I had the very fortunate opportunity to do two engagement sessions with these two kids (and one of those sessions with their adorable doggie, Humphrey). Both times were so much fun, and I don’t know what to do with myself now that their big day is over and I know I won’t get a Nate and Amy fix in a couple of months!

Amy and Nate were married at Graham Chapel and their reception was at Windows on Washington. Both venues added a special backdrop to the overall reverence of the day, that I thought fit Amy and Nate to a T. The spectacular light and tradition of Graham Chapel lent itself to the love and seriousness and sacred nature of their relationship, and Windows on Washington was a perfect complement to their fun, laid-back sides. They couldn’t have chosen two better locations to really exemplify who they are. In between the ceremony and reception, we hung out around the Washington University campus a bit, then headed downtown. It was a bright, sunny day but the wind was cutting and made the chill a bit hard to bear at times (for the ladies in the wedding party, not so much me!) but we all hung in there and got some really gorgeous photos.

I had the great pleasure of working with Steve Alejandro again on this wedding, and he always does amazing work. Thanks again, Steve, for everything! Check him out at his website!

I want to send a sincere thank you to Amy and Nate, who have made working with them so easy and so much fun. I really do have the most amazing clients in the whole world, and Amy and Nate are a prime example of that and the reason why I love what I do. Cheers to you, guys! I send you Congratulations and a lifetime of love and happiness and – I know this one will come easy – laughter!

Amy fed herself! HA!

They were married at Piper Palm House in Tower Grove park, which was originally a greenhouse, and has a ton of windows and is filled with palm trees. It is really gorgeous, and in the evening it just glows, making everything magical and luminous. Pete and Crystal chose the perfect time of day for their February wedding, late afternoon, when the light was most golden. We were really lucky to get great weather this day too – no one can deny this has been a crazy mild winter, and their wedding day was no exception. It was a tiny bit chilly, but warm enough that the girls were able to be out in it with sleeveless dresses and not much misery! And it was very special because their anniversary is also Crystal’s mother’s birthday, who passed away. It was a way for her and Pete to include her mother in the ceremony.

I had the opportunity to work with Steve Alejandro of SA3 Studios again on this wedding, and he never fails to impress me. He was with the boys prior to the ceremony, and got some really fantastic shots of them all getting ready. He also stuck around through the ceremony and even tagged along after. Many thanks to Steve for all his dedication and hard work, and putting up with me at the wedding (I was really sick, and had pumped myself full of cold medicine to make it through the day!).

Since I had a difficult time narrowing these down, let’s get on with the pictures and I’ll make comments after. First, some of the ‘getting ready’ photos…

Crystal’s Wedding Present!

Crystal rehearsing her vows, and waiting calmly (as best she can) to see her Groom.

Crystal’s youngest son Hunter was the ring bearer.

Crystal’s middle son Parker asked everyone to please rise for the Bride. (AWWWWW!)

The Bride was escorted by her eldest son Dylan and her Grandmother, met her Grandfather almost at the end of the aisle, and he traded places with her Grandmother and gave her away to Pete with Dylan.

A teary-eyed Pete watches his Bride coming to meet him.

This was seriously one of the most endearing moments I’ve ever seen in a wedding ceremony. This was the moment just after Crystal was given to Pete, and Pete was crying, but trying to hide it or hold it back, as she came down the aisle and joined him. She had a tissue in her hand, and gently wiped his tears for him. She was sincere and genuine, there was no pity or shame about it at all, it was simple – “let me take that burden from you.” Everyone laughed, but I didn’t laugh, because I knew she didn’t mean it as comic relief. His tears were an overspilling of joy, openness and willing nakedness before another human being, and her gesture a beautiful acceptance of him exactly as he is. I think that is the most romantic thing in the world, the trust between two people who are in love…and I told you, when you are around these two, you understand what real love is.

Later on, she wiped her own tears with the same tissue as he read the vows to her that he had written with his own hand and his own heart, tears that spilled over when he talked about being a father to her children and having found his soulmate, and I felt that those tears were a mix of joy, but also of understanding and recognition. In her vows she talked about having waited for that moment her whole life and having found her best friend, and to see these two, it’s so easy to believe in destiny.

Yep, he got Crystal to Tebow.

Their reception was at The Christy – cake time!

Family hug after the cake cutting.

Crystal dances with her handsome Grandfather.

Her Grandparents are incredibly adorable! Still in love after all these 50-something years!

Hunter being his cute little self.

Parker, who is an incredible dancer! For real! Like MTV video quality!

Dylan and Pete’s nephew Gage.

Crystal and Peter, it was really amazing to be with you both on your wedding day. Crystal, we were friends when we were little kids, and now seeing you all grown up and so happy just warms my heart. I can’t express how happy it makes me to see you with such a great guy who loves your boys and so obviously adores you. And Pete, I can’t tell you how happy it makes me that you and Crystal found each other and she is so obviously in love with you, for all your wonderful qualities. You two are perfect together, and are such an inspiration to those around you.

Thank you so much – I wish you both so much love. xo

These two are really laid back and really fun, and of course I love any engagement session that involves a doggie! And hockey fans! Ok, I love any photo session that includes doggies AND hockey fans!

Stephanie and Homer, I’m looking forward to your next engagement session and your wedding next September. Thank you so much for allowing me to hang out with you and driving me between Forest Park and the CWE – it was fun!

Any photographer can tell you about how autumn is the most insane time of the year. Everyone wants family portraits while we have great mild weather and nature’s own beautiful, colorful backdrop when all the leaves ripen, it’s a busy wedding month, we come up on the deadline to get albums submitted to be printed before Christmas, and that’s not to mention all the editing involved.

October is my favorite month, for the aforementioned mild weather and colorful leaves, but I feel like I didn’t even see it this year, except through my clients’ photographs. And that is really a beautiful thing in and of itself, honestly – to witness the changes week by week and notice how subtly, and sometimes suddenly, nature can change. When you’re photographing every weekend, it’s easy to keep track of in your mind, to look backward and tick off the weather and the stages of the month at each wedding and portrait session I was lucky enough to be a part of. And when you look at it that way, I may have taken more notice of October while being fully engaged in the whirlwind of weddings and portraits than if I hadn’t had a thing at all to do. And that realization just reinforces the love I have for my career.

Because of the whirlwind though, I am WAY behind on blogs. I promise to get some catching-up done this week and I’m going to start right now, with some photos that I snuck in of my boys last month. I’ve mentioned before that one of my favorite places in the St. Louis area is Laumeier Sculpture Park, so that’s where we went for these shots. We still need family photos done, but getting pictures of them is a good start! Kadin (my older one) is turning into a little model. Max is still the one I have to chase around and coax – but turned it out that if I allowed him to pose himself, he fully cooperated, so I pretty much just said, “Go over there and sit however you want.” Score!

So here are my munchkins, and stay tuned this week for four engagement sessions and a family session!

We had 15 – 20 minutes for pictures of just the two of them in between the ceremony and their reception at Pujols 5, so we got down to business. You’ll be able to judge the results for yourself, but I’m head-over-heels for their photos in the park.

Stacey and Kenny barely know me (in fact it was the first time I’d ever met Kenny!) but they were incredibly gracious and open people and I appreciated them being so welcoming and including me in their dinner with their closest friends and family. It is a nod to the character and how friendly and respectful they are, that they allowed me to jump right in and feel comfortable. They are warm and fun and their love and warmth brightens the space around them and warms the people close to them. It was such an honor to be at their wedding and give them the kind of gift that immortalizes memories for a lifetime – photographs.

Stacey and Kenny, thank you a thousand times over for being such wonderful people and for allowing me the privilege to be at your wedding!

Their wedding took place at the gorgeous Wine Country Gardens winery. The site is gorgeous and the staff all wonderful. Becky and I met there for lunch in the spring to talk about the details of the wedding and I was impressed right off the bat with the location, which they chose for the warmth and friendly, unassuming atmosphere. Becky said it was unlike other wineries, and she was absolutely right – the atmosphere is more down to earth, and more about truly enjoying oneself and present company rather than partying it up.

But don’t let that fool you – we most certainly DID party. With a family and wedding party as great as theirs, it’s a party whenever you get them all together!

What I’ve loved most about working with these two is their laid back personalities and warm sense of humor. Both Brandon and Becky smile easily, laugh easily, and are warm, fun people you just really want to be around. And that was apparent at their wedding as well – their friends and family all encircled them with smiles, hugs and a ton of love, and their magnetism (and the infectiousness of their love) permeated the entire event. It was perfect.

As a result of some really well-thought-out planning, we were able to get a ton of amazing pictures. Becky and Brandon opted for a first look (kudos to them!) so we had plenty of time to hang out with the wedding party on the (lime green) bus and trek around the winery. We also hit up Klondike park and took advantage of the golden evening light.

Becky and Brandon, you two are amazing. I was so honored to be part of your day, and I can’t wait to come up with some excuse to hang out with the two of you again (maternity photos???? Or just wine? ). Thank you so much for allowing me to capture your special day.

Love and Gratitude,
Sam
—-

Getting Becky into that amazing dress!

A few moments from their first look:

Off to Wine Country Gardens for photos:

Definitely one of my favorites from the day:

Are these two not absolutely GORGEOUS? They are!

The Butterfly in Becky’s flowers was for her grandfather who passed, a way for him to be there with her on her wedding day… so sweet.

My favorite from Klondike park:

And then, the ceremony! Here comes the bride!

Husband and Wife!

The beautiful ceremony site at sunset.

One of the coolest cakes ever – a wine barrel monogrammed with their last name! (plus delicious german chocolate and carrot cake cupcakes!)

Becky’s matron of honor, Jennifer, gives her speech with a few tears:

First Dance and Father/Daughter.

And… the party people!

Becky’s grandmother, who is 90 years old, still goes dancing once a week!

I love working with Seniors and wish I was able to do it more often. Nico was so much fun, and he was totally down with doing his portraits at the graffiti wall, which I thought would fit his personality so well. He liked it, and we got to talk about what he’s doing in school for design – I went to college for graphic design, so hearing about what he was doing was really interesting. I also got to listen to his band and just generally get to know him better, which was awesome because I don’t get to see him very often.

Thanks Nico, for hanging out with me for the day!

This is one of Nico’s favorites:

And this is one of my favorites.

I started out with the girls at Stacy’s parents’ home, then we all transferred to the church to get Stacy into her dress.

I also popped over to see AJ and the gentlemen, and got to get photos of AJ reading the letter Stacy wrote to him. Then it was ceremony time!

After the ceremony, we hit up Gus’ for pretzels and then headed over to the Arch for some portraits. Then it was party time! Their reception was at The Edge of Webster, and I loved their oreo cupcakes!

Stacy and AJ, your wedding was a blast! Thank you so much for allowing me the honor of participating in your big day!

We hit up Tower Grove Park first, then for some contrast scooted over to Laclede’s Landing. Their first date was at the Old Spaghetti Factory so of course we had to go there for the memories – look at where that first date led!

Congrats, you two! I had a blast with you on your engagement session – you two looked fabulous (and really, is Kristy not AMAZING in that black and pink ballerina-inspired dress, and is Jimmy’s hair not totally hip? Methinks they are both fab!) and I am really looking forward to their wedding next steamy, sultry July!

Enjoy the photographic goodness:

Debbie and David have been together for a long time (like a million years!) and it was so sweet to see their family and friends rallying around them on this BEAUTIFUL October day. Their ceremony was at the rustic outdoor venue, Alpine Park and Gardens, and Alissa and I truly had to stop ourselves from skipping off into the gorgeous landscape on the way. Everything was golden and gorgeous, a perfectly warm Autumn day.

We rode to Mizzou for some pictures at the mandatory “Mizzou” landmark, ‘the Pillars’, and ok, just look how gorgeous these two are. Then we headed back to the ceremony site to get ready for the ‘I Do’s'! Debbie’s nephews escorted her down the pathway to the picture-perfect stage to join her Groom. The ceremony was sweet and full of love, reverence and personal touches, such as David’s father doing a reading for the Bride and Groom.

You have to check out how awesome Debbie’s friends are – they made her a little table dedicated to her love of Harry Potter, complete with Fizzing Whizzbies, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, Dumbledore’s Lemon Drops… see if you can pick out the rest in the picture! The Sorting Hat even made an appearance!

Debbie and David, your ceremony and reception were wonderful. It was such an honor to be there with your families and hang out with your friends for the day. Thank you so much for having me and Alissa! Your love, laughter, light-heartedness and respectful, enduring relationship is so inspirational. We hope you have an AMAZING honeymoon!

David's face lit up during the First Look

Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and her rings - Just For Debbie!

Pure Awesomeness.

David's Dad smiles at Debbie during his reading