I first met Kendra when we were getting ready to go on a spring break mission trip our freshman year of college. Dave came along a couple years later as the new music guy at the newman center who helped whenever he could to either sing or play guitar (he’s awesome at both) and most times Kendra would be on piano (she’s awesome at that). I remember playing board games over at Kendra’s house with some friends one evening and Dave showed up! (I still only knew him as the new music guy, but eventually I remembered his name :-)) As the night went on, people went home one by one and Dave was one of the last people to leave. It wasn’t long after that night that Dave kept showing up more often and spending more and more time with Kendra.

A couple weeks ago, I was having lunch with my friend Becky (also Kendra’s best friend since they were little kids) and we were talking about how it wouldn’t be much longer before Dave and Kendra get engaged. Sure enough…that weekend he proposed!!

Since they have only been engaged for a week and a half, their excitement level was still pretty high for taking photos!! I think that smiles are always bigger, and hugs and kisses last longer when the couple is just newly engaged (or married). :-) Between almost every photo, Dave would give Kendra an extra kiss on the cheek or hug her a little tighter. Kinda made me want to go in for a group hug, but I have to keep some professional boundaries…

Thanks, Dave + Kendra for having me do your engagement photos!!! Best of luck planning your wedding this May!!

Kyle and Alyssa had such a fun wedding on Saturday! I walked into the room where Alyssa was getting ready and it totally reminded me of a slumber party! The radio was playing, all the bridesmaids, junior bridesmaids, personal attendants and moms were in there fixing hair, doing makeup, chatting and getting excited for the wedding! These girls were having so much fun just being around each other. I knew earlier on that they were going to be an awesome group to photograph – I had seen photos on facebook from Alyssa’s ’80’s prom-themed bridal shower and everyone had side-ponytails and brightly-colored eyeshadow to match their retro dresses!

But enough about the girls (for now), here’s some ring shots with the awesome flowers Alyssa picked out:

Alyssa’s mom helping out with the jewelry:

And the first look!! *awww* :-)

Alyssa works at the ice cream shop in Howard, so we had to get a few shots of them peeking out the order window:

Since I was in Howard in June for Jen + Eric’s wedding, I tried my best not to take the same images for Kyle + Alyssa, but I couldn’t help myself. Howard has a billboard!! (p.s. don’t forget about the tractor pull!!)

Kyle + Alyssa had the cutest kids at their wedding!! Here are the ring bearers (who flat-out refused to do formal photos, hence the cute individual ones :-)

Mr. and Mrs.!!

Doesn’t the flower girl have beautiful eyes??

After the ceremony we went to Alyssa’s parents to do some photos around the yard:

That’s right, Main Street Howard:

The cakes! Before the little one got smashed by the fallen chandelier:

With so many little cousins, Alyssa knew to have some kids tables prepared, full of snacks, candies, games and crayons:

In order for Kyle and Alyssa to kiss at the reception, someone had to sing a song with the world ‘love’ in it. Tables also had to fight for their place in line by answering trivia questions about Kyle and Alyssa. It was so fun to watch people get so excited to answer questions just so they could get in line to eat!!

Back to the girls – we had so much fun taking photos, after each one they were saying “okay, what can we do now?”

This crowd sure knew how to party!! A special shout-out to Ben Davis Productions for providing the excellent tunes and being such an awesome guy!

Thanks so much for having me, Kyle + Alyssa! I hope you’ve had a nice couple days since your wedding, and enjoy your honeymoon this winter!!

Joel + Andi received the Sacrament of Marriage Friday evening at St. Mary Church in Sioux Falls. Everything was so simple – from the flowers to the bridesmaids’ dresses and groomsmen’s suits to the iPod playlist at the dessert reception. Joel + Andi’s wedding was totally about their marriage and having their close friends and family there to witness the occasion!

They opted to not see each other before the ceremony, so I started out with the girls getting ready at Andi’s maid of honor’s parents’ house near Harrisburg. I told Andi I don’t photograph anything inappropriate while she was getting into her dress, but I think she was a little nervous when I got this shot of the girls watching her put the dress on since she was standing between me and the girls!

Andi has such an awesome group of friends, and all of them were there watching and helping her get ready:

Even Dot was there to help Andi with her jewelry:

Isn’t she BEAUTIFUL?! Seriously, I am so lucky to know such wonderful and gorgeous people!!

And then to the church to meet up with Joel and the guys:

Before the ceremony I went in to the reception hall to get a sneak peek of all the treats!! It was so hard not to snitch some goodies!!

The wedding cake was made by Andi’s maid of honor, Amanda:

Andi just a few minutes before the ceremony:

Joel seeing Andi for the first time as she gets ready to walk down the aisle:

They totally snuck in a kiss during the sign of peace:

Mr. and Mrs.!!

After Joel + Andi cut the cake at the reception, the groomsmen stole Andi while Pat held Joel back – so much motion in this photo!! I think it’s a combination of them going so fast and me trying to catch up to get a photo!!

The next couple getting married at this wedding is Pat + Mackenzie – since they were both dressed up so nice I couldn’t help but get a photo of the two of them!! :-)

Congrats, Andi + Joel!! I hope you’re having a great honeymoon in Wisconsin!

This upcoming weekend I have two weddings – Joel + Andi on Friday in Sioux Falls and Kyle + Alyssa on Saturday in Howard!!

Since next week all I will be doing is editing, I knew I needed to get some packing and cleaning done before tomorrow. Mom came on Tuesday and left this afternoon, and I couldn’t have gotten so far without her here to help! Of course it wasn’t all hard work all the time, it never is when it’s me and mom. We were loading my old desk into the van which was backed up to my door (facing North). I was sitting in the back of the van and she was bringing me the drawers to re-assemble it in the van so it would sit right behind the front seats. Serious as can be, she says “we have to move the van, this drawer goes on the top  North side.” The desk was also facing North so drawers were on either the East side or West side. We couldn’t lift anything for a while because the giggles took up all our energy. Oh, mom. I love you.

Here is Andi and  Joel – their wedding in Sioux Falls is a Friday evening ceremony with a dessert reception to follow – very casual, just like them!

And here is Kyle and Alyssa, their wedding in Howard is Saturday afternoon with a full reception and dance all night! Party in Howard!! :-)

Check back next week for images from each of these weddings!!

I met up with Christine + Aaron at McCrory Gardens last night for their engagement session. I have known Christine for a few years because of 4-H – we were Council/Amabassadors together. I am so excited for her and Aaron – they are so happy together and so comfortable around each other and in front of my camera! I wish you two the best of luck with finishing school and your wedding in May!