The past month has been SO MUCH FUN!!!! From launching the new website to photographing a handful of fabulous weddings to finishing up wedding details to hanging out with friends and family – this month has been beyond wonderful!! Here’s what made my ‘top favorites’ for the month!

1. Chubby Chipmunk truffles – They are the best thing to come out of Deadwood! Who cares about going to the casinos, I’d rather spend all my money on chocolate!! Don’t mind the strange, run-down-gas-station-looking exterior of the building…. pure chocolate bliss is inside. And SO worth the drive from Rapid. My parents were out visiting for a week and we took the convertible out for a drive through the hills and Spearfish Canyon. We couldn’t NOT stop for truffles. :-)

2. Lake Angostura – It has been a super busy summer for me and Lance, and every time we’ve had time to take the boat out it has either rained or been too windy to go out on the water. So FINALLY this weekend we had time off AND perfect weather. I am happy to announce that my legs no longer blind people when I wear shorts in public. :-D

3. AIR CONDITIONING!!!!!!!! It has been SO HOT here for the past couple weeks and I am SO thankful to have air conditioning at my apartment. And a pool. That helps, too, when I don’t have work to do.

4. Alaska – It’s crazy that a month ago I was just getting back from photographing Patrick + Kimberly’s wedding in Whittier, Alaska. We had such wonderful weather (none of these 100+ degree days…) and everywhere you looked was so pretty. I only took a handful of mountain pictures because I was warned that it is possible to take too many mountain pictures – they all end up looking the same. And they’ll still be there when I go back to visit… someday…

Jesse + Elizabeth are some of the sweetest, most laid-back, super fun people I have ever met and I had SO much fun photographing their wedding!! A lot of the planning was done spontaneously, which was so fitting for them. I know I say this a lot, but I really do have the best couples and the most important+exciting thing to them is the fact that they are getting married. And wearing fun shoes while doing so. :-)

 A lucky coin from Elizabeth’s grandma was her ‘something old.’

 Even their first look was both sweet and funny. They couldn’t help but hug and kiss right away, but the INSTANT after they kissed, thought out loud “Oops!! Are we supposed to wait until we’re married to kiss each other??”

 They had the cutest little fan girls and ring bearer!!! (The girls handed out colorful fans before the ceremony for guests to cool down with, but we were fortunate to have clouds to keep us from over-heating :-)

 Jesse’s brother and his friends played some live jazz music at the reception – so fun!!

bride’s dress + shoes | BHLDN

groom’s suit | J.Crew

 ceremony | Chapel in the Hills, Rapid City, South Dakota

reception | The Dahl

cake | Jerry’s Cakes & Donuts

caterer | Angel’s Catering

 Jesse + Elizabeth – thank you SO much for having me!! Minus my allergies and raspy voice that day, I had a wonderful time at your wedding!! I am so excited for you two and your marriage-ment, and I hope you find a reason to come back to Rapid City!! :-) Sincerely, your photographista, Laura. ;-)

Trevin and Audrey had the perfect plan for their wedding day – they were going to get married and they were going to have fun. But there were also sweet, stolen glances. An emotional first look. Love letters. Fun dancing. Nurse/medic rival jokes. And more wonderful things that led to a perfect day!!

Their first look was SO beautiful. These next few photos are ALL from their first look – with hugs, kisses, smiles and tears, I couldn’t help but photograph every single emotion that was pouring out of them!! :-)

After their ‘moment’ we took a stroll down by Sylvan Lake, the backdrop of their wedding ceremony.

Trevin also brought his bike out to the hills, which is how their story first began – after finally getting Audrey to go on a date with him, Trevin picked her up on his motorcycle… and brought her home that night with a burn on her leg. Thankfully she’s a nurse and was able to fix herself right up. ;-)

These cupcakes are the reason I am so willing to travel to Sioux Falls as often as I do. Oh My Cupcakes in downtown Sioux Falls made these for Trevin and Audrey, and their friend Ashley brought them all the way to Rapid City in her car!! (and not too many went missing during the drive ;-))

These guys had SUCH a fun dance surprise for the guests!! After Trevin + Audrey’s first dance, the wedding party came up and each had their own little solo dance as well as a medley of other fun group dances. What a fun way to get the party started!!

ceremony + reception + caterer | Custer State Park Resort – Sylvan Lake

cake + cupcakes | Oh My Cupcakes, Sioux Falls, SD

Trevin + Audrey – It was such an honor being your wedding photographer!! Thanks so much for having me for your special day. I had such a fun time, it didn’t even feel like I was working!! :-) Love you both, and next time I come to SF we’re having a cupcake date!!

Words cannot describe how THRILLED I am to be Kris + Ashley’s wedding photographer this September! They are such fun, wonderful people and all they want is to get married! :-) And all I want is to photograph them all.day.long. :-D

Scott and Sarah had the most perfect, intimate, detail-filled, laid-back wedding and I was so excited to be a part of it!! We started with a quick little first look before walking over to the ceremony site at Blue Bell Lodge in Custer State Park.

Waiting at the ceremony were goody bags filled with water, tissues and a little fold-up fan. Sarah’s mother made these wonderful little bells with Scott & Sarah’s names, their wedding date, and CSP scenery – trees and buffalo. :-) They were a perfect way to ‘ring in’ the new couple! :-D

I love that Scott walked Sarah to the ceremony – they even shared a little kiss on their way over! :-)

Scott + Sarah had arranged for the park’s Jeeps to take everyone around the park – and to find the buffalo…

… which we totally did find!!

A little more portrait time before dinner – yay for being married!! :-)

I could have made a blog post just with all the fun little details at their reception (birdhouses, fabric napkins, chocolate-covered sunflower nuts, pinecones, a tin lunchbox, the list goes on…), but my FAVORITE was their ‘guest tree’ – so fun and so cute!

I also had a lot of fun with the rings – so many fun details to take photos of!!

ceremony + reception + caterer | Custer State Park Resort – Blue Bell Lodge

wedding gown | David’s Bridal

groom’s suit | Halberstadt’s

hair + flowers + cake + decorations | themselves!!

Scott + Sarah – Thank you SO much for including me in your big day!! I am so excited for you and I hope there are fewer than normal forest fires this summer so you can spend lots more time together. ;-)