Jody & Jeff!!!

WOW! That's all I can say about this amazing wedding! I had a chance to get to know Jeff and Jody during their engagement session in Chicago. Since we became friends, I was SOOO excited for their wedding day! I knew it was going to be gorgeous and I was right - a perfect fall day in Hermann. There were a ton of details and great special moments, so there are going to be two posts for this HUGE wedding. Today you'll get the details and moments, and tomorrow I'll show some pics of the gorgeous newlyweds :) Enjoy!

this is where the day started off, where Jody and her girls got ready. it smelled really good because of the great barbecue cooking downstairs :)

her shoes! she's a shoe girl, too, and she didn't disappoint :) These are awesome gray patent-leather mary janes by bcbg - gorgeous!

her chic mermaid dress is from David's Bridal

her 'something blue' - an awesome clutch with a huge bow - awesome!

so fun! I can't take the credit, though - it was Jody & the girls' idea :)

the super-cute flower girl! there may have been some sugar involved :)

she looks at him like that a lot :)

see?

St. George Catholic Church in Hermann is gorgeous! Such great light!

Jody's uncle - who was kind enough to chauffer the bride and groom for the day in his fab car

quite possibly the funniest toasts ever - everyone was cracking up! especially Jody, who has an animated and contagious laugh :)

Stay tuned tomorrow for more pics of the couple!

mmmmmmmm. . . .

The owners from the best restaurant in Farmington [where I live] called me to take some pics of their food and their restaurant for a brochure and website. I jumped at the chance - it's my restaurant of choice! That's a no-brainer! They have the best food, and one of the owners is an interior designer, so everything about it is awesome! Here are a few from their session last week:

mmmm. . .gooey butter cake!

If you're in the Farmington area, stop by for lunch or dinner - its DEFINITELY worth it! It's located at 12 West Columbia St, Farmington, MO

I'm gonna go eat now. I just made myself hungry :)

The Pearson Family

Leanne called me recently wanting some family photos, and some photos of her soon-to-be daughter! I love maternity photos, so we worked out a date. When I got there that evening, the light was just perfect - you can see it below. We took these right away :)

see what I mean? that fall light is awesome!

they had lots of great spots for portraits all over the place - and Leanne is gorgeous!! I had a great time :)

she's got that 'serene mother-to-be' look down pat!

tickle tiiiiiime!

our version of the Demi Moore pose [rated G] :) Isn't she beautiful?

I love the big belly!!

Thanks Leanne! Call me when she shows up :)

Megan & Colin

I had the best time with Megan and Colin - they are super laid back, have a great sense of humor, and they brought along Lacie and Cody! You already know that I love when people bring along their dogs for their session! We hung around Laumeier Sculpture Park and got some great shots in the beautiful fall light.

I try lots of tricks to get dogs to look at me, especially by saying words they like and will respond to. Sadie [my beagle] likes 'leash' 'grandma' 'walk' and 'fraggle rock' [I'm not sure why - though it was really funny when we figured it out]. So I always ask what words their dogs like. I love that the word that Lacie and Cody respond to is 'squirrel.' I'm pretty sure that's what I said to get this shot :)

That's Lacie on the left, and Cody on the right. Soooo cute!

this is Megan and Colin [in case you didn't already guess] :)

we had fun being goofy with the sculptures [rather, I had a lot of fun having them be goofy]

standing on the giant caterpillar [?]

the beautiful sun came out at the end, just enough for a few sun-kissed photos. Love it!

Thanks guys! You're awesome!