Jackson is 1

I can't even begin to tell you how cute little Jackson is, so it's a good thing I'm a photographer so I can just show you! Jackson just turned one in November so he was due for some new pics to celebrate. He is such a happy baby he was all smiles and bright blue eyes.

Here are my favorites from his session where we hung out in his playroom & nursery for some super cute shots of him just being himself.

Nicole & Lauren are Engaged!

After a couple reschedules of their session due to unpredictable fall weather we finally had Nicole & Lauren's engagement session! It was chilly and the leaves were gone but it was still a great time. I had a ton of fun shooting somewhere I don't get to as often as I'd like -- the country (and they found a great old town that had an old mill & silos & railroad tracks). And we even got some with their adorable & playful dog, Bo. He was a great sport, as long as I kept squeaking his favorite toy for him. ;o)

Here are some of my favorite images from their session.

Tiffany + Kyle Are Engaged!

I loved hanging out with Tiffany & Kyle for their urban engagement session in the Crossroads, at Liberty Memorial and a short stop at the Scout statue for a great Kansas City skyline view.

Kyle is the one who is not really into having his picture taken but you'd never know it by the pictures! They are both just so at ease with each other it's really sweet. :o) And makes my job that much more fun & exciting when people are so in love.

So, here's a snippet from their session in the fall colors & cool cloudy skies...

Afton & Rowan

Ashley + Adam = The Wedding Day

On a perfectly gorgeous day on Sept 12th Ashley & Adam were married at the beautiful gold-domed Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Kansas City. Their reception followed at the Grand Ballroom at Bartle Hall nearby.

I spent the afternoon with the girls as they got ready and Karen, my 2nd photographer spent the afternoon before the ceremony with the guys. These are just some of my favorite images of their day. Hope you all enjoy these!

It was such a pleasure and honor to be a part of their day. More than once tears were brought to my eyes throughout the day. :o)

The girls (all 9 of them, plus the bride and her mother) got ready at Ashley's mother's. We had a great view of downtown from where she lives. One of the bridesmaids played DJ for the afternoon and now I can't get Miley Cyrus out of my head! haha

Ashley gave each of her bridesmaids monogrammed towels to lounge around in as they got their hair and makeup done before the ceremony. I loved Ashley & Adam's color combination of green and brown.

These girls were a riot! I'd tell you what they were talking about here but lets just leave that a mystery for now. ;o) Let's just say we were all rolling with laughter.

Ashley is such a natural beauty she really didn't need makeup but once she was all done up she looked even more glamorous.

Patty, the mother of the bride watching her baby girl put on the finishing touches.

I loved this moment between Ashley & her father after everyone else had left for the ceremony on the trolley and we stayed behind. It was so quiet in these moments before we loaded up to head to the ceremony.

While Ashley was finishing up getting ready I took the girls outside for some fun shots before it was time for them to head off to the ceremony.

The radiant bride...

Nervous jitters on the ride down the elevator to the car. But you'd never know by her smile...

What we'd all been waiting for--time to get married!

This was a relatively short ceremony for a Catholic wedding but I still found some moments to snap a few shots of the littlest guests.

I loved how the Father stood down below them so that they and the wedding party faced all the guests. This is a view of the bride and groom you don't often see during the ceremony.

And the coolest part of their ceremony sent chills up my spine. :o) 2 bag-pipers entered and led them back down the aisle for the recessional as the church bells rang from above.

Their cake was HUGE! :o) And beautiful. It was made by Cakes by Rama Sola. And I totally fell in love with the table arrangements. Each one was just a little different so I could have posted 10 on here & each one is gorgeous in its own way. I loved the moss and flowers & votives at the base of the candelabras. And the flowers & votives hanging from them were so romantic. Each place setting was also set with a fruit compote that added extra yumminess to the tables. You can click to enlarge to see more detail.

On the trolley on the way to the reception.

Here are the fabulous candelabras that made such a statement...

The ballroom is a really fantastic & unique space for a wedding reception. The walls change colors gradually and added a wonderful ambiance for their reception.

During Ashley's father's speech...brought tears to her eyes.

The cute little ring bearer.

They were very nice to each other when feeding each other the cake. No smooshing the cake. It was very sweet!

Their first dance as the band played. The Michael Beers Band really got the party going!

A moment outside...

We stayed until the end of the reception so we could get their exit as the guests showered them with rose petals.

And off they went into the night!