| Alyssa + Corey | Engaged! |

I’m so excited to show off Alyssa and Corey’s engagement session today! This week’s blog post is a bit late due to us taking a little family vacation time for the fourth but it’s worth the wait because these two are just adorable and so sweet. I was lucky enough to meet Alyssa a year or so ago and was thrilled when she called me to tell me she was engaged and to setup a time to bring Corey by to chat about having me as a part of her wedding day.

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Choosing a wedding photographer can be overwhelming (just like choosing every other piece of your wedding day!) because it’s such a big event and your photographer is not only there with you all day (like right there, so you better like them) but they are also creating the images you have left from the day once everything else is over. So though Alyssa had worked with me before I encouraged her to explore the others she’d heard about too just to make sure I was the perfect fit for their day and we were both SO excited when she came up to my booth at the Decatur Bridal Expo to tell me to pull out the contract they were ready! Of course, I’m thrilled to be a part of their day and honored that, after doing some looking, they chose me and SJP. Now it’s game-on to make their wedding day and images as perfect as possible.

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I was really excited when she told me they wanted to personalize their engagement session a bit by bringing along Corey’s stunning el camino and to add a little of their personality with a campfire feel (and luckily our fire pit fit in my car!).

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Be sure to stay tuned for a look at their big day this fall. <3

| Jamie + Mike Engagement & Family Portraits | Decatur, IL |

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OMG you guys! I cannot tell you how much I’ve been chomping at the bit to show off this snowy session. I’m honored to be photographing Jamie & Mike’s wedding day this year and this gal wanted a snowy engagement session SO BAD and we were almost certain it just wasn’t going to happen for us. After some disappointing snow flurries early in the season which amounted to little more than a dusting that was melting by the time either of us was on the phone to begin planning logistics we both resigned ourselves to hope for a late season snow but things were looking pretty bleak (ie sunny and WARM). I knew how much Jamie really wanted a snow session so I had even started calling around to my photography friends in other northern cities to call me if any snow hit their area and we’d just make a road trip…. it wasn’t looking promising.

But then….. this lovely and random one-day blizzard arrived in true mid-western style! And it was just what we needed! The stars really aligned for this with both Jamie and Mike off work that day already and the opening in my schedule falling right after school these two were able to pick up their little guy and make it over to the park in the midst of a gorgeous snowfall! After that perfect session we’re all so happy we hadn’t jumped the gun and tried to make a session work with a tiny bit of snow because our patience was rewarded with this BLIZZARD!

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And from a kid’s point of view how cool is it you get to PLAY IN THE SNOW for your portrait session?!?!

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I’m so excited these guys have opted to share their wedding day with me and have me be a part of creating their family legacy and even more thrilled we were able to create exactly what Jamie envisioned for their engagement/family session. We have ONE opening left for a 2017 wedding and are currently booking 2018 (only 8 openings left) so don’t hesitate to call to schedule a time when we can chat about creating your portrait vision. And be sure to pop over to Jamie & Mike’s facebook album to give them some love.

| Macy + Tyler | Decatur IL Engagement Portraits |

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I’m thrilled to show off Macy and Tyler to you today! With our recent warm up in temperatures I am itching for some greenery like this soon. I had a blast photographing these two on a beautiful morning out at Allerton Park. Since they’ll be getting married in downtown Decatur and we know we’ll have a lot of urban scenery on the wedding day we decided to get some variety and get out into the greenery of Allerton for their engagement session (plus, added bonus was we worked in a bit of brick/stone textures with the mansion area too!).

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These two are so sweet together and their session was super relaxed and fun but I just LOVE how they both rock that model face (see below). Smiles, cuddles and giggles are fun but whew they are owning that serious face.

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When Macy pulled out their second outfit for the session I knew immediately I wanted to get them in the greenhouse where the bright white and windows always give a subtle blue hue which was perfect with Tyler’s polo. Plus the ivy around the greenhouse was perfect that day!

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Don’t forget to head over to their Facebook Album to give them some love with your likes/comments and stay tuned this July to see their wedding images!!!

| Jill + Danny | Southside Country Club Wedding | Decatur IL |

When I saw Ann (Jill’s mom) walking up to me at last year’s Bridal Show I was so excited!! I learned she was there with Jill to plan her wedding and was thrilled when they decided to have me be a part of another of their family weddings (I photographed Jill’s sister, Maggi’s wedding not long after moving to the Decatur area and went on to photograph the Stewart family growth until they relocated to Arkansas).

Even better, once we got into planning I came to find out that Jill’s step mom was my Mary Kay director, MaryAnn! It’s hard to believe we’ve already been in this area for 6 years but having repeat clients and ‘small world’ moments like this make me so happy we are really becoming a part of this community and I love it!

It was great to get to know Jill and her now husband, Danny and see many familiar faces on their wedding day. They planed a GORGEOUS sunset wedding at Southside Country Club.

Check out both their engagement and wedding album pages below!

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