February was great this year, mainly because our family went to Kauai to celebrate my parents’ 40th anniversary!

We enjoyed checking out several local shops, coffee houses, scenic drives, and beaches. Basically, we tried to blend in with the locals (but our pale skin and my giant camera clearly gave us away). :-)

Elodie LOVED the beach, and if it hadn’t been for the amount of sand she consumed plus the extensive clean-up involved, we would have taken her every day. She was always the first to point out any birds around, and when I asked if she saw the waves in the ocean, she would wave.

She traveled so well, we are already thinking of where we should go next! What’s your favorite vacation destination?

It only took a year of motherhood for me to realize that morning’s aren’t all that bad, and that sunrises are pretty darn beautiful. So when Aubrey + Mary agreed to meet me at sunrise for their engagement session, I was thrilled to see a familiar location in a brand new way. And even more thrilled to hang out with Aubrey + Mary for a little bit. Obviously. These two are so sweet and SO in love and only have a few months left until their wedding day!!!

Aubrey + Mary – thanks again for meeting me at dawn for photos!! I can’t wait for your wedding day – May can’t get here soon enough!! :-)

Turns out, delaying this blog post doesn’t change the fact that our daughter has turned one.

As much as I try to hang on to all those special moments each month (and week and day), our baby is still growing and well on her way to toddlerhood. But that just means that now there are more fun moments to cherish – like eating cake! :-)

This month, she has unlocked the expert level of peek-a-boo: using her skirt/shirt/hands to hide her face. Who needs a blanket? Not this girl! But she will use her blanket to play peek-a-boo first thing the morning before I pick her up out of her crib, as well as the last thing at night before I turn the light off.

We’re working on animal sounds, but so far she’s only mastered the pig’s snort. She also knows a few body parts, and will show us her ears, tummy, toes, and tongue when asked. Waves and kisses are getting her lots of smiles and attention at church – apparently she isn’t as shy as her mommy was!

She definitely knows what ‘no’ means, she just chooses to do what she wants anyway. For example, she will shake her head ‘no’ as she crawls towards our shoes or puts something in her mouth that she knows she shouldn’t. It’s so cute, and I’m learning the whole ‘scolding instead of smiling’ trick is hard work!

There is SO much planning that goes in to a wedding day. And yet the number one piece of advice I hear from my brides after their wedding is to not stress about the details – just enjoy the day as it happens. Which, if you’re in the process of planning a wedding, is really hard to do, because obviously you want the day to be beautiful and perfect and fun.

So I’m here to *show* you a handful of these wonderful moments that happen on a wedding day – some which can be planned, but most of them are not. Some are sweet, some are funny, and on the day of, some might even make you cry. I hope you enjoy! And if you are currently in the planning process, keep these in the back of your mind if you happen to get stressed about anything… Your wedding is going to be great! You’re going to marry your best friend, your friends and family are going to have fun being together, and soon after you’ll have photos to re-live the day over and over again. :-)

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? Classic wedding dress goodness with buttons and a bow plus having to put it on over the head. :-)

Here’s a dad who had to step in when the bride’s necklace clasp was a little tricky.

A grandmother who was there for the bride when the mom couldn’t be.

And the mom who *almost* cried but didn’t because once you start, it’s just too hard to stop. So let’s turn those tears into laughter, shall we? :-)

Note to future brides – if you have your bridesmaids get dressed before you, they’ll look great when they help you get into your dress!. :-)

A helpful groomsman.

A father passing on the tie he wore at his wedding to his son.

LOVE NOTES!!! *swoon*

And first looks… these are one of those planned moments we talked about, but are easily one of the most memorable ones from the day. :-)

Next up: portraits. Yes, unexpected moments can even happen during portraits! Like when someone says to the bride and groom “go pretend like you’re doing your unity sand” and then it happens in an unrealistic but still photo-worthy way.

Or when a groom helps his bride look perfectly put together…

Or when he probably whispers something inappropriate in your ear…

Or when there’s a piano in the house where you’re getting married and you want to ‘normalize’ your big day by incorporating a little ‘daily life’ into portraits.

Now, let’s add the family and wedding party to the mix. Things are getting better already, can you tell? Like when this dad gives his son a congratulatory hand shake.

Or when your family’s ‘getting ready for a portrait’ photo is more ‘like them’ than the actual portrait. (Mrs. Kouba, it still cracks me up that you ordered this!!)

Downtown Deadwood – you never know who is going to walk in to your photo!

Me: Oh, uh, I guess these branches are a little low for you to stand under…

Groomsmen: We got this.

Me: Let me just test my light.

Priest and Groom: *cheese*

Sweet sister moment!

Sweet “here’s some Taco John’s because I know you’ve got to be starving” moment.

On the count of three “let’s get married!!”

Grandparents are just the best.  Getting married time!! Another one of those planned moments, but you never know how emotional parents are going to be when they walk their daughters up the aisle. I get misty-eyed every time.
The way brides and grooms look at each other during weddings is seriously the best!!

Okay, and sometimes there’s those moments between best friends…

And flower girls. :-)

Or when a groom surprises his bride with a song medley!!!

And the whole wedding party (okay maybe just the bridesmaids) are reduced to tears!

But then it’s that moment. THE MOMENT. The one when bride and groom are finally pronounced husband and wife!!

And they may now kiss!!

And proceed to wipe off any lipstick left behind!
And walk out under confetti cannons!!

And LOOK – they’re MARRIED!!! Are you feeling all the feels yet?! :-)

I know I brought up first dances in the best of weddings post, but here’s one more…

And okay, first dances with parents are pretty  heartwarming, too! :-)

Now for some more silly-ness. I *love* seeking out people taking pictures! Isn’t this new family just adorable?!

I almost considered making a best of moments part two: KIDS… but I couldn’t keep all this cuteness to myself any longer!

This ring bearer decided he didn’t like the moss in the ring box – but before you freak out – the rings were in the best man’s pocket. Another good idea for all those planning a wedding out there: not all ring bearers should be entrusted with the actual rings. :-)Modern-day Cinderellas put their shoes back on when they fall off. ;-)
And some little princesses take other matters into their own hands… Hooray for rocks and pinecones! Waiting for weddings to happen can get real boring. Sometimes dresses and flower crowns are itchy.  I love that kids are always the first to the dance floor! And flower girls *love* to twirl! These guys crack me up – apparently I need to work on my stealthiness when taking candids. :-) And finally, this little girl just melts my heart Look how excited she was to be asked to dance – she is absolutely beaming!

Thanks for following along on this year-in-review! I hope you have enjoyed these moments – I look forward to capturing many, many more! :-)

Engagement sessions are fun because they’re so laid back, but weddings are great because the excitement levels are off the charts! The best part about weddings are the moments (blog post full of those coming next week), but one of the main reasons I’m hired is to get awesome portraits for the bride and groom to remember and share how much they love each other. Here are my favorite portraits from 2015 – enjoy!

First, let’s take a moment to savor the beauty that is bridal portraits!!! 

Okay, let’s add the groom, shall we? :-)

Let’s pause for a moment and have a little fun with the wedding party… :-)

 

Ok, now back to portraits, this time POST-CEREMONY GOODNESS!! :-) I looooooove it when couples opt to do two portrait sessions during the day – pre-ceremony so they can see each other and calm each others’ nerves, and post-ceremony when all the stress is gone and it’s time to soak in the fact that they’re married!! :-)

And those first dances – which are really more like moments (coming to the blog soon), but they are still some of my favorite ‘couple portraits’ because the way they hold each other is more loving and natural than any pose I could imagine!

Okay, let’s steal the bride and groom one last time for a sunset photo. ;-)