Aaron + Meg : June Wedding

We have been busy little wedding bees shooting weddings weekend after weekend.    I wouldn't have it any other way.    I always feel so very lucky to be by the side of my brides and grooms as they experience the tears, laughs and love that surrounds them on their big day.    Meg and Aaron are no different.   Here are few of my favorites until I get a chance to share more.    :)

Kevin & Jen : Sunrise & Sunshine Engagement

{Ash-a-ley}

"May every sunrise hold more promise, and every sunset hold more peace. "

Sunrises have quite the love hate relationship.   As much as you hate pulling yourself out of your warm, inviting, cozy bed.....you can not help but love marveling at the way the sun begins to peek over the horizon and say, "Good Morning."   It is one of those things in life that no matter how many times I am able to witness it, it still manages to humble me and remind myself of each and every blessing that has been brought to my life.   The grumpy, want to stay in bed Ashley is suddenly nothing more than a memory as I gaze at the beauty in front of my eyes.   I have mentioned sunrise shoots to several clients before, and when Jen said  that her and Kevin would love to do one and not just anywhere, but at her grandparents farm.   It was a bit of a destination engagement.   We drove out to the farm the night before, and thank goodness I was following them, because this is a little piece of heaven on Earth that I would have never been able to find without their tail lights guiding me.   We pulled up to her grandparent's cozy and quaint little house around 1:30am.  Let me remind you that our alarms were set for 4:30, because the sun was scheduled to peek out around 6am.   You would have thought I would have been super groggy, but as soon as I had that camera in my hand, the adrenaline and excitement to capture what was in front of my eyes had me wide awake.

Kevin and Jenn - Thank you for being so sweet, kind, and hospitable.   Me and Zoey had a blast and fell in love with you two and your sweet, sweet grandparents.   It is hard for me to imagine how much I am going to love your wedding day when I loved your engagement session so very much.   :)

 We would have never ended up in this tool shed if Jenn's Grandpa would not have told us to follow him.  As we followed him into this shed, he shared stories of growing up, the history of the farm.   As I listened to him speak, I looked into his eyes and saw the love not only for his granddaughter which he cherished, but also for the respectful, good-hearted man that she found.   I also could not help but notice the gorgeous backlight......HELLO Backlight!!  Yum Yum.

I knew right then that I had to capture a few shots of Jenn and her grandpa.  I could not help but think to myself how lucky she was to still have him in her life.  After I snapped the first couple pics, I could see the tears welling up in her, and I could pin point that moment as one of the reasons I do what I do.   These are moments she will documented forever, and each and every time she looks at them she will not just see something, but she will feel something.   She will feel how she felt that particular day at her grandparent's farm, as her grandfather proudly stood next to her.

We finished up the photo session where they had their first date, a drive in movie theatre.   Going to a drive-in is still on my bucket list....one day!

And a few behind the lens shots (mostly from my iPhone).    Zoey was zonked by the time we left!!  We live in the city, so after she ran around non-stop in the country, she was sleeping before we even pulled out of the driveway!

Engaged.Lauren & Bobby: St. Louis Zoo

"If you can make her laugh, she is all yours, always."

-a wise man

From the moment I met Lauren, I knew this was my kind of girl!  Their wedding is going to be the epitome of fun.  She is not afraid of having a January wedding.   Her details and surprises she has planned for her guests have me anticipating one of the coldest months of the year.   As soon as she told me the theme of her wedding is "fun", I knew she was our girl!   :)   The engagement session was nothing less than I expected.   We went right to where Bobby popped the question, The St. Louis Zoo. This has been a location I have been wanting to shoot at for QUITE a while!  There are TONS of spots inside of this zoo!  We do have one of the best zoos in the country, so why not showcase it a little!    If you have a family session coming up, I think this is a perfect shoot location!   :)   Here are some of my favorites of a couple very much in love.   

 We walked thru the zoo and went to the exact spot where Bobby proposed.  I kid you not, at that moment the golden light hit and it could not have been any more perfect!!!   Bobby let me know he had that in mind and planned when he proposed a year ago.  lol   :)  Thank you Bobby, because lighting like this is something I APPRECIATE!

 I mean really!?  It is official.  If you two ever decide to have a mini-me....your child would with out a doubt have the prettiest eyes ever.  Just sayin.....  

 Bet you never noticed all of these spots last time you were at the Zoo.   :)  

 Grey Suits- My favorite.  Purple-My favorite.   LOVE THIS.

The couple that laughs together, stays together.   If there is one thing I always fall for, it is a sense of humor.  There is nothing better than being able to laugh at yourself and laugh along with the person you love.  A good sense of humor goes a long way.    When I had Lauren and Bobby cross the street, they busted out their best dance moves.....awww yeahhhh.......

 Time for a toast......

Check out Lauren and Bobby's Slideshow HERE.

January will be here before we know it!!!   See you two soon!

Meet the Hendrix's: Jason & Jenny

"Green eyes, you're the one I wanted to find.

And honey you should know, that I could never go on without you."

Green Eyes. Coldplay

The room was full of excitement.  I could feel the anticipation through the bridesmaids smiles.  The dress, the flower for Jenny's hair, the pale pink Peony-esque bouquets, the St. Louis Cardinal cuff links.....all of these details added up to one thing.....a wedding that I could NOT wait to shoot.   There was more than details to take pictures of, there was a love that was ready to be documented.  A love shared between Jason and Jenny.   I witnessed it at the engagement session, and they took it to an entirely new level on this day.  I feel like good things happen to good people, and being in love has never looked so good on two people.   Congrats on the start of your new lives together.  

(And in case you missed it, their engagement session was one of my favorites.....so make sure you check it out and read all about their love story!)

I loved all of these details!   The bible and rosary was from her Grandma.

Moments after the first look.  :)   LOVE THESE!!

I may not know what it is like to be married.  I may not know what it is like to be a mom.  These are all moments that I see every day.  I am there to capture the emotion, the moments, the experience, the way it does feel to go through these milestone moments.  I may have never actually experienced those things, but if there is one thing that I do understand, it is having the type of relationship that Jenny has with her mother.  In Jenny's own words, her mother is her everything, she is her rock.  She chose to have her mother to walk her down the aisle.  I am always in the back with the bride moments before she walks down the aisle.  It is one of my favorite moments of the day.   I could not help but think about what was going thru their minds at this very moment.  I saw the way that Jenny's mom looked at her, eyes bursting with adoration.  The little girl that she raised, gave her everything to, and shaped into the young lady that she was obviously so very, very proud of.  I may have never had any of these big life experiences yet, but before those church doors opened up, all I could envision my own mother.  My own rock.  The one person who is solely responsible for showing me what it really is to selflessly love someone.  If the day comes when I do decide to get married, I pray I am lucky enough to have a moment that looks something like this moment between Jenny and her own mother.

Introducing the new Mr. and Mrs. Hendrix!  

The reception was held at the Falls.  Beautiful venue!

There was even a little patio that led from the reception to this beautiful spot....

Hands down one of my favorite moments of the day.   Jason and Jenny's wedding was on a very special day.  Jason's grandfather's birthday.  You know how some old men are just cute?   Well his grandfather takes the cake for one of the sweetest, kindest, and big hearted kind of guy that everyone wishes was their grandpa kind of guy.  I could see how much it meant to him the moment that Jason picked up the mic and began telling the room full of people what this man has meant to him.  As they brought out this special birthday cake, I could see Grandma with her hankie as she wiped her eyes.  These are the moments that make everyone either miss their grandparents or realize how lucky they are to still have them around.  

View Jason & Jenny's Slideshow HERE.

Ceremony Location: St. Luke’s Church, Belleville, IL. 

Reception Venue: The Falls Reception & Conference Center, Columbia, IL. 

Florist: The Flower Company (Renee: owner) Columbia 

Cake: MacArthur’s Bakery

Hair/Makeup:Pure Natur Aveda Salon

Where you got your fabulous dress from and the brand: Storybook Ending in De Witt, IA

Your adorable shoes? ModelBride.com 

Music

1st Dance Song: "Have I told you Lately?"Rod Stewart

Parent Song: "Beautiful Tonight" - Eric Clapton

 If you could go back to your wedding day, knowing now how the day went, is there anything you would change or suggest to other brides?

Put your dress on way earlier than you think you need to! It takes much longer to get it on the day of your wedding than it does for  the dress fittings. 

Have itineraries for important people the day of the wedding (i.e: moms, MOH, grandma’s, etc.) 

Relax and take in the moment because it goes way too fast 

Favorite part about working with us?  :) 

Having the best photographers ever! Not only are you guys amazing at capturing moments but you were my personal assistant all day as well and I greatly appreciate it. From my makeup to dress and wedding veil to wine; you girls did it all and it made the day just that much more enjoyable.

Behind the Lens Action...

In case you didn't know, Alicea is also a hairdresser.   Pretty handy to have someone who can touch up your makeup, your hair, fix your veil, the list goes on and on....on your Big day!  :)   She also did Jenny's makeup and an updo for her in between outfits at the Engagement session!   

 Oh....and one little thing I forgot to mention,  I had to go to the hospital a week before their wedding for my ankle.   Apparently, I had two major tears in the ligaments in my ankle.  No big deal....I just grabbed my newest accessory....the Boot...and rocked it out!   :)  

Alicea and her newest assistant.  The flower girl was SO cute!  She had a camera on her ALL day capturing every single moment!  I swear this was me as a child!   

Contact LeLe Photography HERE.