St. Louis Wedding Photography: Karen and Josh

Karen and Josh picked a perfect late summer day for their intimate wedding at Francis Park. Carolyn Burke officiated as the bride and groom said their vows in front of their families.

Even though I didn't get to spend lot of time with Karen and Josh, we had great fun taking some casual portraits after the ceremony. I really got to see their personalities.

I love this one:

There's a story behind the next photo. Karen really doesn't like spiders, and one was on her dress. Josh went to remove it and it looked as if he were strangling her. Hey, wouldn't that be a funny photo to have in their wedding album? Voila:

Karen also does a mean fish face, which she was happy to demonstrate:

It was great meeting them and their families and being a part of their special day!

St. Louis Wedding Photography: Juliette and Harold

Juliette and Harold had their engagement photography session earlier this year (after Juliette's sister, Michelle, sent them my way - thanks!) and chose me to photograph their wedding this August at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. Since I had never photographed a Greek Orthodox wedding prior to theirs, Juliette walked me through all of the rituals that would take place at the ceremony - rings, candles, crowns, drinking, and a ceremonial walk - so I wouldn't miss a thing.

It was such a special ceremony, and I was honored to be a part of their wedding day!

St. Louis Engagement Photography: Erin and Carl

Erin and Carl chose me as their wedding photographer and their package includes an engagement photography session. Since they don't live in St. Louis, we ran to Creve Coeur Park when they were last in town visiting so we could catch some late afternoon sunlight and take pictures in the great shady spots around the lake.

Aren't they such a cute couple?

Congrats to both Erin and Carl, and I can't wait to shoot their wedding this winter!

St. Louis Senior Photos at Tower Grove Park

Now is a perfect time to have senior photos taken in St. Louis. I don't mean the sit-in-a-portrait-studio-and-awkwardly-pose kind, I mean the let's-go-and-do-something-fun kind. Taylor found me online and we met up in Tower Grove Park a few weeks ago for her hour-long senior photo session.

Here are some of the highlights of the shoot:

At about this point in the shoot, we came across this cute little baby bird as we were roaming about taking pictures:

Its mother was not comfortable with us shooting so close to it, so she descended from the branches overhead and attacked Taylor - and then me! It was clearly time to pick another setting in the park that wouldn't be so dangerous.

Taylor brought her friend Cassie along on the shoot - you'll be booking soon, right Cassie? :)

Have a great last year in high school, Taylor, and thanks again for choosing me to take your senior photos!

Engagement Ring Photography

Engagement ring photos are a great way to show off the new shiny rock in your life (if you opted to go that route). Typically done during an engagement photography session, these ring photos are a great way to announce the engagement, to set the mood when coupled with another photo in a diptych, or to get some oohs and ahhs at the beginning of a slide show.

I like to do a large chunk of the engagement photography session first before taking engagement ring photos so that I can get inspiration from the couple. Often the couple has a great idea and I'll run with that.

Here are some examples of engagement ring photos inspired by the couples to whom the rings belong: