It's all about the details. It's what sets each wedding apart. It is a vision a bride has in her mind of her ideal wedding day. She works on the details for at least a year. In the end, it comes together so clearly. It is what I look forward to seeing. You can tell that Nicole spent lots of time on the details. Saturday August 8th was a perfect day for a wedding. The bride dressed at the mansion, before heading off to St. Louis for the ceremony. The steps were a perfect backdrop for photos with the even lighting and beautiful texture. There is always a perfect breeze to catch the veil...
Off to the Saturn Club, where all the details came together. The Martini Luge was a huge hit, as were the flower wreaths with Nicole and Peter's initials. The colors brown and green were put together so well, even the girls wore green shoes. What a beautiful wedding, it could have been out of a magazine! Congratulations Nicole and Peter!

Saturday August 1^st was a beautiful summer day. A perfect day for a wedding.

I have to say that in all the years and hundreds of weddings I have seen, this was my favorite colored bridesmaid dress ever. Of course I am partial to anything purple, and it was amazing. Lori looked beautiful in ivory. The flowers complimented perfectly with purple and yellow.

The ceremony was held at Nativity in Clarence, performed by Father Wardenski, who has known the grooms family for many years. Lori’s mom did a wonderful job walking her down the aisle. It was a lovely and touching ceremony.

You couldn't have asked for a better day at the Japanese gardens, with do many different backdrops for photos. What a fun, cooperative wedding party!

Off to Fox Valley, for a few more photos and a wonderful reception.

Last night I had the pleasure to meet the loveliest newborn, Madelyn. Kim and John plan to have one month, six month, nine month and one year photos, as a collection celebrating Madelyn's first year. This is a wonderful way to capture all the details that change so quickly in the first year. I like to have the parents involved in the first session, to showcase the new family. Providing the babies are comfortable and cooperative, we are sometimes able to have an outfit change too. As you can see Madelyn is a natural for the camera!

This weekend I also got the chance to debut my first official kids birthday party with the dress up theme. Here's how it works: We start with the birthday girl(Brynleigh), having a photo taken all dressed up. Next, I make a custom invitation with her picture. On party day, I have all the dress ups, and each girl gets to make her own choices. Once they're ready, we do a mini photo shoot. I print up a photo of each girl to take home (in a frame) as a favor. The girls loved it, and were so excited to see how adorable they looked. Of course Ann and her mom are avid gardeners, so you couldn't ask for a more beautiful setting. It looked as if it were a professional outdoor studio setup. Now, we will design a custom thank you to print and send.
I have to admit I was excited and nervous as to how everything would go. The rain stayed away, and all went smooth and easy. Thanks Ann, you did a fabulous job at arranging everything. I had so much fun, I can't wait to do it again..........

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Mak and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary this Saturday, the 24th. We also will now share it with an amazing couple, Lauren and Aaron. We were so lucky to be part of such wonderful day. You can tell that Lauren and Aaron are a perfect match. They are truly genuine, lovely people.
The ceremony was beautiful, performed by Aaron's Dad, at the Eastern Hills Wesleyan Church. I just loved to hear him tell the story of each of the families, and how long they have known each other. It is so awesome to see two wonderful families coming together, becoming a new family, a new couple. I was touched by all the words that were spoken, from the ceremony to the speeches, we were moved by all the emotion. Fox Valley was a perfect venue. The view is great, and their are lots of little unknown places to take great photos. The sunset was quick, but we had time to catch a few beautiful shots. From now on when we celebrate our anniversary, I will always remember this special day, and this special couple. Congratulations !!!!

This week I also had a chance to catch up with Mollie and Isabella. Isabella has been coming to see me regularly since she was a newborn(actually sooner, as we had a maternity session too). I love when I am able to start photographing a baby, watch them grow as a toddler, and continue to see them grow as young children. It's great to compare pictures from different sessions, and see how they've changed, as well as how much they look the same. At the end of one year it's nice to put a book together of all the sessions, as a keepsake album. Isabella danced up a storm, rode her rocking horse, and finally had a cuddle with mom (who is expecting again close to Isabella's Birthday)
I can't wait to meet the new baby, and see Isabella being a big sister!