St. Louis Family Photos - Owen Turns 1 1/2

Our son is about to turn one. So, we understand now more than ever before how quickly kids grow up and how important the memories captured in family photos are.  We loved getting a peek at what age one and a half looks likes when we took these photos of Owen and his family.  Owen had a blast playing in Forest Park with Mom and Dad and we simply caught the fun on camera.  We can't help but smile when we look at these shots.  Have a look:

Working Together - Leslie and Ron's Wedding

As most of you know, J. Pollack Photography is the team of Jonathan Pollack and his wife and second shooter Stefani Pollack.  We are one of those fortunate couples that are not only able to work together, but in fact love to do so.  For Leslie and Ron's wedding, we worked together in a completely different way.  While Jonathan took photos, Stefani took care of the wedding cupcakes.  (You can read all about the cupcakes and see more wedding photos over on Stefani's blog, Cupcake Project.)

If you read Stefani's post, you'll learn that Ron is our cousin and Leslie was a cousin-to-be.  Because we're all family, the bride and groom wanted us to be able to enjoy the ceremony and reception at Moulin as guests instead of working.  Therefore, we only photographed the wedding preparations, posed formals, and the signing of the ketubah (Jewish marriage contract) and let the very capable team at McPeek Smith Photography handle the rest.  It was so thoughtful of Ron and Leslie to realize that we couldn't be both photographers and guests.

The planning by Simcha's and amazing lighting and floral design by Exclusive Events and Festive Atmospheres made for an exquisite-looking event where no detail was missed.

Here are some of our favorite photos:

Even though we weren't on the clock during the reception, we couldn't help but take a few more pictures.

Congratulations to cousins Leslie and Ron - may you have many joyous and sweet years together!

St. Louis Wedding Photos - Emma and Travis's Wedding

Shooting Emma's bridal portraits got us all excited about the upcoming wedding. We knew it would be a blast - and we were right. With the help of their stellar wedding planner, Dodson Events Group, both the ceremony and reception at St. Louis's City Museum went off without a hitch! We were so glad to share day with such a nice couple.

As if Emma weren't vibrant enough, the flowers by The Special Event Florist Tina Barrera really made the event pop.

We also enjoyed chatting with the nice folks from Hollyberry Baking Co.

And - we got to sneak a bite of the cake. Yum!

Congratulations to Emma and Travis!

St. Louis Bridal Portraits - Emma's Bridals

Although not every St. Louis bride treats herself to bridal portraits, the ones who do are in for a big treat!  We like to do bridal portraits on the same day that the bride does her hair and makeup trial.  That way, she looks similar to the way she'll look on her wedding day - but a whole lot more relaxed.  We can take the time to explore different poses and lighting that we might not have time for on the big day. It's about having fun and feeling beautiful.

Emma chose to do her bridal portraits at the First Presbyterian Church in Kirkwood where the wedding would be held, but bridal portraits can take place at any location the bride chooses.

Check out some of our favorites from Emma's bridal session.

Emma's hair and makeup was done by Katie Hilgendorf.