“laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live”
If those who laugh together – stay together, these two will definitely live happily ever after. Meet Kate & Kyle. From the first email we received from the pair, Heather and I knew we were in for a side splitting time. Kyle has a endearing sense of humor perfectly paired with Kate’s infectious laugh. They met when Kyle spilled a beer on Kate. (They actually sweetly argue as to who really spilled the beer… my money is on Kyle) H & I thought a pub would make a perfect setting for their shoot. Although they call Arkansas home, they are forging a new life together in the big city of St. Louis which inspired the metropolitan scene. As fate would have it, this parking deck served as Kate’s bicycle path as a child. She would ride from the top of the deck to the bottom floor, put the bike on the elevator and start again at the top. How cool is that?! Thank you Kate and Kyle for making it such an amazingly fun afternoon! 
my fave of the day
While I was capturing these fun times, Heather was working her magic. See her gorgeous images from this session
www.heatherowensphotography.com/blog
www.bellevieartistry.com
A few weeks ago, I posted my fave from Matt & Danielle’s engagement session. I lied.
THIS is my favorite shot from that day.
It’s completely out of focus. It is not rocking a sun flare. But something about this image – with the colors meshing together, the softness, the tender emotion…it. just. works. When Heather and I were going through the RAW images, we both gave this one a major sigh. Then I tucked it back in the “do not blog” folder.
I’m so busy trying to get the rules of photography down. I’m wanting to be “perfect”. (ugh – there’s that word again!) I want to be Jose Villa a mere 8 months after taking my first pic (ever) with a DSLR. I wouldn’t want the world to see this. It was a mistake . Then again, I do want you to see this. It’s beautiful. It’s a beautiful mistake.
Isn’t that life? We try so hard to play by the rules. We set our focus. We check every box. We execute with precision. Then - it doesn’t turn out like we expected. We think we failed. We tuck it away from the world’s eyes. What would happen if we chose to embrace our “mistakes” and show them off?
The infamous musician John Mayer said,
“In life, people trip. Most people fall. Some people turn that trip into a beautiful, beautiful dance.”
According to “the rules”, this is not a perfect picture. And my life is not picture perfect. I’m not on the path I had strategically planned for myself. Very few of us are. Life throws some curves. I’m choosing to be thankful for the “mistakes”, because they are exactly what is turning this life into a beautiful beautiful dance.
Redheads have a reputation of having a fiery personality. If by fiery, you mean full of energy, ideas, and spunk – then Chrissy should be their ultimate spokesperson. Chrissy and I met when she came to work with me at a local non profit. I was amazed by her zeal for life which she freely shares with her work, her friends, and her family. Now that we no longer work together, I miss getting my daily dose of that! In October, she had a destination wedding to St. Thomas where she married one of my dearest friend’s brother in laws. (What a small world!)
Recently Chrissy and I had the opportunity to team up on another project. I was enrolled in the talented Marta Locklear‘s workshop. I called Chrissy and asked if she’d be my model — which resulted in a fun day of bridals. You’ve just got to love a friend who will grab her gorgeous wedding dress on a moment’s notice and strike a pose. Thanks Chrissy for being such a beautiful bride and friend. And a special thanks to Marta for sharing her knowledge and encouragement …and for nudging me to get these up on the blog 
Crush: 1) an intense infatuation 2) a hug or forcibly strong embrace 3) the object of desire. All three define the affections between Matt & Danielle. He chased her for months. She blew him off. Then she missed him. It was love.
Heather and I had a blast hanging out with them. They are so funny and full of life and willing to do whatever we said. We made them kiss- A LOT. (I don’t think they minded) H and I look forward to telling more of their story.
For now enjoy this sneak peek of the e-session
Through my lens…
My fave of the day:
And while I was shooting this, Heather was rockin the Nikon. Look through her lens here: www.heatherowensphotography.com/blog
