Kristen and Brad's Wedding - St. Louis

Whittemore House served as the elegant backdrop for Kristen and Brad's Wedding in St. Louis on what must have been one of the hottest and most humid days this past summer. That didn't stop anybody from partying and having a great time.

Check out some of the highlight wedding photos that I posted on my Facebook page.

Formal Engagment Photos - Kristen and Brad's Engagement

It's amazing what a suit can do for a man.

Brad was a bit uncomfortable in front of the camera at first - most guys are.  We chatted it up about board games (a hobby of Kristen and Brad's), cupcakes (Kristen knows some cupcake bloggers from NY that Stef has met), and food in general (Kristen and Brad first heard of J. Pollack Photography through Jonathan's work in Sauce Magazine).  Brad soon relaxed and was able to be himself in front of the camera.

But, when Brad put on a suit, he was like a different person.  He somehow looked taller, more confident, and debonair.

Kirsten glowed in her dress as well, but then again, Kristen shone from the moment we met her - and wait until you see the wedding pictures.  She looked gorgeous!

Baby Ben

Watching a baby learn to crawl is an amazing thing.  We don't think about how hard it is to balance and what a miracle of coordination it takes to move forward until we see a little person trying to learn.  With these photos, Ben's parents will be able to remember this moment - the one just before Ben was able to run around the house and get into everything in sight.

At this age, Ben's world still revolves around Mommy and Daddy...

...and, of course, himself.

Ben's such a cutie!  We can't wait to watch him grow up, but not too fast.

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!