Nicki & Ryan | The Engagement

Meet Nicki & Ryan – our first couple (so far!) of 2011. This past weekend we braved the cold and headed out to Scales Lake in Boonville, IN with Nicki, Ryan, and their dogs Macy & Sierra. Have to say the entire shoot was a phenomenal success, so long as you don’t figure in the fact that Mary wore her usual chucks to do the shoot, which isn’t necessarily the best footwear one could choose when hiking around in the melting snow/slush-crazy woods….still recovering from the cold that one brought on.

We are SO excited to shoot this couple’s wedding in April! One of the absolute coolest things about our job is getting in close with a couple and really getting to see why it is they’re getting married. This couple left absolutely NO doubt in our mind that we were in for a treat this Spring! Check out the rest of their pictures here.

As we’re getting to know a couple we’re going to work with, one of our favorite things to do is to find out how exactly they got engaged. We LOVE hearing the stories! A little back story on the ring on the dog collar shot… apparently Ryan used their new puppy, Macy, a beautiful yellow lab, to do the asking for him. He zip-tied the ring to her collar and let her run at Nicki. I guess that’s one way to avoid the ‘pre-will-you jitters’ we’ve heard so much about!

We’d love to hear some of your other stories!

Party of the year a’la Impulse Hair Salon!

Logan and Sean Sutton said their “I-do’s” this past September (I know, I know, I’m late on blogging!) and thus ensued one of the best parties we’ve been honored to photograph to date! Logan (Hafele) Sutton is the daughter of Impulse Hair Salon’s Marc Hafele… now let me tell you, you’ve never seen a better styled group of people! There were hair stylists and makeup artists in the wedding, around the wedding, and planning the wedding! I’ve never felt my work-ponytail was more out of place. We started the day off, naturally, at Impulse Hair Salon, and the place was just rocking. Not only did we have a bride and her five bridesmaids and a bridesdude, we had a father of the bride, a mother of the bride, a grandmother of the bride, a flowergirl, a ringbearer, at least a dozen guests came and went, and goodness only knows what else.

Now, I’ve got to do a bit of a shout out right here. Interjecting myself, if you will. If you are still on the market for your hairstylist on the big day (or ANY day, they cut both mine and Joleigh’s hair on a regular basis) do yourself a favor and check out Impulse Hair Salon in Newburgh, Indiana. Their overall quality of product is unmatched in not only incredible hair styles, but friendly staff, and in a relaxing but fun atmosphere. But alas, I digress.

Back to Logan! The rest of the day was just a blast. We moved to the church for a beautiful ceremony. Marc phrased it best “It’s like a cinderella wedding”. And it really was. There’s a lot to be said for decorating the church up a little bit. Candles at every pew…. flowers everywhere, it was a photographer’s dream! Hands down, the best part of the day was watching Sean and Logan’s faces while they looked at each other throughout the ceremony. Their love really was palpable that day.

The rest of the night moved on as it should. We headed over to SWIRCA’s Ivy Room in downtown Evansville and met up with DJ/music duo JR & Saxman. The party was an absolute blast, and yes, Joleigh and I were out on the floor dancing up the cha cha slide and cupid shuffle with the guests just as much as we were shooting. I believe by the end of the night, while everyone was breaking down to ‘Cotton-Eyed-Joe’ (that dance is SO fun to watch when done properly), we announced this group as the best dancing group of reception people of the whole year. Congrats!

Now here, I’ll shush, and let the photos tell the rest of the story. Logan and Sean, the two of you were absolutely beautiful, and we thank you so much for allowing us to share in your day!!

For more photos check out our facebook page!

Adam & Brittany are getting married!

First of all, allow us to introduce you to Adam and Brittany. This couple met up with us early this year and we had the opportunity to travel to St. Louis, MO with them for one of the most exciting engagement shoots we’ve done to date! We started out at the Botanical Garden (our first time there, the place is gorgeous!!) and took advantage of all the beautiful scenery; japanese gardens, some of the biggest coy fish you’ve ever seen, and beautiful, beautiful landscaping! From there we headed over to Busch Stadium, to snap a few pictures around the outside. No games were going on at the time so, after asking, we discovered that one of the security guards would ‘bet his wife’s life’ we couldn’t get inside for a photo op. Challenge! As we walked around, we stopped every events coordinator and security guard we could find, with repeated ‘no’s’ as an answer to the question. Finally one security guard, whose name is forever going to be our little secret, allowed us in for about 10 minutes. How COOL to be the only 5 people inside of Busch Stadium!! From there, we hit a couple other downtown sites near their hotel, and of course, the arch.

We had so much fun with this couple, and we’re so looking forward to their wedding this Spring! Congratulations Adam and Brittany!

Lynn Trashes Her Dress Beach Volleyball Style!

Everything was quiet and peaceful at the park last Tuesday when we rolled up.  Lynn stepped out of her car with her two adorable puppies in tote and a gorgeous wedding gown thrown over her shoulder.  We had to do a little bit of digging to find a spot that wasn’t already being used by other people so needless to say, as we were two unbelievably adorable puppies, two loaded-down photographers (one with a veil on her head) and a bride, we turned quite a few heads before we finally settled on the golf course.  Yes, we had to wait for a court.

Lynn was a total trooper as it was pretty hot that day.  Her puppies, Hickory (tan colored) and Tenny (black) made it really difficult for us to completely focus on the bride as they were easily the cutest things at the park (yes, Lynn, you were the prettiest!).  We shot a bit on the golf course and then moved to an older court where we had to race a guy there to gain access.  As I was lugging a ton of equipment, including a ladder, he won by a long shot.  Luckily, my powers of persuasion convinced him to let us borrow the court for ten minutes to get a few killer shots.  We ended the night with the volleyball players inviting Lynn to  hop in the game for a few.  I might add she made a couple of incredible saves!

All in all, a very fun night with great people and we are so excited to do our next Trash The Dress sessions with Heather and Kim!  Keep an eye out!

Alisha & William 6.19.10

The two of us had a great time out at Angel Mounds in Newburgh shooting this very cute wedding.  Got to meet another local wedding planner named Ebony who did a fabulous job turning one of the display rooms into a magical wedding location.  Congratulations to Alisha and William and also to your HUGE new family!  Every time I thought we were done with the family pictures, another relative would come on over for their photo.  All in all, a good time was had by all.  We both got completely out-danced by Alisha and William’s kids so we’ll be practicing.  Watch out!

Joma catches BEST LIGHTNING STORM EVER!

This week Joleigh and I have traveled up to Carmel, IN to take some promotional shots of our aunt and cousin’s new fitness studio: Revel Fitness. We arrived late last night and as we drove into Indianapolis we noticed one of the most spectacular lightning shows we had ever seen over to the west. Now, it must be known, that I, Mary, am a huge storm enthusiast so I was immediately on the phone with best friend Laura in Evansville having her track the storm to see if there was any chance it’d be crossing our path….Glorious Victory… it was headed right our way. The storm was SO slow moving it took nearly two hours for it to settle over Carmel, and when it did, Joleigh, our brother Danny, our cousin Robby, and I were all standing outside, cameras and camera phones in hand taking pictures of some of the most beautiful spider-lightning you have ever seen.

We took a bit of a drive around town so the boys could run some errands and I sat with the camera glued to the windshield. Then, after arriving home, I stood out in the middle of the road with an umbrella for about an hour, if not more, in absolute awe of the light show in the skies. Here are some of the highlights…

Someone out there knows we can still shoot seniors!

No no, not the geriatric kind.  We shot a bunch of them last Christmas.

I kid!  We would never shoot someone, but we’d be happy to take their picture.  Meet Bekah, a very colorful senior from Boonville HS that just happens to have an incredibly photogenic yard (not to mention a pretty face)!  We got really lucky with this on-location shoot in Boonville and are totally looking forward to seeing Bekah and her mom again.

We were treated to a jam session in the living room, spent some time by the lake, relaxed in the shade and goofed off in the fields behind their home.  It really was fun so if all the metallic-paper wallet photos make it into hands of seniors that still need pictures, let’s do it!  Breaks up the weddings, anyway…

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