Heather & Rob’s Engagement

I know, I know – I’ve got to get better at updating this blog more often! A few weekends ago, I met Heather and Rob for an engagement session at the Inn at the Mill in Johnson. It’s a great place for portraits because it looks nice all year and has lots of good spots for portraits. I am friends with members of both their families (I found out at the shoot) so I will see several familiar faces at the wedding this fall!

This was a spot I had not tried before for portraits - up on the patio right outside James at the Mill.

Heather and Rob are a fun couple and there was lots of smirking and laughing during the shoot, so I had to get at least on picture of them cracking up!

Happy you = happy me!

Whew, I can’t believe how behind I have gotten on this blog – now I know why companies hire people to write their blogs for them.

You know, sometimes circumstances conspire against you during a portrait shoot, and the results end up good, but not great. That is what happened a while back at War Eagle: the sun came out with a vengeance, and the place was packed with people, which drastically narrowed our options for settings. We were constantly dodging cars, people, and fishing lines. After looking at the results, we decided a second shoot would be the best solution. After all, I don’t want a bride to be unhappy with her engagement portraits since (in my opinion) the whole point of that session is to put you at ease that you chose the right photographer for you wedding day. So we went back out to War Eagle on a beautiful evening, and the place was practically abandoned. Much better results! Now we are both happy with the results. Here are some of my favorites from the second shoot:

Evening light is great for portraits. I love that backlit effect you can get that time of day.

This gate may actually belong to the house right next to the War eagle property - hopefully the owners don't mind, we didn't see anyone to ask!

This shot was done with a zoom lens from the back of the mill. It's easy to do shots like this when you are the only people around, but would have been impossible our first trip out there.

Amanda and Paul’s Wedding

Last Saturday was yet another rainy-day wedding. With all these April Showers, we should get some really good May Flowers! Amanda and Paul were married at Battlefield Park in Prairie Grove despite the on-and-off showers that cleared just long enough for an outdoor ceremony. Decorations had to be kept to a minimum because it was literally raining 5 minutes before the ceremony, but Amanda would not let that dampen her spirits! The reception was held at the Clarion Hotel in Fayetteville. The kids in this wedding were so cute! Needless to say some of my favorite shots are of them:

I love this shot of Amanda watching the weather as she gets ready. This was one of the sunny moments that alternated with showers throughout the afternoon.

What a pretty flower girl. She was so happy to get all dressed up and participate in all the festivities.

What a mom! While the bridal party prepared, the mother of the bride tried her best to prepare the ceremony site in the rain. Ed snapped this image on her way to get changed for the ceremony.

The rain stopped just in time for the processional. I really like this shot of the kids waiting for their turn. Behind them, you can see Amanda holing her train off the wet grass till the last minute.

A beautiful ceremony after all! I had brought some towels in case we needed them for doing portraits, and we ended up using them to dry off the guest chairs. But it all worked out for a memorable day 🙂