Kelly Chandler

It is always a huge honor to have someone who is typically behind the camera choose me to capture their day.   In this case it was not just one, but two people who are typically behind the camera.  Both bride and groom are photographers and have a real love for creative photography.  I was impressed by they way they let me run the show.  Only once did I get a comment by Jeremy about how he missed having his camera in his hand to capture the moments of this special day.  I assured him that Christiana and I had it covered.  He just needed to be the groom and enjoy his bride…clearly by the photo below….he was doing just that.

 

I was loving Melody’s beautiful red hair!  She normally wears it curly and yet today it was soft romantic waves that were pulled back into a simple jeweled clip.  Sexy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christina pulled the little kids in the wedding aside while I was working with the adult wedding party.  I’m not sure exactly what was happening here but I laughed so hard when I was editing photos and I came across this image.  She looks like she is having a blast and the boys look like they think she is crazy.  Notice the same gorgeous red hair on the flower girl.  I was shocked to hear that she isn’t related to the bride.  Simply a special friend’s daughter.

 

 

I loved the cake topper.  The bride has red hair and the groom black hair….a perfect match.

 

A special moment between dad and his daughter. 

A big thank you to Christiana Childers for rocking this wedding with me.  The two of us created so many fun photos that I struggled to edit them down to a reasonable amount of images.  Can’t wait to share the images with you Melody and Jeremy. 

I couldn’t be more excited to post this blog and announce the marriage of Chris & Erin Hoppe.  I met Erin 5 years ago when her son Jack was in the Kindergarten with my son.   Erin is one of those women who you meet and immediately know, she is the kind of person who makes a great friend.  She’s funny, full of life, laughs all the time and lets the little things in life roll off her back.  She seriously has the best attitude about whatever life brings her way. 

 In 2008, life brought Erin a wonderful man, Chris Hoppe.  Chris is a perfect fit for Erin.  Being one of Erin’s close friends, I held Chris to some pretty high standards…and he surpassed my expectations.  Most importantly, he adores Erin and her two children Maddy and Jack.  How cute is this shot as Chris helped Jack adjust his tux.

 

 

 

Maddy and Jack share their mom’s love of laughter.

 

Erin’s nieces were dressed alike in beautiful dresses.

 

The wedding was an intimate family only affair.  I felt so honored to be able to witness the event and capture their day.   

 

 

As Chris walked Erin down the aisle you can see their genuine love and excitement about getting married.

 

 

I love Chris’ expression here during the ceremony.  Notice Jack and how happy he looks to see his Mom and Chris getting married.

 

After the ceremony, Maddy was keeping an eye on Kate as she played near the water.

 

Jack and his new cousins were also found playing by the water fountain.  You can tell there is trouble on the way by the look in Jack’s eyes.

 

 

Jack was trying to catch some fish….all I could think was thank goodness my son isn’t here with Jack….or the two of them would be swimming in the fountain.  They seem to bring out the adventuresome side in each other.

 

 

Yum!

 

As I left for the evening, I loved seeing Erin and Chris surrounded by all their family in this beautiful setting.   I couldn’t be more excited for what the future brings for my dear friend and her family.

I love doing engagement sessions….it is like a warm up for the wedding day.  Brides and grooms get comfortable with how I work, they get to see how they photograph best, and they gain a deeper sense of trust in me.  They learn that if they just let their “camera shy” inhibitions go the photos will reflect that the day of their wedding.

Kelli and Sean brought along their “kids”, a.k.a. dogs, to add to the photos.  You know they say dogs look like their owners.  It cracked me up to see that these two dogs matched their Kelli & Sean to a tee.   Both dogs were owned prior to Kelli & Sean meeting.  

 

Just hoping a train wouldn’t come along the tracks while were were working in the area…..I told them, “I’ve got your back if you’ve got mine!”

 

Thankfully, we were off the tracks by the time the train came zipping by.

 

I love the expression on the dogs faces…..like….”common’ really, they are kissing again?!!”

 

Kelli & Sean, I can’t wait for your wedding next month.

 

  Christiana and I jumped in the photo-booth for some silly photos at the end of Lyndsey and Jason’s gorgeous wedding last weekend.   

Photos from their wedding will be posted in the near future.