up so much in the last year, but was still very photogenic! How could she not with such beautiful parents?

The gazebos were amazing!

Like I have always said, sometimes the candids are the best shots. These were a couple of my favorites, just a family out on a walk.

We lucked out and still had some green grass!

I can't wait to work with this family again. This is why I love what I do, making connections with people through my art. Life is good!

T&J Engagement!

I was so pleased to be hired by T&J to take photos for their wedding in June 2012. We got together last weekend to shoot their engagement photos. Poudre Canyon was still holding it's color, after this snow we just had, not so sure what's left. One of my favorite spots to shoot has a little grove of trees, beach right by the river, trails, and many places to get some great shots! I wore my muck boots so I could get in the river to get the right angle, yes, I will do anything for a great shot! :-)

I love the feeling of Fall in this photo

They were so cute!

Sometimes I think my clients aren't sure what to do with me. When I say, "Now peek around the tree like 'helllloooo'" and start laughing, I expect them to tell me to leave, lol. Every time, though, they laugh and go with it, I love that!!

Am looking forward to June more and more. Sounds like it is going to be a beautiful wedding!

~D&A~ Say I Do!

I was so pleased that D&A asked me to capture their big day! It was the last wedding of the season for me, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. The venue was beautiful, and everyone was so nice.

I love getting shots of the "stuff"

The colors were so perfect for a Fall wedding!

The girls were so funny, I love telling them "get sassy"! This is what they came up with :-)

The more I see the sand art, the more I like it

Mr. and Mrs. N!

They were so cute, couldn't keep their hands off each other after the ceremony, I love seeing such pure Love!

It was a GREAT wedding season, couldn't have asked for better clients to work with. Thank you to everyone who helped, my wonderful assistants, and everyone involved with each wedding. Looking forward to 2012!

~B&M~ Canyon Engagement Session

I had the pleasure of photographing a beautiful couple yesterday. ~M~ won my Facebook contest I held a few months ago, and was thrilled that she was able to get a free engagement session with me!

 We met in Poudre Canyon at one of my favorite locations. The river wasn't too high, so we had a lot of areas we could use.

I am all about the kissing photos! hehe

I am looking forward to working with them again after their big day. Probably in the canyon again! I can't get enough of that location!