Not many girls get to call a forest their home.  I mean… you have Snow White, Cinderella, I guess Tinkerbell.  Either way, it’s a pretty short list.  Add Ashley to that list.  She grew up at Dangerfield State park and if you remember from her engagement session, nature is kind of a big deal to her.  We knew we had to go back to the park for her bridal session and both her and it did not disappoint.  (How great are her flowers by Fantasy & Fairytale Floral Designs out of longview?)

Amy and Casey were married last August.  They had a gorgeous wedding and I loved shooting every little detail of it.  There was so so much eye candy at their wedding it was almost hard for me to pick what to shoot. :)  Like most couples they had a great/tough 1st year.  Amy was kind and honest enough to share with you all what that has been like.  Enjoy a few images from her big day then listen to a bit of their story from their first year of marriage.

What do you miss most about the single life?
-probably not having to worry about anyone but myself and what i need to do.

What have you liked most about your first year being married?
-spending time with my new family (husband and two step sons) and im currently pregnant with my first!!! Soooo exciting!

Any advice for couples blending a family?
-well i have two new stepsons that live with us and its hard at times but it definitely is fun and you learn a lot about each other.

What’s been the hardest part about being married?
-the hardest part has been adjusting to automatically living with not only your husband but his two children right away. we have all had to learn to share with each other and not be selfish.

What surprised you the most? (Either good or bad.)
-taking on an extended family has surpassed my expectations of how easy it woud be…..it definately takes village!!!

What have you fought about most and why?
-probably saving money and putting it to the best use possible for our growning family.

What was the biggest thing you were nervous about? How has it turned out?
-raising stepkids probably the most. but i have realized i am doing whats right for them and taking care of them like a great mom does…..its been a learning experience for all of us. A GOOD ONE!

Do you have any advice for couples about to take the plunge?
-life is a journey with ups and downs…..so live it everyday and enjoy each others company!!!

Thank you Amy for being so open about your marriage.  What about the rest of you out there?
What tips or advice do you have for anyone blending a family in that first year?

I became a HUGE fan of Lisa & Rory about 3 minutes into their session.  They are the exact type of people I love to photograph.  He is fully present and completely in love with Lisa and she basically tuns into a middle school girl with a HUGE crush when she looks his way.  The story of how they met is so great and I can’t do it justice but I’ll do my best.

They both work together at a hospital and one day Rory spotted her pony tail walking around the ER.  A few days later her pony tail caught his eye again.  He finally decided to try and talk to her and the day he was set to approach Lisa she was no where to be found.  1 week went by, then 2, then 3.  Rory thought he had lost his chance when after 4 weeks she came back to work and he ran into her.  He stopped in his tracks and jumped all over the opportunity to talk to her.  Even though he was a bit creepy about it Lisa managed to stay interested in him and over the next few month they started courting.

Courting is kinda a funny word that we don’t really use any more.  It’s a throwback work to a time when a man would spend time with a young woman’s family and this would allow everyone to give an opinion about the relationship.  Courting is exactly what these two did.  Lisa went on and on about how much it meant to her that Rory would do this and how much it helped grow their relationship.

I love their story and I love the two of them.

Fast forward about a year or so and these two people are getting married.   I’m honored that they want me there when they start their marriage.

I have the best job ever.

Enjoy the images.

give it up for catlin & jared.  these two had a super chill wedding at the belgium house last week.  take a look at these snazzy photos.

the belgium house provided all the florals for the day.  pretty nice eh?

how awesome are these cakes?!?!

(i totally forgot to get the cake person’s name.  i’ll add it later today.)

catlin shooting her dress in case i missed it.

if you need uplighting and people dancing you should call these two people.  they make it happen every time. Tyler Uplights / CMB DJs

and, what would a wedding be without the glory that is the mug machine.

so last week danielle and i had a little vow renewal ceremony at elmwood gardens.  (that place we were married 10 years ago.)  for the past 5-6 years we have held a little ceremony in our backyard with just our kids and it’s always been a blast so this year we decided to go all out. well, as all out as our budget would allow.  rule number one was pay cash.  after all it’s only 1 day. right. (more on that later.)

the main reason we wanted to do this was to give our kids a tangible memory/moment to look back on so they know that we are committed to each other till death do us part.  (that’s code for when danielle kills me.)  so, in keeping with that theme we really let them decide on most of details of the day.

HUGE HUGE props to elmwood for making the day run smooth, brandi burkett for all the wonderful images, and vanessa mckellar for a killer video that you’ll want to view at the end of this post.

on to the images.

this was danielle’s bouquet from our wedding day and it made for great potpourri flower girl basket toss dealy boppers

this is as dressy as jo gets.  (all our kids selected their own outfits)
luke and eli at almost 2 years apart but they look close enough to where people always ask them if they are twin.  lately they ave decided to start saying yes.  the latest part of this phase has involved matching outfits.

you can’t get married without a ring bear.

sara was totally into the vows.  including creeping on what i had to say before i said it.

we are not too big on jewelry over here.  i ditched my ring for a tattoo and danielle has only ever had a $300 band.  so far so good.

awesome tasting cookie/cake thing from edible art. (i may have eaten 6 pieces of leftover in one sitting later in the week.)

why get boring monogramed napkins when you can blow all your money on fancy plates?

we had 2 options for cool getaway photos.

1. give lots of little people fire stick to hold.
2. come up with something better.

we went with option 2.

i’m not gonna lie.  it was super fun to get married all over again.  need more proof?  watch this 3 minute trailer.