Go Tell it on the Mountain...

.... that I'm on vacation in Estes Park, Colorado.

We're out with a bunch of Van Wyk family members hiking and having fun in Rocky Mountain National Park. There will be lots of food, talking (trust me, the Van Wyk's can talk!), and relaxing. I really wish I could take you all along, but I already get the heavy sticker on my suitcase (sorry in advance to the TSA dude that has to lift it).

I will be "out of the office" Monday July 26th through Monday August 2nd, 2010.

All emails and phone calls will be answered on Tuesday, August 3rd. Thank you for your patience!

Junior & Nicole are Getting Married Today!

Junior and Nicole are getting married today, and we are off to capture what is sure to be a beautiful wedding. This is our first reception at the Memorial Union Terrace, and to say we are excited is an understatement!

Best wishes to the new bride and groom!

Jake & Stacy Are Getting Married!

Today we are off to Milwaukee to shoot the wedding of Jake and Stacy! We are so excited for these two, and thrilled to watch them become Mr. & Mrs. today.

Amy Class of 2011

It was simply my pleasure to meet Amy and her mom for her senior photo session last Friday.
It turned out that we attend the same church, and I always love getting to know people from Blackhawk. I also love getting the chance to talk to the soon-to-be Seniors and hear their stories, they are always so inspiring to me! Amy, as we speak, is off for a three week mission trip to Romania - how cool is that? Plus a few days before our session she was out on another mission trip near Wyoming. When she first inquired about setting up her session she asked for a very particular date - turns out she is so busy that it was the only one she had open on her summer calendar! Too funny!

We started off our time together at Picnic Point.





We then switched it up and headed to the UW Arboretum, one of my favorite locations!


Beautiful light + beautiful young lady = beautiful photos! Plain and simple! :)







Loved these fields of flowers!



Thank you Amy (& mom) for such a fun afternoon! Best of luck to you in your last year of High School!

What To Wear - Family Photo Session

This is the fourth post in a series called "What to Wear". This series is designed to help my clients choose the best clothing options for their photo sessions.

This week I am visiting what to wear for a family photo session. I must admit that this one has taken me the longest to put together so far, not simply because there are more people, but it was hard to find something that matched everyone for everyone.

Shopping is hard work! :)

I decided to go with a theme of warm colors. I started off with this cute top for mom in pink, and found a yellow shirt for dad. I opened up the color palette to some browns for the little guy, and found this cute little summery shirt. And good grief... I can not resist those adorable sun dresses for the little girls! So I chose this one in pink and white. I also liked the texture of the dress which will also create visual interest.

Again, notice that everyone's outfits coordinate and are not "matchy matchy". Mom will look great with daughter, son with father, son and daughter, mom and dad, and so on and so forth.

I also threw in the hat for the little boy. Don't be afraid to add some fun accessories to your outfits. Hats, scarfs, and even props like wagons and toys work great for your sessions. This will add a touch of personalization to your session.

Stay tuned for more what to wear posts!

Kim & Kyle are Getting Married Today!

Kim and Kyle's big day is finally here! I am joining up with Kaitlin Sheran from Kaitlin Sheran Photography (click here to see her website) as my second shooter, and we are going to have a blast! Stay tuned for a sneak peek on Facebook (what you didn't know I was on Facebook?! Please like me!) of what's sure to be a gorgeous day at the Allen Centennial Gardens.

Congratulations Kim & Kyle!

Mr. & Mrs. Hromadka

How do I start to describe a day with clients as fun as Dusty and Ali? I guess the beginning would be a good place!

From the first time I met Dusty & Ali in Barnes and Noble we hit it off. I think we were there for almost 2 hours talking about everything under the sun. I would say I think of all of my clients as friends, but there are some couples that you just naturally click with and a beautiful friendship develops. And this is exactly what happened with Dusty and Ali. This is why being a wedding photographer is amazing; attending weddings of clients become friends, and getting to capture every moment of it.

July 3rd was a hot day. Like, I just stepped outside and now I need to take a shower kind of day. But these two handled it with great poise, even through all of the droplets of sweat!

I met Ali while she was getting ready with her bridesmaids, and fell in love with her dress - isn't it so fun?!

I love "getting ready" time. There is so much excitement, nerves, and anticipation in the air...

Brian went over to find the guys... and you know it's going to be a good time with them when you find these directions out!

Dusty and Ali met while working together. They used to throw post-it notes back and forth to each other, here is Dusty writing his wedding day post-it note to Ali :)

Here comes the Bride!

The new Mr. & Mrs. Hromadka!

After their beautiful ceremony we headed to downtown Darlington to the courthouse (fun fact, this courthouse and downtown Darlington were used in the movie Public Enemies, cool beans), to have some fun with the wedding party. By this time everyone was HOT and we were running a little bit behind - but these guys rocked it!

Bri's Shot:

The beautiful ladies:

Bri's Shot:

The dudes, these are Bri's shots:

This is what you call a "Dusty Sandwich"

We then stole Dusty & Ali for some photos of just the two of them

Bri's on the left, mine on right

Bri's Shot:

Ali, you're beautiful!

Seriously Ali? Beautiful!

Bri's shots

On to the party! I loved Dusty & Ali's decorations!

First dance

Dusty and Ali. Thank you for inviting us to share in your wedding day. It has been a pleasure getting to know the two of you and walk with you this past year as you become husband and wife :) Cheers!