I’m so blessed to have gone to nursing school at ULM and to have connected with such wonderful people. We just recently shot my nursing friend Brittany and Mitch’s wedding, and now I get to shoot Ashley and Jerred’s wedding..and I went to nursing school with both of them! So that makes it extra fun for me . I had a great time catching up with them during their engagement shoot, and I can’t wait for their wedding in April! Till then, here are some of our favs from their engagement shoot a couple of weeks ago. Enjoy !

Love the boots!

They’re such good sports…when I asked them to sit on the old bathtub, they didn’t look at me like I was *too* crazy .

Loooove that setting sun light!

We couldn’t resist taking a picture in the very building that brought Ashley and Jerred together…so many memories were made in this building. And this proves that as difficult as nursing school was for all of us, they weren’t all bad memories . There’s even a *small* (and I mean teeny tiny) part of me that misses it…a little.

Thanks again Ashley and Jerred!

- heather

Brittany and Mitch got married a week before Christmas in a beautiful winter wedding! The entire day just flowed perfectly, and we had a wonderful time with them. And luckily it wasn’t too terribly cold that day so we were able to take some outside photos (which of course you know is our favorite). And Brittany, you get bonus points for being so patient with us on getting your pictures to you. Thanks for that . Hope the wait was worth it…

Brittany and her bridesmaids first got ready at “The Catwalk” hair salon:

Then they headed to The Hilton for the finishing touches. Doesn’t Brittany just look stunning!!!

And Mitch doesn’t look too shabby either with his groomsmen:

Brittany and her gorgeous bridesmaids:

Brittany and Mitch chose to see each other before the ceremony, and of course we were all for it ! I just adore the pictures we get of the bride and groom seeing each other for the first time in a more intimate and personal moment. They are always my favorite pictures from the day!

So sweet:

LOVE this!!!

The sun was setting fairly fast, but we were still able to get some shots of the complete bridal party outside:

After it was too dark to take any more pictures outside, we headed inside the church to take a few more. The church was so pretty:

The ceremony:

Getting ready to sign the marriage certificate:

After the ceremony we headed to “King’s Palace” in Monroe for their reception. Since their wedding was during the Saints’ game vs Dallas, they had the game on a computer by the groom’s cake. Unfortunately, the Saints lost that game, but it doesn’t even matter now because they’re playing in the Superbowl this Sunday! WHO DAT !!!!

Their first dance:

It didn’t take long for the party to heat up with lots of dancing and fun had by all. I think this picture of Brittany and Mitch dancing may be my favorite of the day:

Brittany’s father gave such a touching toast. I love this shot of them during the toast:

Last dance before leaving:

I love bubbles!

Thanks again y’all. We had a fabulous time !

- heather

We shot Jennifer and Drew’s engagement pics a few weeks back and had a great time with them. They were both just soooo easy to photograph, and they even brought their precious dog….and you know how I’m a sucker for lil’ dogs . We also got to shoot somewhere that we’ve been wanting to shoot at for a while now - The Restoration Park in West Monroe.

But first, we started in downtown Monroe/West Monroe:

Then we headed to The Restoration Park:

The colors were beautiful!

And you know how we love the setting sun light!

Love the angle on this last one!

- heather

Wow! Its been a while since we last posted. I know that some of you have been patiently waiting to see new pictures. The holiday season was a busy one for us, just as I’m sure it was for you as well. But we are working extremely hard to get caught back up and are ready for a great new year!
In 2009, we shot some absolutely awesome couples and some amazing weddings! And Cody and Hannah’s wedding didn’t disappoint! We had a great time spending the day with the two of them. The wedding party was fabulous as well as the families and everyone else we worked with! So without anymore rambling here are their pictures. I’m sure your thinking ‘finally’!

We started off the day with the beautiful bride getting ready!

Cody bought Hannah some beautiful pearls:

Next we headed over to snag a few of the groom:

I thought church was really pretty that night:

Hannah and her dad preparing to walk down the isle.

I like this one Heather captured through the doors:

And a fun shot of the whole group:

After the ceremony we stole the bride and groom for just a few shots of the two of them together:

Their first dance as husband and wife:

I love this one!

Hannah and Cody, thank you for letting us share your special day with you! We had a great time and we hope that you enjoy your pictures!

—Miranda

Wow, has it really been almost a month since we’ve posted something?!?!? Instead of giving some long excuse and apology on why it has been so long since we’ve posted, I’ll just instead go right to the photos from Brittany and Andy’s wedding…

We’ve been to many weddings over the past few years, and Brittany and Andy truly had one of the most unique weddings and receptions that we’ve ever seen. They really made everything a reflection of their personalities and style. It was such a pleasure photographing this couple and their wedding. Thank y’all so much Brittany and Andy! Y’all were so much fun!!

We’ll start with the getting ready pictures:

Love the shoes!

Meanwhile, the guys are watching some LSU football.

I love this picture of Brittany right before going to see Andy for the “first look”:

As you all know, we love it when clients decide to do a “first look.” It allows for much more time to do bride and groom pictures with just the two of them, and the day just flows so well.
I really love this next picture because I think it really embodies what a groom feels right before seeing his bride for the first time. He’s excited, nervous, anxious, and a thousand other feelings that only he can know or explain.

But all that nervousness melts away when they see each other for the first time.

I just love having so much time photographing the bride and groom on their wedding day.

Love this next series:

Such a good looking couple!

The bridal party:

After taking the group pics, we headed into the sanctuary to take a couple more pictures of Brittany and Andy:

We LOVED the spotlight in the church!

The ceremony:

Now on to the reception details…they were so CUTE! This is where they really put some thought into showing their personalities through the decorations. Brittany wanted the reception to have an elementary school theme and she pulled it off perfectly!

What girl DOESN’T remember playing the game “M.A.S.H.” in school???

And instead of birdseed, sparklers, or rice, they had paper airplanes for the send-off!

We had a lot of fun taking their ring pictures!

And let me take a second to say how much LOVED their cakes. Seriously, they.were.AMAZING!!!

Isn’t the groom’s cake awesome!

Their first dance was so sweet.

We were able to sneak the bride and groom away for a couple of minutes to snap some pics in front of the red phone booth outside:

Another thing that made their reception so much fun was that they had a photobooth set up for people to take pics with fun props:

The bouquet and garter toss:

And the send-off:

Ok, that was a massive post. Hopefully it somewhat makes up for our lack of activity of the blog lately (but believe me, we’ve been plenty busy fulfilling wedding print orders).
We have a special Christmas post that we’ll blog next week, so stay tuned :).

- heather

We shot Hannah and Cody’s wedding last night and had a great time. We’ve been wanting to post her bridal pictures for a while, but had to wait till after the wedding to do so. We had so much fun shooting her bridal pictures. At first we were a bit worried because so many of the spots we take pictures were completely under water (for those who don’t live in the West Monroe/Monroe area, we have been having a lot of problems with flooding). But now I’m really thankful for the flooding because it made us improvise and think outside of our comfortable box. We always strive to stay fresh and try out different spots, but sometimes its difficult with bridal shoots due to the constraints of having to get dressed and keeping the dress clean and etc. Hannah was such a trooper and pretty much just followed us anywhere we suggested. Thanks Hannah! And congrats to you and Cody!

See why we couldn’t wait to post them….because she’s such a GORGEOUS bride!!!

Love that setting sun…

- heather

A couple of months ago my favorite youth pastor’s wife of all times contacted Heather and I about shooting a wedding for a couple in their church. Of course we couldn’t turn Ms. Shontel down so we worked through emails for a while getting everything set up.
Fast forward a few weeks and Heather and I headed down to Des Allemands to meet Patrick and Kim for their engagement session! And boy are we glad we did! We had an amazing time with the two of them! They are so much fun and you can just tell that they are so much so much in love!
Heather and I have never had the opportunity to do a shoot in New Orleans. Top that off with an amazing couple and an absolute fabulous shoot!

New Orleans + Amazing Couple = Extremely Hard Time Choosing Only a Few For Blog.

So….sit back and enjoy because this is going to be a long post!

We started out in an open area by their church with some beautiful lighting and beautiful trees:

I love this tree! This tree is very unique and is such a good representation of unity! If you look at the picture carefully you will notice that it is actually two different trees that have grown together and now rooted together. It symbolizes the joining of Patrick and Kim becoming one!

Anybody that shows up in LSU gear for their shoot is number one in our book:

So much fun together:

There is a story behind this picture although I want go in to it! It has something to do with Heather’s directions or lack there of! HAHA!

Next we headed to walk around New Orleans for some beautiful architecture and more great light:

Love this texture:

It would be wrong to visit New Orleans and not get beignets so we headed over to Cafe du Monde for some great food and faboulous pictures:

I think that this next one from Cafe du Monde is my favorite from my day. I just love the lighting!

And I love this next one too. After promising that the last picture was the last picture, I turned around and decided that I just wanted one more. (I think I said just one more picture at least 5 times before we finally wrapped up the shoot.)

Patrick and Kim, You are both so amazing and so much fun! We had a great time with the two of you! We can’t wait till your wedding and catch up with you two again. You two are wonderful people! You made our shoot rock!

—Miranda

Couples like Lauren and Beau remind me how much I love my photography job. How can anyone NOT like being a part of someone’s happiest and best day of their life? Since I am also a nurse, I have the responsibility and privilege of helping people on some of their worst days. There’s a big difference in helping someone recover from open heart surgery or a heart attack one day and bustling a bride’s dress at her wedding the following day. But in the end, I just love people and the connections that people share. I love “love.” And I love photographing love. Lauren and Beau made it so easy for us to capture their love for each other. (And apparently shooting weddings has turned my old bitter and cynical self into a big mushy love sap. Before you know it I’ll be talking about how much I love movies like “A Walk to Remember” and “The Notebook” .)

Lauren and Beau, thank you so much. Y’all rock and we can’t wait to do y’alls “after the wedding” photo shoot!

They got married at the BEAUTIFUL First Christian Church in Monroe! Seriously, there were stained glass window and chandeliers in the bridal room! How awesome is that! The gorgeous dress:

And the shoes:

The rings:

I LOVED Lauren’s flower choices. These bouquets are just amazing!

Lauren looking breathtaking:

And Beau looking quite handsome himself:

I have to say that my favorite part of the day is taking the “first look” photos if the bride and groom choose to see each other before the ceremony. I look forward to it the most and they are always the first pictures that I go back and look at after they are downloaded. You just can’t beat the raw emotion that these photos capture.

Plus, doing a “first look” allows for plenty of time for portraits of the bride and groom.

We had some fun with the bridal party! Oh, and do you recognize Bridgit in this picture from her awesome wedding seen here?

But for some reason the guys didn’t want to walk arm in arm together

Right before walking into the church:

This is one of my favorite bride and father pictures EVER!

Like I said earlier, the church was so pretty!

They had their reception at Austin’s. I love this venue.

I thought the cake topper was so unique.

I really enjoyed playing around with some off camera lighting with the couple. We’ll definitely be playing around more with this technique.

I got some pictures with my camera flash on for their exit, but I actually really liked this picture not using my camera flash.

Ok, that’s all for now. Miranda and I are finally starting to get caught up on our business work, so there will be lots more posts coming up within the next few weeks.
Stay tuned!

- heather

Brittney and Steven’s wedding was one of the most unique and fun weddings we’ve been to! It was sort of odd photographing Brittney’s wedding because I’ve known her for about 10 years, and in my eyes she should still be a little girl. But Brittney has grown into a beautiful young lady and has snatched her up a great guy in Steven. I’m so incredibly happy for them and feel so honored to be a part of their day.

Brittney and Steven, congratulations and thank y’all so much. Y’all are amazing and we hope you like your photos !

Brittney getting ready:

And Steven looking all handsome:

The colors of their wedding were gorgeous and I just loved the bouquets!

The rings:

Brittney and Steven decided to see each other before the ceremony, so it made for great pictures and the day flowed so smoothly because of it!
I just adore Brittney’s expression in this picture…it is so her:

So sweet:

And there’s something about this picture that I love love love!

Brittney wanted a FUN wedding atmosphere, so I loved her idea of giving her bridesmaids these to wear:

And we can’t forget the boys! Steven with his groomsmen:

The ceremony was so pretty:

Taking pictures of the bride and groom immediately after the ceremony is one of my favorite parts of the day!

The reception was in the youth building next door to the church and it was a great place with great lighting!

The most memorable part of their day was definitely the first dance. It started out to a sweet and slow love song and they slow danced as seen in the photo above. But then it suddenly stopped and broke down in a full dance montage with several different songs and dance styles mixed in. It was HILARIOUS!!! And everyone was so surprised and entertained.

The cake was breathtaking!

They even had a coloring table with peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for the kids. I love the idea of having coloring pictures of the couple for the kids to color! So cute!!

Gotta love coca-cola bottles!

Brittney and Steven might have surprised the guests with their first dance skit, but the guests in turn surprised Brittney and Steven by throwing cups of birdseed at them as they left. Not handfuls of birdseed, but full cups!

This last picture cracks me up because as you can see, Brittney is so worried about getting the birdseed off of her that she doesn’t even see the new onslaught of birdseed in midair coming for her!

- heather

Who needs to pay for advertisement when we have clients like Janna? Because, seriously, she thinks we’re AWESOME and paused to tell us so about every 10 minutes during their engagement shoot. I think it went to our heads a bit too…because, helllloooo, of course we’re awesome! But not near as awesome as Janna and Kevin are. They seep of awesomeness and you can not be unhappy around them. They both just have a way of making you smile and think of butterflies and puppy dogs and rainbows. And we could all use a little butterflies, puppy dogs, and rainbows in our life.

But in all seriousness now, we really did have an unbelievable time with Janna and Kevin shooting their engagement pics. We had to cancel their shoot a couple of weeks ago due to the torrential rain we’ve been having, and this day threatened of rain as well. We all kept our fingers crossed and prayed that the rain would hold off, and thank God it did! We stopped shooting around 5:45 and the rain came pouring down around 6:00 (that’s all it does here in West Monroe these days is rain..and rain…and rain).

Janna and Kevin, thank y’all soooo much and we are psyched about y’alls wedding in April! Can’t wait!

Aren’t they just unbelievably cute!

While walking around Trenton St. we found an adorable little ice cream shop and had the idea of taking pics of them outside the shop eating ice cream. Well, the shop lady told us we weren’t allowed to do so (arrrghhhh), so we just took them on a cute bench on Trenton St.

Love the ivy wall!

We always try to encourage our clients to think of a place that is special to them to do engagements pics, and Janna and Kevin suggested the ULM baseball park since baseball is such a huge part of their lives and since that was their first date. Love it!!!

In the bleachers:

And in the ULM dugout:

How cute is this baseball that Janna bought Kevin!

Unfortunately, due again to the awful rain, the field was covered up and we weren’t able to take pictures on the field. So we drove to Forsythe Park and used one of their baseball fields for a few pics.

Love these next two..it is just so “them”:

And this picture just proves how in love they are. I told them that I was taking a picture of just the baseball (as seen in the picture above that Miranda got), so they didn’t have to smile or be “picture-ready” or anything, and this is what they did. They cuddle and smile even when they don’t have to .

Lastly, we headed to the levee to get a few more pictures by the cypress trees and river:

Ok, I’m off to think about butterflies, puppy dogs, and rainbows so I’ll forget that its raining outside…once again.
*mental note to myself*…never move to Seattle because your psyche can not handle the gloominess..

- heather