weddings « Sarah Dickerson Photography – Kansas City Wedding and Portrait Photographer

located at Briarcliff Village
inside Shana Vaughn Designs
4153 N. Mulberry Drive
Kansas City, MO 64116
816.560.6412

Wedding season hours are by appointment, Monday through Friday. Sarah is available for evening consult times at the studio on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Evening portrait session times are available. From December through March, Sarah is able to schedule weekend consults and portrait sessions as her wedding schedule allows.

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Archive for the ‘weddings’ Category

Stephanie and Cole: married | Hays, Kansas

September 1, 2010

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

Tags: Hays Kansas wedding photographers, Hays Kansas wedding photography, Hays Kansas wedding photos, Kansas wedding photographers, kansas wedding photography
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Brenda and John: married | Carroll, Iowa

August 18, 2010

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

Tags: Carroll Iowa wedding, Hausbarn Manning Iowa wedding reception, Iowa wedding photographers, iowa wedding photography
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Erin and Mike: married | Emporia Granada Theater

August 11, 2010

Erin and Mike planned their wedding long-distance, as they are both attending graduate school in Mississippi. Erin’s a native of Emporia, though, and I was excited to shoot at some new venues. And both the ceremony and reception venue were absolutely gorgeous – and historic. The Granada Theater was the stage (no pun intended) for their ceremony, and the Emporia State University’s Memorial Union Ballroom played host to the reception with WONDERFUL live music.

I first shot with Erin and Mike early last spring on the Country Club Plaza for their engagement session. As they were in from Mississippi, they had a narrow window in which to do the shoot and they got lucky with a gorgeous Thursday evening in the seventies. Little did we know that 48 hours later I’d be shooting Tammy and Brian’s reception in the middle of a snowstorm! Ah, spring in the midwest.

This was a fun day, even though hot (a recurring theme at weddings all around this summer!) and as I’ve encoutered a lot this season, full of very close-knit, loving family and friends. Hopefully, you can get at least a bit of a flavor of the day in my shots below. Thanks to my second-shooter, Jill Steinheider, who stepped in at the VERY LAST MINUTE when my scheduled second had a conflict – she did a wonderful job! A few of the images below are hers.

Mike started off the day with a surprise for Erin – a bracelet from David Yurman.

The ornamental decor in the Granada is amazing.

Erin’s reactions when the dress went on, the pearls, the bracelet, the veil….all classic. Of course I can’t post them ALL here!

Meanwhile, as usual, it takes the guys about 1/10 the time to get ready

Erin and Mike did a “first look” on the ESU campus. The photos are SUPER CUTE, but since I have scads of others to post, I’ve left them out so the post isn’t a mile long!

Then it was back to ESU for more wedding party photos right before the reception. So handy to have such a gorgeous place to shoot right by the reception!

Ceremony: Granada Theater
Reception: Memorial Union Ballroom, Emporia State University
Bride’s Dress: Nolte’s Bridal

Tags: emporia kansas wedding photographers, emporia kansas wedding photography, Emporia State University ballroom wedding reception, Granada Theater Emporia Kansas wedding, Kansas wedding photographers
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Sarah and Tim: married | Great Overland Station, Topeka Kansas

August 1, 2010

Sarah and Tim’s Topeka wedding was another sweltering one – it’s been a super hot summer. Again everyone was super cool with working quickly in the outdoor heat – I tried to keep outdoor sessions brief and spread out. The wedding ceremony was held at the gorgeous First Presbyterian Church in downtown Topeka and the reception was held at one of my favorite venues to shoot – the Great Overland Station. Sarah and Tim are a super cute, VERY easygoing couple – and the whole wedding party was a lot of fun to work with. Thanks to the expert coordination of Lyn Scardina at Events!, the whole wedding day went off without the slightest of glitches and she makes photography go just as smoothly!

Sarah and Tim, congratulations!

time for the first look – one of my favorite parts of any wedding!

Ceremony: First Presbyterian Church
Reception: Great Overland Station
DJ: Powerhouse DJs
Wedding Planner: Lyn Scardina, Events!
Flowers: Simply Stunning by Lori Zirkle

Tags: Great Overland Station wedding photos, Great Overland Station wedding reception, topeka wedding photographer, topeka wedding photographers, topeka wedding photography
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Shannon and David: married | The Villa, Kansas City

July 20, 2010

Shannon and David were the second of two weddings in my doubleheader weekend last weekend – like Lauren and Nick, I also did their engagement session that you can see here. Both couples were an absolute joy to work with – this wedding with my assistant Lori – and really made us feel like we were a part of the day (Shannon INSISTED I stay and have a beverage when we were done shooting, then INSISTED I take my time posting these images because “you work too hard!” ).

David was so funny to work with, he had all these funny shot ideas, and kept coming up to me and going over his ideas with me. One of which you will see below. He was so into the photography – it was too funny.

Despite the WICKED heat, and an overzealous Nelson-Atkins security guard (which was the source of some humor as many of the male side of the wedding party, David included, are police officers), we got SOME outdoor shots done. The heat was SEARING and I’m sure everyone hated me – I made sure I pointed out the other wedding parties suffering at the Nelson (”hey look! you aren’t in this alone!”) but nevertheless we moved quickly.

I’m REALLY good at droning on so – here are the images before I bore you all to tears. Shannon and David, enjoy Mexico, which I’ll bet is actually COOLER than Kansas City.

Shannon and David, like many of my couples, did a “first look” – which I simply try to stay out of the way and capture. I love nothing more than capturing raw emotion.

Then it was off to the Nelson to fry in the sun..

ok. here was one of David’s ideas. He wanted the wedding party to look like they were playing football for a shot. Corny? Yes. Did it turn out pretty funny in retrospect? Yes. (not to mention we drew a little attention while setting this one up!)

Back in the comfort of air conditioning at the Villas, David brought Shannon a card. Which was in a Halloween envelope, complete with pumpkins. We all had a laugh but at the same time – it was totally something my own husband would have done – so funny yet so cute and endearing at the same time!

David and Shannon’s son Dylan was a big part of the day.

I snapped this through a fogged-up french door. For some reason, I love it.

The wedding party came in to the “Danger Zone” from Top Gun (favorite.movie.EVER) and wearing aviators. LOVE!

Another love? Remember David is a police officer? The groom’s cake was a stack of doughnuts!!

Ceremony and Reception: the Villa
Bride and Bridesmaids’ prep location: the Q Hotel
Bride’s dress: Ida’s
DJ: Complete Music

Tags: kansas city wedding photographer, Kansas City wedding photographers, Kansas City wedding photography, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art wedding photos, Villa Kansas City wedding reception
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Lauren + Nick: married | Sawyer Room, Kansas City

July 19, 2010

Lauren and Nick couldn’t have had polar opposite weather for their wedding day as compared to the weather we had for their engagement session last New Year’s Eve. It was in the teens with frigid wind chills then; now we have heat indices spiking over 100 degrees each and every day. But as they did with their engagement session, they handled the heat as best as anyone could. Oh, and…

you should have seen the thunderstorm that hit during their ceremony. If rain on one’s wedding day is good luck, Lauren and Nick have several lifetimes’ worth as the storm that hit the EXACT moment the ceremony started was one that really wanted attention. It was so crazy, the wind sucked open not only the front church doors, but the doors clear across the lobby opening into the sanctuary. It was scary. But the ceremony went on and after we left the church, there were limbs and even trees down everywhere! The sun came right back out, though, and we had sun for our very brief stop by the Crossroads Art District for wedding party photos.

Anyways, enough backstory. I think these photos really tell the story of the day – the pure emotion and joy – not my words! Lauren and Nick, you all were a blast to work with throughout your engagement and your wedding day and I wish you the best of luck. Oh, and I’m VERY jealous of the cruise you are presently enjoying!

Some of the photos you will see below are courtesy of my super-talented second shooter, Mike Tsai of 4Honor Photography.

I always get choked up during the card exchange.

A SUPER quick stop by the Crossroads Art District en route to the Sawyer Room for the reception

During the brief time we were waiting at the Sawyer Room for wedding party introductions, I set up these shots of Lauren looking insanely beautiful..

Reception time! I LOVED shooting at the Sawyer Room, and can’t wait for Jessie and Nick’s wedding reception there in November.

Nick looks on as Lauren dances with her father.

We capped off the night with some downtown shots on the roof of the building’s parking garage.

Ceremony: Holy Trinity Catholic Church
Reception: the Sawyer Room
Wedding Party Prep location: Downtown Marriott
Hair and Makeup: Be Chic
Catering: Sugar and Spice Catering
Transportation: VIP Limousine
DJ: DJ Fernando

Tags: Crossroads Art District wedding photography, kansas city wedding photographer, Kansas City wedding photographers, Kansas City wedding photography, Sawyer Room wedding reception photography
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Sydney + Spencer | Wyandotte County Lake wedding reception

July 17, 2010

I was asked to shoot Sydney and Spencer’s reception at Wyandotte County Lake, specifically the James P. Davis Hall – I’d never even heard of it but seriously, brides – what a gorgeous “sleeper” reception site this is – gorgeous surroundings and the building itself is amazingly cool. Check it out!

This reception was super laid-back and focused a lot of attention on the children – complete with a balloon artist. It made for a lot of great, fun photos and the kids of course went CRAZY over it! Below are some shots from the evening – congratulations to Spencer and Sydney!

Sydney with her son Noah (who is pretty happy with his score from the balloon artist)

Even the adults got in on the balloon fun – it’s kind of humorous that a funny photo like this has such yummy light!

dancing in front of the sunset – what more could a photographer ask for?

Reception: James P Davis Hall, Wyandotte County Lake

Catering: Rosedale Barbeque

Kid’s entertainment: Up Up and Away Balloons

Tags: Kansas City wedding photographers, Kansas City wedding photography, Wyandotte County Lake James P Davis Hall reception
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Becky and Adam: married | Overland Park Sheraton

July 7, 2010

Becky and Adam had a kickass (and I mean that in every sense of the world) engagement shoot. You probably remember it if you follow my blog and you will remember it if you click here. Not only was the location super unique, but their connection was so….real. Seriously, this couple has such an amazing connection it makes my job EASY. So, with much anticipation I headed to their wedding last Saturday at the Asbury Methodist Church in Prairie Village, Kansas….until it started pouring. No wait, same song different verse – I’ve had my share of rainy weddings this year. The church was gorgeous and offered lots of places to shoot inside. So nevermind. Then the rain stopped and we were able to do some outdoor shooting after the ceremony. So nevermind.

Their wedding day, much like their engagement session, worked in their passion for softball and baseball with little touches throughout. Very cool. But most importantly, the pure emotion (and joy on Becky’s face, just look at these smiles) I was able to capture all day left me smiling and knowing I did my job. And that’s a great feeling.

I absolutely, absolutely love getting shots of parents seeing their daughter in her dress.

Before heading downstairs to see Adam, we snagged some shots of Becky in this killer window.

Then time for the “first look”.

Then MORE window shots juuuuust before the ceremony.

the candle-lighters had some “technical difficulties” that made for some funny shots – but what good sports! I would have been scared to death at that age!

Look at the catcher’s mitt for the rings!!!

ok, ok one more!!

the ushers felt a need to be properly documented and recognized. This shot was their idea. HILARIOUS.

Ceremony: Asbury United Methodist Church, Prairie Village, Kansas

Reception: Overland Park Sheraton

DJ: Complete Music

Tags: asbury united methodist church wedding, Kansas City wedding photographers, Kansas City wedding photography, overland park kansas wedding photographers, overland park kansas wedding photography, overland park sheraton wedding reception
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Haylee + Matt: married | St. Fidelis and Hays, Kansas

July 1, 2010

I made my second trip to Hays, Kansas last Saturday in as many weeks, this time for Haylee and Matt’s wedding at the absolutely breathtaking Cathedral of the Plains (St. Fidelus Parish) in Victoria, Kansas, followed by their reception in Hays. This day had it all: when we left the church after the ceremony, my car thermometer said 106 degrees. Then we had thunderstorms threaten during the reception – when I’d planned to spend some time doing bride/groom portraits as I knew the sun would be setting and it would not be nearly as hot. But it all worked out. With the drive to Hays that morning, it was an incredibly long day – sixteen hours to be exact (I just recovered fully yesterday I think! ) – and the amount of images I copied to my laptop proved it. I had a very hard time culling that massive amount of images down for a blog post, but nevertheless, here it is, and I hope the images show how truly awesome their wedding day was….heat, thunderstorms (and a windstorm in the middle of our evening “portrait session” along Highway 40!) and all. Enjoy.

Mothers.

The church was built in 1909 and stands high above the tiny town of Victoria – easily seen MILES before you get to the exit on Interstate 70.

It was on to Fort Hays State University’s campus for a VERY quick wedding party shoot. And I mean VERY quick. Remember, my car thermometer said 106. Can we get a nice golf clap for these brave souls??

The reception and its air conditioning were VERY welcome! We got dinner, cake cutting and the first dances in…

Then headed outside in a huge windstorm to shoot some more!

The passing thunderstorm at sunset created some seriously fantastic light.

How adorable is Haylee? (I found this truck behind the reception hall! Score!)

…and so much more I had to leave out for brevity’s sake.

Videographer: Dave Windholz/Video Memories

Tags: Hays Kansas wedding photographers, Hays Kansas wedding photography, Kansas wedding, kansas wedding photography, St. Fidelis, Victoria
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April + James: married | Platte City, Missouri

July 1, 2010

April and Jim were married last Friday in my first FULL doubleheader-wedding weekend on a super steamy day at Basswood Resort in Platte City, Missouri. I’d later find out that my mom’s uncle developed the place, and that my great-grandparents owned a farm across the road. Huh, who would have thunk it? In any event, even though it was hot, as I always tell my couples…it could be worse, it could be raining! We had a GORGEOUS sunset to work with. Below are some highlights from the evening – April is one of the most radiantly happy people I’ve ever met. Her laugh is purely infectious. I think you’ll be able to tell that in the photos. Congratulations, you two, and have fun at Niagara Falls!