Weddings...continued

Let's see, oh yes! Photos from the wedding at St. Vincent de Paul! The bride and groom traveled from the church to the reception in an extremely unique Kansas State party van-complete with the K-State fight song played on the horn. Congratulations to Marcy and John!

Our final October wedding was at the University Methodist Church in Wichita. My assistant photographer and I met the bride, groom and wedding party at a fun, funky park in downtown Wichita. The bride and her attendant gracefully exited the limo, and we got great pictures of the pre-planned moment that the groom saw his bride for the first time on their wedding day.

After the outdoor photo session on that perfect autumn afternoon, everyone traveled to the church for formal portraits with their families, then the lovely ceremony.

Following the ceremony it was off to the 2oth Century Center for an elegant reception and dinner. Congratulations and best wishes to Brittany and Austin!

Popular month for weddings

Traditionally, many think of June as the "big wedding month". For several years, October has been extremely popular, too. Perhaps due to the cooler weather, or autumn colors or maybe because there are no major holidays during October to work around.

This October, I started the month in Emporia with the wedding of Chandry and Brandon. They had a beautiful, formal wedding at the Presbyterian Church, then headed to the reception for a '"kickin' country" reception.

The second weekend of October I was in downtown Wichita at the 2oth Century Center for the wedding of Cydney and Chris. Their wedding was in the parlor, jam packed with friends and family. After the ceremony, they walked downstairs for their elegant reception. Despite the rain that evening, the newlyweds and guests had an amazing celebration.

The next October wedding was held at St. Vincent de Paul in Andover. Marcy and John had all of their formal photos taken before the ceremony, then took the time to greet their guests as they arrived at the church. What a wonderful touch! Immediately after the ceremony, the newlyweds hopped into a "Power Cat" K-State van, which played the Kansas State University fight song on their way to the reception at Andover's Central Park. Pictures? Definitely! Be patient though...they will be added soon!

Brittany and Austin were also married in October-more about their special day later...

Whew!

It's that time of year...just finished up photographing all of the horse shows at the Kansas State Fair, still editing the final set of backdrop photos to add to the arena shots already on the website. Had the honor of photographing two weddings in September, also, so each day is very full!

This past Friday, I enjoyed photographing Dustin and Julie's engagement portraits. Started with portraits with the two of them with their horses and dog, then they changed clothes and we all went to the Keeper of the Plains area along the Arkansas River for more formal portraits. Dustin was in his military uniform, and it was wonderful to hear several people share their appreciation of his service to our country.

Looking ahead, I will be photographing the Hope in the Heartland Quarter Horse show this weekend, as well as a drive to Emporia to photograph Chandry and Brandon's wedding on Saturday evening.

Even though I feel that I am meeting myself coming and going these days, I am truly blessed--I love what I do!

Kansas State Fair time

Kansans have survived one of the hottest summers on record, and are looking toward having a lot of fun at the "Party on the Prairie", also know as the State Fair, Sept. 9-18 in Hutchinson.

As the official horse show photographer for the Ks. State Fair for the past 11 years, I have a lot of experience with life on the fairgrounds. Pronto pups. Giant drumsticks. Huge corn on the cob. Been there, ate that!

I have to say that my favorite part of the fair is simply watching people. It's awesome to see spectators get engrossed in watching the draft horse pull, or the mule show obstacle/trail course, or the miniature driving class, or, well-you get the idea.

If you plan on attending the State Fair party this year, stop by the horse show arena on the southeast corner of the grounds and say hello!

Breanna and David

On July 23, Breanna and David were married at the Civic Center in El Dorado. With a hot pink shirt under his black tux, the groom was as striking as his bride.

Since the Civic Center is a little on the plain side for unique photos, the newlyweds decided to brave the nearly 108 degree summer weather and head to a nearby park for some outdoor portraits. We were there less than 10 minutes and got a lot of cool shots...then they were back to the reception without their guests noticing the brief absence!

Congratulations to you both-I had a great time photographing you!

Region 8 Experience

Two weeks ago I had the honor of photographing the AQHA (American Quarter Horse Assn. for my non-horsey readers), Region 8 Championship Show. This Region is comprised of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado and New Mexico and their were competitors from every state. We even had a few of our other neighbors represented, including Missouri and Nebraska. It was a three day event, held at the Pavilions at the Coliseum in Wichita.

I enjoyed the entire show (despite the heat!), but my favorite day was the first day, June 24th...it offered the most exciting photo opportunities. Events range from heading and heeling to reining, working cowhorse, western riding, poles and barrels-lots of action is packed into day one!

It was a great event and I invite those who might be interested to take the time to show, or at least go watch when Region 8 2012 rolls around. Beautiful awards, relaxed atmosphere, fantastic horses and wonderful horse people to hang out with for three days...what's not to love?!?

Molly & Pippin

Church of the Holy Cross in Hutchinson, Kansas was the place to be for the wedding of Molly and Pippin. This wonderful couple met when they were young kids in dance classes, and have known one another about 15 years! They complement each other perfectly.

After the wedding, while their guests were walking to the church hall for the reception, we took a few minutes to drive to a nearby park for some outdoor portraits. A light breeze and the beaming smiles of the newlyweds made for some great shots!

Molly's mom is an amazing seamstress, as she made both the wedding gown and veil. The gown was as practical as it was beautiful, with a detachable train for the reception.

Pippin and Molly are students at the University of Kansas-I wish them much success and happiness!