My nephew Isaac is officially nine months old!! Obviously this called for a trip to see him and take a few photos of his cuteness. :-)

I LOVE his big, blue eyes!!!

And his perfectly cute little lips!!

And of course I got to play with Jonas while I was there.

He’s so good at playing cards – I held all the cards in my hand and I picked one, then he picked one (or two or three) until all the cards were on the table. :-)

And yes, he’s wearing his train outfit I got him for Christmas. Over his Thomas the Train pajamas. :-)

Just chillin’ with my nephews!!

Y’all ready for this?

1. Bertolli Frozen Meals – I try to be domestic. Honestly. I do try. Sometimes. It was even one of my goals to ‘try a new recipe once a week for a month.’ But recently I picked up this bad boy and let me tell you – one pan and ten minutes is my kind of cooking!!

2. Ice packs – I smacked my forehead on the edge of my apartment door the other day. I look like a unicorn (no, not the cute, oh-so-FLUFFY one from Despicable Me) and now I’m just praying my entire forehead doesn’t turn black and blue. Because that’d be soooo attractive. :-)

3. Walking trails – I’m training myself (kindof) in preparation to hike Harney Peak in a couple of weeks. There’s not much elevation change on this particular trail, but at least I’m trying. Right?

4. Scentsy – I got this from the Easter Bunny this year. My favorite scent so far is ‘Welcome Home.’ It reminds me of candied almonds. Yum.

5. Coffea – Probably the best coffee house I’ve ever been to. All of their lattes are rosetta lattes. I stop every time I’m in Sioux Falls.

They were friends before they started dating.

Over the past three years they’ve become best friends.

And in two short month they’ll vow to be best friends FOREVER!! (and husband + wife, ’til death do they part… :-))

Laura, you make me so proud to share my first name with you. You’re so gorgeous!!

I LOVE the seriousness that Laura pulled off for this image…

…but this is totally way more ‘them!’

Brent + Laura – thanks so much for being so lovable!! I am so proud to know you and I’m SUPER excited for your wedding in July!!!

I am SO excited to finally share this newlywed session with you! I can’t call it a ‘day after’ session because Chris + Amy have been married for almost a year. And I can’t call it a ‘trash the dress’ session because the dress was not harmed in the making of these images. :-)

What I can tell you about the newlywed session is that we had fun!! It is always my goal as a wedding photographer to allow couples to relax and have fun during the portraits on their wedding day, but sometimes there is so much going on that relaxing and having fun is easier said than done.

The best way to get great photos from your wedding is to start with great lighting.

The majority of the day’s events are indoors and the best way to get great light indoors is to let in as much natural light as possible.

You’ll need to consider the time of day, time of year, and the amount of windows in each particular building you’ll be in on your wedding day to determine when you can utilize natural light and when you’ll need to bring in artificial light.

p.s. ‘natural light’ means the sun, ‘artificial light’ means anything else. :-)

Getting ready:

Have you ever been outside on a bright, sunny day and tried to look through a window or a glass door? You almost have to press your nose against the glass and cup your hands around your face to see inside, right?

Remember this when you’re inside putting on your wedding gown – when you open the shades to let in that wonderful natural light, no one outside can see you unless they press their nose up to the glass and cup their hands around their face. :-)

Natural light coming in from a window to your side is much more flattering than harsh fluorescent lights or anything above your head.

First look:

If the weather doesn’t allow you to start photos outside, have your first look inside next to some really big windows!

Ceremony:

This is when you need to start thinking about the available light and when it’s going to start to disappear.

If you’re having a 4:00 wedding in the winter, (the sun sets around 5pm) you’ll need to consider additional lighting options for your indoor ceremony.

If you’re having a 4:00 wedding in the summer, (the sun sets around 9pm) it will still be light out when you start your first dances.

Reception:

Again, this all depends on the time of year, time of day, and the amount of windows at your venue.

For summer weddings you will hardly need additional lighting if there are plenty of windows at your reception venue.

For winter weddings (or venues with few windows) you get to come up with creative ways to decorate with light!

Dance:

Party lights have a time and place at wedding dances…

…but I think a simple white spotlight (for dark venues) or a few large windows (for light venues) is more suitable for the oh-so-romantic first dances.

Exit:

Sparklers. ’nuff said.