NIGHT TO SHINE

On February 10th I had the incredible opportunity to team up with High Street Baptist Church and the Tim Tebow Foundation for the annual Night to Shine event. Night to Shine is an event that serves the entire special needs community. The goal was to give them the night of their lives, to show them love, and to introduce the gospel to them and their families. There was dancing, limo rides, shoe shines, hair and makeup, and the crowd favorite, karaoke. There was an overwhelming joy that filled the place, and no guest or volunteer stopped smiling the entire night. From the 10 different "Let It Go" karaoke renditions, to the intense break-dancing, to the red carpet, it was a truly special night.

Thank you High Street and the Tim Tebow Foundation for letting me be a small part in this amazing cause. 

2016 // The Best Of

Wow. 2016, you were a wild one. It is hard for me to even put into words how much my life has radically changed in the last year.  It was a year of intense hard work and immeasurable joy . In the beginning of the year I quit my job and dove in head first into the world of full time freelance. It was harder than I ever thought was possible, but totally worth the 4 am flights, 12 hour drives, and 14 hour wedding days. I am forever thankful for every client that trusted me and believed in me this year.

Here are a couple of my favorite photos of 2016.

 

2016 was one for the books.

 

Thanks again to everyone that helped make 2016 the best year of my life. 

MICHAEL + MACKENZIE

3.25.2017 // Big Sur, California 

Michael and Mackenzie have the closest thing to a fairytale love story that I have ever seen. They love each other with such wild, crazy, and adventurous love and I did what I could to put that into a photograph. 

Thank you Mack and Mikey for blessing me with your friendship as well as the chance to go on this radical adventure with you. I learned so much from the two of you. 

God bless you and your marriage.

KRYSTA + TANNER

5.28.2016 // Southwest Missouri

I will never forget Krysta and Tanner's wedding. They have a love story that could rival any Disney fairytale and It is obvious that they were truly destined to be together.  Even since the first moment that I met with them I couldn't help but to observe their overwhelmingly joyous love that they had for each other. I am truly honored to have been able to celebrate with them on this spectacular day.

Congratulations Krysta and Tanner. You guys rule!! #MicDrop 

Enjoy the photos!

SCOTT + KARINA

Springfield, MO // May 26th

Karina and Scott's wedding was truly fascinating. The wedding was quite small, with only 5 guests and two in the bridal party, but the smallness of the wedding added to the raw intimacy of the day. Scott and Karina wedding wanted their day to focus on what really mattered, and that was celebrating their love with only their closest friends. There were no distractions, but only pure love and celebration for the start of their lives together. 

ANDREA + DAVID

4.23.2016 // Southern California

I still remember how excited I was whenever Andrea first reached out to me. I was just downright ecstatic for my first opportunity to travel for a wedding.  I knew right off the bat that her and David were going to be an absolute joy to work with. Even from the first Skype chat, I knew that Andrea and David were going to not just be clients, but friends. I can not thank Andrea and David enough for all the hospitality they showed us during our stay. They cooked me delicious food, drove me around in crazy LA traffic, and showed me some of their coolest and most special spots in and around Los Angeles. 

My favorite part of the trip was, of course, the wedding day. David and Andrea both come from a Christian Romanian heritage, so their wedding was unlike any American wedding that I had ever shot before. The ceremony was mostly focused on the Lord, and how they can glorify him through their marriage. Their wedding didn't have a lot of the American traditions that you would expect to see in a wedding. There was no exchanging of rings, no kisses, and no first dance. However, it made up for all of that with prayer, lots of love for each other, and lastly just a huge focus on God. 

After the ceremony, and reception were over, we still had about 5 hours until sunset, and we used about every single minute of that to take portraits. We went to one of their favorite beaches and didn't stop taking portraits until the sun fell below the horizon. Right before the sun set, Andrea and David, both still in their wedding clothes, climbed up a steep cliff to take just a few more photos. Since their wedding ceremony did not include the exchanging of rings they wanted to do it afterwards, and I thought of no place better than overlooking the ocean and the sunset. It was such a powerful and intimate experience to observe.  I am beyond excited for what we were able to create, and I can not wait for you all to see these photos. 

Thanks again to Andrea and David, and everyone involved on their special day.

Coordinator // Debby Bohunita

Florist // The Flower Story Co.

Second Photographer // Joe Bulger

LEXI // SENIOR 2016

I had the pleasure of taking Lexi's (and her little pup's) portraits this last weekend. It was a beautiful day, probably the nicest day we have had so far this year. I knew it was going to be a fun shoot when Lexi jumped out of the car and her little dog came right out after her. We shot for a little while in the downtown area, and then stopped by Sonic to grab some drinks on our way to our next location. As we are leaving I notice this absolutely BEAUTIFUL tree right at the end of the drive thru lane, we threw the vehicle in park and ran over and started snapping. They were probably some of my favorite photos from the day... and they were at Sonic. haha. Towards the end of the day we had one more outfit, and the light was going down fast. Lexi changed as fast as she could and we jumped back in the car trying to chase down the setting sun. We eventually got to our final location as the sun was going down behind the hills. Unfortunately we couldn't get the summery, field portraits I was wanting, but the dramatic, twilight portraits that we got instead turned out even better than I could have hoped. 

Check these photos out and let me know what you think!

P.S. Congrats on your graduation, Lexi!