My husband generally has everything he really wants…doesn’t need a new bottle of cologne or a new shirt or a power tool or anything normal for that matter. Other than some items that I am certainly not in a financial position to purchase for him (like a Maserati – and nor will I ever be unless we win the lottery) I have no idea what to buy the man! And it was his birthday. So I thought, how about a new and random experience instead? We headed down to the riverfront and hopped in a helicopter! It took us on a ride over the botanical gardens and our house, and of course, the riverfront. I know I’m not the first and nor will I be the last to take this photo, but I’m pretty sure I will personally never get to view it from this angle again. Enjoy!

St. Louis Children’s Photography.

I haven’t seen this little guy since he was 3 weeks old … and man, he grew up to be a cutie! I don’t think I’ve had a 1 y.o. smile this much during a session before : ) This was tough to narrow down for your sneak peek, but here you go…

Love this one with Mom looking on…

Charlie wins my “best reaction to bubbles” award! I have a good 50 shots of him just laughing at bubbles! He was so amazed. I loved it.

Jennifer booked her wedding with me so long ago that I had almost forgotten what she looked like…and how beautiful she was! I swear that in the portrait of her below I did NOTHING to brighten her eyes. No digital magic. They really are that blue. And they matched the blue wedding theme perfectly!

They were married at City Hall which is just an absolute St. Louis architectural gem. Jennifer and her father came down the impressive split staircase rather than the aisle. Following the ceremony we played around in the new City Garden and ran around down to a metro station for some urban shots. And then off to Windows on Washington for a magical evening of heatfelt toasts, dinner and dancing. Congrats you two!

St. Louis Senior Portraits.

I’m on a blog roll this afternoon… Here is my sneak peek for Liz. She did an amazing job modeling for her Senior Portraits! We hung around the Loop (probably my favorite place to shoot) and then hit Forest Park right next door. Liz is totally into fashion, and it shows. She had a lot of great looks and kept accidentally matching the next “background scene” we approached. It was pretty funny – and that was her luck, not mine ; )

Hope you enjoy your preview shots Liz! …

St. Louis Children’s Photography.

Spent a morning around Kirkwood with this cute family. We started at Kirkwood park for an attempt at more traditional family shots (which I did get a few Emily, they’ll be in your full gallery!).

Then hit the train station for this little guy, as trains are his favorite!

And over to Kirkwood Market for tractors and pumpkins. My favorite part.

This little cutie looked so adorable sitting in pumpkins, but she wanted nothing to do with it.

But when Mom grabbed her, all was right with the world again.

A quick squeeze from big brother and we call it a day…

I say the “next” Amy & Brad not because they are lesser in any way, but because a couple of weddings ago was an Amy & Brad as well! Try that for confusing. And both of the Amy’s have last names that start with R. So I tried to hold down the blogging fort while Kristie was on vacation and when she came back I let out a big sigh of relief and let it all go to hell. I sent Amy an email the other day to tell her the photos were ready before I even got around to the blog. To be fair, it didn’t seem nice to hold the photos hostage while I tried to get a blog together. So Amy – I hope you’re enjoying them! However, Amy informed me that Brad is out of town for about 5 days (she wasn’t about to wait for him to get back…actually I think she made it here in record time), so Brad, this is for you!

It really was a perfect day for a ceremony at the Botanical Gardens. The kind of day you would wake up, stretch, yawn, pour a cup of coffee, step outside and think that it’s a perfect day to wonder around MoBot. The ceremony was later in the day so the lighting was beautiful. The reception had neat little relaxed touches like iron lanterns on the tables, a photo guestbook, and each table was named after a St. Louis landmark like the Soulard Market. Aisan lanters adorned the dance floor with some tree branches lining the corners. Oh and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the coolest cake ever. Each person not only got a slice of cake, but also a chocolate covered strawberry on each plate! All in all a beautiful day from beginning to end – enjoy!

One last little note – I have a new fun action plan! I think I’m going to try to figure out a new random place to photograph shoes everytime I go out. This time…butcher block in the kitchen. Amy saw me wondering around and asked “Did you just put my shoes in the microwave?” And I answered “Um, yes, but the lighting wasn’t what I was hoping for. Plus I’m too short.” Classic.

St. Louis Wedding Photography.

Usually it is not me posting wedding blogs… but somehow my friend Aleah convinced me to shoot her special day, as Liz was already booked. And I was honored to. It is hard to find a bride more beautiful than Aleah, as you’ll see here! I am so happy for you two & hope you enjoy your preview of the day… Congratulations!

Sit back and grab a drink… this is a long one…

“Channeling” Liz here to make sure I get the shoes…

Mom helping with the gown…

Absolutely breathtaking!

Off to Forest Park for some pre-ceremony photos. The rain stopped just in time for portraits before the ceremony. So glad!

A few shots at the ceremony site before anyone else is around…

I think this is my favorite…

Then over to the Loop for some more variety and to get a little edgy…

And fun dancing in the streets…

The wedding party…

Love the puddle kiss…

Happy parents of the bride…

Ceremony time at the beautiful Grand Basin…

Clouds, please stay over there for just a little bit longer!

Now I won’t say Aleah cried a lot during the ceremony (but she did). It was awfully sweet. This moment made me cry too, and I just remember thinking… I sure hope these shots are in focus, because I can’t see a thing! So I’m glad I got lucky here ; )

And the happy couple!

Right after the ceremony, and I mean RIGHT after, it started to rain again. We had to move the family photos to the reception site – but look at this gorgeous rainbow they got on their wedding day! I think they were quite the lucky couple with the rain that day.

Then off to Mandarin Lounge for some celebration!

Congratulations Aleah & Aaron!
I wish you a life full of happiness : )

St. Louis Children’s Photography.

Meet my beautiful niece Lindsey. This post is long overdue… as you can see she’s wearing shorts and looks warm ; )
(Man, it got cold today! I want summer back. Don’t tell Liz I said that)

Lindsey and I got to hang out for an afternoon in New Town St. Charles. We wanted to do a shoot “all about her” to capture these fun tween years … and because she might be moving back to Kansas soon (tear). I think a lot of parents forget to capture these fun tween years (in-between the toddler photographs and high school senior portraits) and it is such an important age to capture and remember. I must add… I did not look nearly this cool when I was this age! Lindsey, you did such a great job modeling for me and you are absolutely beautiful! Love you girl.

Hope you like your little preview…

these gloves are mine… they look much cooler on her!

one of my very favorites…

I love her freckles…

this location stop was Lindsey’s idea… good one!

another favorite! you look super cute in hats Lindsey!

St. Louis Children’s Photography.

side note:
In an effort to actually survive this month… I’ve got to get quicker on my blog sneak peeks. Which means, they’re going to have to be shorter. But no fear, that just means I’m trying to get your full galleries to you quicker as well!

So… for the McCulloch family. Here is your little peek. The last shot is one of my new favorites!

(by kristie) St. Louis Children’s Photographer.

I’ll make the typing quick as there are plenty of photos to share… Congrats you two and can’t wait to meet your little boy once he gets here!

(this t-shirt cracks me up)

(soon-to-be watch dogs over the little guy)

(he started kicking right as we got into position… might have actually been doing back flips, not just kicking, as Jamie’s stomach was shifting like crazy)

I had the busiest August I’ve had in a quite a few years! Natalie and Brice are adorable together. Wait until you see the smile on Brice – when he really gets it going I swear it takes up about 3/4 of his face! This is proof that you don’t have to spend a million bucks to have a beautiful wedding. And that you don’t have to go to beautiful locations to take great photos. We got a little creative and took some pretty fab shots in a few minutes. Check it out!

Someone told me that these little battery powered lanterns were from a dollar store and I think they are awesome.  I’ve added finding these to my latest “to do” list.

This is my favorite part of these photos…we didn’t have time to go anywhere, but I really wanted to get some outdoor shots.  So we got a little creative with the spot.  All of the outdoor shots are taken in the back of a NAPA Auto Parts Store just across from the church.  But you would NEVER know!

And actually, the blue NAPA garage door made a pretty cool backdrop.

Anf the NAPA blue staircase was perfect for a few shots.  I actualy love this locale!  Lots of fun options around 1 retail building.

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen anyone REALLY do the cake thing right.

Congrats guys!

BETH LANDERS! Congratulations!

Beth has an upcoming maternity and newborn session, so I know she’ll be able to use that $50 wisely : )

Thanks to all of you for leaving comments, words of encouragement, and well, just letting us know that you’re out there looking at this blog and it’s not just Liz and I showing each other photos. Ha.

And just to throw a photo in here… this is the vase that was filling with your comments over the last month. I just stuck my hand in and pulled out our lucky winner! (I also just noticed there is still some sand on this vase from my wedding in Destin, FL … over 4 years ago. wow)