I have been so excited for it to finally be warm enough for engagement sessions out here in the Black Hills!! I have been scouting for new forest locations in preparation for upcoming sessions, and Kris + Gretchen were just as excited as I was to try out a couple new spots near Sturgis!

Kris + Gretchen – Thank you, for climbing over+under fallen trees, and getting your shoes a little dirty just to get to a great photo spot. :-) Your love is so kind and sweet. The two of you make *beautiful* photos and I can’t wait to create some more for you at your wedding!! :-)

Welcome to my first wedding of 2014 – it’s a good one. :-)

Brad and Jordin are the most calm, thoughtful, fun, good-hearted people I have had the pleasure of photographing. When I walked into Jordin’s suite as she was having the finishing touches of her makeup applied, I asked how she was doing and she said, “I’m so calm!!!” Maybe not with that many exclamation points, but she seemed surprised that everything was going so smoothly and that she was enjoying the day so far.

Later in the day, after they had welcomed all their guests to their reception, I asked Jordin again how she was and she said, “I’m having so much fun!!!” I was so proud, because that’s *exactly* how couples should feel about their wedding day! Relax, have fun, and enjoy being surrounded by the people who love you! :-)

p.s. If you’re getting married in Sioux Falls and need a hair + makeup artist – get Angelique from Platinum Imagination – she is seriously the best!!

I looove the part of getting ready when a bride puts her earrings on – so calm and beautiful. And can we take a moment to ogle Jordin? Dayum, girl!!

Brad + Jordin’s first look was so sweet – in between hugs and kisses they kept taking a step back from each other and admiring how good they looked! I think they were both very pleased.

Look at these two, being all married and such!! :-)

In between the mother/son and father/daughter dance, Jordin slipped into this little surprise number so she could more easily ‘boogy down’ – have I mentioned how FUN these guys are?!

Brad + Jordin – Thank you so much for being the most wonderful couple!! Thanks for going along with my silly photo ideas (p.s. you totally rocked the Justin + Jessica pose!) and for being so incredibly in love that it shines. You make me love my ‘job’ even more!

Sunshine, surprises and sappy sitcoms – here are my favorite things from March!!

1. Lance’s birthday – earlier this month, I surprised my husband with a super-fancy laptop bag for his birthday. It’s hard to order things for him online since he gets email notifications from UPS and FedEx sent directly to his email, so I had to be very very sneaky. It worked. :-)

2. Lemonade and Lenses cover contest honorable mention – L&L is a beautiful magazine for photographers with excellent articles. Twice now I have submitted images for their cover contest, and both times I have received an honorable mention, which is so very exciting since every other image considered for the cover is *so* lovely! It is an honor to be mentioned among so many other wonderful photographers.

3. SUNSHINE!!!! – Winter has mostly tapered off here in the Hills. We do still get a snow shower here and there, but nothing that sticks around for very long. Hooray for extra hours in the day and temperatures warm enough for outside photos!! :-)

4. studio lb Instagram account – I’ve had a personal account for a while (@laurabcatron), but I wanted someplace to sneak peek my pretty photos from engagement sessions and weddings. For the past week, I’ve been filling up the account with photos from the past and I’m now caught up through 2010. If you’re on Instagram, follow @studiolb to watch the past three years appear, as well as first looks at my upcoming weddings and sessions! If you’re not on Instagram, you can still check out the images by going to instagram.com/studiolb.

5. craft + bake day with Halley – My friend needed some help putting a quilt together, and since I have limited knowledge passed down from my mother, as well as a sewing machine, Halley came over and we spent the day tying, sewing, calling my mom for help along the way, and baking cupcakes! The cupcakes we made were Lavender with Vanilla Bean Frosting – although I was hesitant to put real bits of lavender in the actual cupcakes, so we steeped the lavender in the milk, and then couldn’t even taste it in the cupcakes. Maybe next time I’ll leave some in. I’m just so afraid they’ll taste like soap!!

6. Hart of Dixie – Do any of you watch this show? I know it’s super corny, but I think Rachel Bilson is simply adorable – I wish I had her hair, her style, and her ability to walk across town in heels. I’m also waiting for Zade to happen again, but we’ll see what the writers decide. ;-)

Michael + Megan are certainly a couple who can roll with the punches. When it was below zero for their scheduled Christmas-time engagement session, they said “We’ll come visit you when the weather is nicer.” When I found out Roughlock Falls was still closed for the season, they said “That’s okay, you can pick a new spot for photos.” When I brought them to my new-found location and we had to tip-toe through mud and slush, they continued to hold hands and smile for my camera.

Thanks, you two, for traveling all the way across the state and trekking around in the forest with me! :-) I am so looking forward to your wedding in a few months!

February packed a punch! House guests, polar vortexes mixed with 60-degree days, new experiences and re-living my past – here are my favorite things from February! :-)

1. Mom + Dad came to visit! Trust me, they were excited to visit, it was just super cold outside when I *needed* to get a house guest photo before they left! We went thrift shopping, tried out a couple new recipes, watched bull riding at the Sutton Rodeo and enjoyed the Super Bowl commercials.

2. My sister-in-law + nephew came to visit! Robin came to town to represent her company at a career fair and brought Isaac with so that my brother could get to work on building some bookshelves. Apparently woodworking is hard to do with a 3-year-old needing constant attention. :-) Isaac had fun playing ball, fixing puzzles, coloring pictures, playing hide and seek, etc. All in all it was a fun realization that I very much enjoy quiet time. Whew! Cheers to all you stay at home parents out there!! :-)

3. Banff Mountain Film Festival – When my friend Halley asked if I wanted to go to Banff, I said “Canada? Sure!!!” But this was pretty amazing, too. And more time/cost effective. :-) I was impressed with the athleticism in these videos, but I was blown away by the films they created! My favorite from the night we went was “Nordfor Sola” where two Norwegian guys spend a winter on a beach North of the Arctic Circle, build a cabin, ski, surf, and clean up debris washed up by the ocean. How the two of them survived in the cold for so long *and* produced an award-winning film is seriously impressive!

4. Girl Scout Cookies – They sure do make it hard for this girl to focus on editing! Thank goodness Lent is coming, because good ol’ Catholic guilt in addition to willpower are the only things that can keep me away from sweets!

5. Pink depression glass – With my husband’s latest interest in thrift shopping, I’ve developed a slight obsession to pink glass – and jadeite, but I haven’t come across any of that yet. Now I just need to figure out how I’m going to display these pretty pieces.

6. Practicing piano – When my parents came to visit at the beginning of the month, they brought my full-size keyboard from home. I finally plugged it in yesterday to learn a new song – after I had to re-learn the notes (yes, I did have to draw them out, and yes, I do say to myself “Every Good Boy Does Fine”), but I got through the first page of “Skinny Love” so I’m pretty excited!

What was your favorite thing about February?