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Laura and Dain had the proverbial “good luck rain” on their wedding day. And it happened in the cutest way.

The wedding took place at Trapper’s Turn Country Club, part of the Kalahari Resort. The ladies got ready at the club while the guys prepared for the day at Dain’s parents’ house. Check out the cute details with the love note on the bottom of the shoe and the family mementos sewn into the dress.

Shortly before the tented ceremony began, the rain came. Luckily, not a severe storm- just a regular summer rain shower. Guests were shuttled to the ceremony site, just off the green, by golf carts and hurried under the large white tent. When the bridal party waited to head down the aisle, the “last-minute purchase” of matching umbrellas protected them- as much as possible. Personally, I thought the images of the couples lined up in the rain were very cute (though I was dry under the tent). Laura coming from the golf cart, escorted by her father who held the umbrella, was just perfect. Really, the rain was light enough at that point that Laura stayed pretty dry and still looked absolutely perfect.

During the ceremony, the rain ended. The mingling after the ceremony and the family photo session carried on as planned, as did all the other photographs. The rest of the day was lovely, and the sun even popped out before photographs of Laura and Dain were done.

Flowers were by Wild Apples, cupcakes were by Bloom Bake Shop, the dress was from Edith’s Bridal, hair was done at the Kalahari salon and music was by Jukebox Bandstand.

I loved everything about Chelsey and Erik’s wedding. I loved the colors, the details, the weather, the couple!

The wedding was an outdoor ceremony and indoor reception at the Janesville County Club. The colors were the fun and trendy “yellow and gray”, with a modern vintage theme. For example, while Chelsey used mason jars for candle holders, the clean, modern floral patterns on the ribbons were definitely not “country.” Floral Expressions did the gorgeous flowers and the beautiful cake was done by Craig’s Cakes.

We are using Chelsey and Erik’s wedding to display our coverage of a full wedding and to highlight one of our Artistic Albums. Below are several of the album spreads. Visit with us to see the whole album!

I enjoy photographing families with young children. Actually, if I am going to photograph a large family, I would prefer there to be young children. (That sounds crazy, I know!)

Planning a family session: getting everyone together, having everyone coordinate, hoping everyone is healthy and in a good mood- it takes a LOT of work and effort on Mom and Dad’s part. And, since families may not update their portraits every year, it’s nice to take advantage of the opportunity when we can.

When I photograph a family, we will do the family all together, but then we will often do other groupings. When I can, I like to photograph just the kids, mom with the kids, dad with the kids, and even each child separately. I’m not able to do this with every session, since children tire out quickly, depending on their ages and attention span, but it’s the goal.

With so many favorites from a session, I am frequently asked, “What can I do with all of these images that I love?”

My answer: A family album!

I love albums because they show off the very favorites from a session, plus they are easy to carry with you to share with family and friends when you are not at home to show off your wall portraits. And it’s fun to have the album of images to look back through as the kids grow.

A baby by any other name would smell as sweet.

I had the privilege of photographing my niece, Hannah, at 10 days old. During the session, I called her Hannah Banana, and her two sisters instantly thought that was a fabulous name. (Sorry, Amy!) My youngest is sometimes called Leo Burrito, paying homage to the blanket folding technique they teach you in the hospital, where you wrap the newborn up tight, like a baby burrito. So, now my other son wants to know what food rhymes with Henry.

  

 I had been searching online over a year ago for closet organizers when I came across a closet reading nook. It was a closet that had been turned into a cozy area for a child to hide away and read.

I fell in love with the idea. 

The closet that my middle two children share was driving me crazy. It was underused, and yet, it was always a mess. The idea of having a cute place to read sounded like a much better use of space. Plus, I knew the kids would use it for more than just reading.

It’s an inside joke at our house that I come up with the ideas and Chris has to figure out how to make them happen. It’s his own fault that I have complete faith in him- he always manages to pull through for me. He’ll tell you the playhouse he built the kids in the backyard was really for me. (And maybe it was– I’m waiting for the kids to be done with it so I can turn it into an adorable potting shed.) In the end, he always admits that they were great ideas.

For over a year, I asked Chris to redo the closet. He thought the idea was a little crazy at first. “Would the kids really use it, would they still have closet space, would it look out of place?” I assured him it would be cute and the kids would really use it. 

Finally, he gave in and went to work. And he came up with the perfect reading nook for the kids’ room.

I wanted to keep part of the closet for it’s traditional function of hanging clothes and storage. In the other part, I wanted a space big enough that a child could comfortable settle in to read. I also wanted it big enough that the space could double for playing. The design that Chris came up with was big enough to fit a parent and a child or two. Plus it included the book shelf, which was perfect for a place to set a cup of coffee when I’m reading to the kids.

The kids love it. My 12 year old is jealous and would love her own reading nook. I’d love to make her one, but alas, her closet is too small. She said she’d settle for a chair that hangs from the ceiling. I’ll get Chris on that….

*Chris has detailed images of the Reading Nook in progress. If there is interest, I can have him detail it out.