My sister lives on the square in Liberty (in a loft); it’s funny that I’m there a fair bit but have never shot around the square. Well, I have now! Molly and I explored the historic area, then headed out to Stocksdale Park to finish the shoot. We had a great day (albeit a bit warm – I was shocked to get home and find out the high temp was 99 degrees, enough already!) and great light, and as are ALL my seniors, Molly is drop dead gorgeoussssss!

Where to start with this day? I really looked forward to Stephanie and Cole’s wedding day, that is, except for the 4+ hour trek across Kansas at o’dark thirty towards Hays. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – something about central and western Kansas fascinates me. It’s GORGEOUS. Yeah right, Sarah? No, it truly is. And just as amazing are the people. Not only does everyone know everyone, but true small-town Americana still exists. People wave as complete strangers drive by. In tiny Schoenchen, Kansas, where Stephanie and Cole both reside and where they were married in the sole church in town – St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, houses aren’t referred to as “the gray house on the corner” or the 4th house down from the stopsign”, they are referred to as so-and-so’s house.

I first worked with these two when I drove to Hays in June for their engagement session. It remains one of my favorites. I was excited about some of the ideas I had for the wedding, and I was thankful we had the time to hit one or two of the locations. Even among the big celebration that was the day – the exit from the church on a tractor, the mean two-stepping at the reception (I was afraid I was going to get MOWED DOWN), and the insane western Kansas wind, the feeling of family and togetherness among everyone in the town and everyone in attendance (wait, I think everyone in town WAS in attendance!) was amazing.

Here’s a little taste of their day.

While the girls were dressing at the church, the guys were at a house next door watching….John Wayne movies.

Stephanie’s baby nephew, Brody, was the star of the show while the girls were prepping (he was also the ringbearer) – I’ve never seen such a happy baby!

Yes. They really did this.

Ceremony: St. Anthony’s Catholic Church (Schoenchen, Kansas)

Reception: Ellis County Fairgrounds

Hair and Makeup: Rejuvenations Spa

Limousine: Nite Passions Limousine

Video: Video Memories Productions

Kayla’s senior portrait session was rescheduled from the super hot weather we had a couple of weeks ago to a much more tolerable 82 degrees last Thursday on the Country Club Plaza. We walked all. OVER. the Plaza and I found a couple of cool new “nooks” I’d not seen before – as well as hitting some of the usual suspects (EVERYone loves those blue tile stairs ). One thing’s for sure – Kayla is drop dead GORGEOUS in these shots!

Here’s another couple you’ll see more of right here on the ‘ol blog next year – Alisha and Joe will be getting married at the Hawthorne House (which I’ve always wanted to shoot and will finally get to!) next May. They had a gorgeous day for their engagement session around downtown Parkville Missouri and English Landing – and some remarkable light at the end of the shoot. Beyond that, though, is the great connection these two have – one that us photographers love to photograph, but can’t really coach – it’s just there.

Marie and Drew had the CUTEST idea ever. Marie lives in Kansas, Drew presently lives in Texas. That being said, check out photo number 1. See what I mean? A-freaking-dorable!

You will see a lot more of this couple coming up in November when I shoot their wedding. Looking forward to it!!

Amy and Bob, hands down, win the award for the longest engagement session ever. 5 weeks, to be exact. We had planned their engagement session in late June originally, and a severe thunderstorm abruptly ended our session at about the halfway mark. We made plans to reschedule the second half, and got stymied repeatedly; weather, traveling for Amy and Bob, my vacation, more weather….needless to say, since the first half of the session was shot with dark skies, we were determined to have sunshine. We finally finished up the session at Loose Park on a bright sunny morning and below are our results. This couple will be getting married next year in Texas.

Every year as a favor to my mom I document her grand old horse, LD Val-Dron in a photo session. He is going quite strong still at the grand old age of 29. He is the son of National Champion stallion *Padron and out of a *Bask daughter – *Bask was one of the most prolific, and influential, horses of the Arabian breed. Our family has owned Val-Dron since he was 7 years old. My mom has grown VERY attached to him over the years. Despite the fact he got a little wild and broke away from my mom while we were shooting (galloping like a madman all the way back to the barn…), we had a lot of fun putting this shoot together and I hope I get to photograph him for a few years to come yet.

We also took a handful of shots with my sister Stacey and her retired show mare, BA Foxfire+++// (for non-horse people, the “+s” and “/s” denote the amount of wins over her show career – basically, a boatload. A BIG boatload)

I hardly ever, if at all, shoot horse shows anymore – but I LOVE doing equine portrait sessions and farm shoots. So….if you want shots like these of your favorite equine family member, give me a call or email before coats start thickening up and growing for winter! (believe me, we are just a few WEEKS away from that….)

I met this adorable family of three at the Prairie Center west of Olathe on Monday. I’d never been to the park – it was rugged but gorgeous. We went on a long walk, explored, and of course took some photos along the way to mark Maddie’s 2nd birthday, which is next week. Happy Birthday, Maddie!

Susan and Alex may be the funniest couple I’ve photographed. I had some serious laughter going on the whole session, and so did these two – I think you can see it in the photos. Plus, I think a lot of the smiles are due to the fact we actually had a gorgeous evening to shoot – no 100 degree temps!!

This wedding was the perfect marriage of Brenda’s home state, Iowa, and her current home (and John’s lifelong home), New York. Brenda has an envious career in the fashion industry and her style showed in everything from her incredible Louboutins, to the way she wore her mother’s wedding dress (yes, she wore her mother’s wedding dress!) to the decorating of the reception at the unique Hausbarn in Manning, Iowa, which she orchestrated herself. I was so impressed by all of the details – and how they were all planned and carried out by the bride and groom and their families. Even more impressive is that it was done long-distance. The day was so much fun to shoot – not only was the whole concept quite different from standard, but the setting was so intimate that it truly felt like a celebration. And pretty much everyone stayed until the bitter end of the reception – it was quite the party!

The view from Brenda’s parents’ yard – of the church where Brenda and John would be married just hours later.

the details were incredible – some new (with vintage touches) and some borrowed, some (quite) old. Brenda and John worked many family heirlooms into the day.

I could publish 40 photos of John and Brenda’s “first look” here – they are just great.

The Hausbarn. When Brenda described her vision for the facility to me over the phone last winter, I was really excited. The end result was amazing.

The details around the grounds were so well done and were many. This but only touches on a fraction of what I captured!

The dance floor was nestled among tall trees next to the Hausbarn, underneath a blanket of stars.

Towards the end of the night the guests formed a circle around John and Brenda and celebrated to “New York, New York”

Ceremony: St. Ann’s Catholic Church, Willey, Iowa
Reception: Hausbarn, Manning, Iowa
DJ: Spotlight Entertainment
Makeup: Katie Glass, Beauty Marked