My second wedding with Samantha was in Ortonville – Shawn and Kristin – she has such beautiful clients!!!

Kristin’s sister helping with her necklace:

Sometimes I like to catch the first glances of the parents:

Kristin had everything personalized from the girls’ getting ready shirts to charms on the bouquets and cake topper:

Shawn + Kristin exchanged cards right after their first look – so emotional!! LOVE IT!!

During the ‘formal’ wedding party photos, Sam was working with the girls and I borrowed the guys for some fun shots:

Can you tell I like ring shots? Guess what I used for this next one:

Just minutes before everyone came down the aisle:

From what I can tell, Kristin is SO her father’s daughter!!

Congrats on your marriage, Shawn + Kristin!!

Sam – Thanks SO MUCH for having me with you this weekend! I can’t wait to do it again!!

I helped my good friend Samantha Meyer with a couple weddings this weekend – the first one being Kiki + Wesley in Ottertail. I haven’t been a second shooter for almost a year now, so it was fun to go and talk lots of fun images without the pressure of getting all the important ones. :-)

The first image is of Kiki’s grandmother’s brooch that she had made into a hair clip. Can you say GORGEOUS!?!! Just wait until you see the bride…

Kiki’s dad helping her get her bracelet on:

And her sister seeing her for the first time all dressed up. :-)

Kiki stealing a glance at her soon-to-be husband:

Sam in action!!

The bridesmaids watching from a distance:

I love catching those glances that a couple shares during the ceremony!

Kiki’s father read a note that she wrote to her little sister when she moved away to college. Embarrassing for them, funny for everyone else! :-)

They had a wedding singer for their dance – I’ve never seen the movie but I’ve heard this guy is just as entertaining as Adam Sandler:

Kiki + Wesley – it was a treat getting to know you this past weekend! You make a very beautiful couple.

I had a blast shooting with Sam this weekend, but I was so excited to get home and see my nephew!! I’ll post the two weddings later this week, but for now here’s Ben reading Jonas some books before bedtime tonight:

That’s right, my very first Rapid City wedding. I’m still amazed by how it happened – Tammy’s photographer had to cancel at the last minute because of a family emergency and Tammy’s bridesmaid Loni (my friend Mindy’s sister-in-law) gave her my information and the next day Josh called to ask for a contract and how to send payment!!

I met Josh + Tammy about a week after they called – they were in Brookings for a weekend and Mindy invited me over to meet them. After chatting with them for a little while and watching them interact, I knew their wedding was going to be awesome. They are such friendly, laid-back, lovable people and photographing them was super easy. Tammy told me that I wouldn’t have to worry about her being a bridezilla – she and Josh are the most care-free people they know.

After spending a week in the Black Hills, Saturday finally came around and Josh called me to give me the girls’ cabin number where they were getting ready….while he was in line to have lunch at Taco Bell. I thought to myself, “Really? Taco Bell for lunch on your wedding day? You really are laid-back!!” We joked about it later that afternoon – Josh was so nervous for the wedding, he was probably wishing he had eaten something a little less spicy. Tammy, on the other hand, hadn’t eaten at all before photos so during group photos she would sneak bites of graham crackers, peanuts, lunch meat, anything that was around! If you know me very well, you know that I get pre-wedding jitters, so it was so nice to know that I wasn’t the only one with butterflies!! :-)

Tammy’s dad was so funny – he came out wearing his dress shirt and pants with tennis shoes and wind-blown hair and announced “I think I’m gonna go to the wedding just like this.” Then later when he came out with the jacket on he kept the bright green $50 late fee card in the front pocket and asked if that was better. Wedding days that start with jokes always turn out to be the best. :-)

Loni tying Kiah’s bow:

First look! Someone got teary-eyed and it wasn’t me this time!!

Of course, Josh was joking around with Tammy during photos – I love laugh/smile combos!

Sidenote on this next photo: most of the editing was done on the sidewalk part of the image. If you’ve ever been to Canyon Lake, you know why. Ducks. Everywhere.

Josh’s daughter and Tammy’s daughter are so close – not only are they best friends, now they’re officially sisters!!

The weather was perfect for their outdoor ceremony at Canyon Lake Resorts.

Aren’t grandparents the sweetest things ever??

This is the “we’re REALLY sisters now!!!” face:

And this is the “WE get to ride in the limo TOO?!!!” face:

As soon as everyone got upstairs for the meal, Josh’s sister made a toast to Tammy and Josh – I love how Josh is proudly looking over at her!

And the classic best man’s toast laugh:

Mr + Mrs:

Father-daughter dances are always so beautiful.

Tammy + Josh – I can’t thank you enough for how great you are. Not just for having me as your wedding photographer but for being such amazing people. Tammy – I still can’t believe how busy you were finishing nursing school up until the final days before your wedding! Josh – I still can’t believe you ate Taco John’s for lunch on your wedding day!! :-)

My friends Tim and Loni were the ones who gave Tammy and Josh my number when their wedding photographer cancelled at the last minute due to a family emergency. After Tammy and Josh booked me, Tim and Loni offered to give me a ride out there and back for the wedding – there’s no sense in bringing two cars for three people going to the same event, right? Luckily I can work from anywhere as long as I have my computer because we drove out to Rapid City last Sunday and came back yesterday!

The whole week was awesome and of course went by way too fast!! I hiked Lovers’ Leap Trail with Lance, got all my work done that needed to be done, and signed a lease on an apartment for when I move out there this September!!!! The wedding on Saturday was just icing on the cake for me! It was my very first Rapid City wedding and it was beautiful…but I’ll blog more about that later!

I love sharing good news, and good news deserves to have a photo along with it. Here are some baby barn swallows that were keeping cool in the shade of Lance’s car. I think that anything baby-sized is just adorable!!