"Cheese! Mama (t)amera."

That's what my little guy says when it's time for me to work.  "Cheese! Mama (t)amera." Sounds like camera, but with a slight little t sound at the beginning.  It's mostly adorable, though, honestly, I want to know who taught a photographer's kid to say cheese... Really? :)

Anyhow, we might be making progress in that area, and as I was getting ready for a wedding rehearsal this past weekend, Eli asked to have a photo shoot.  No cheese faces.  Just sweet faces.

He cracked me up as he posed himself. Mostly. I did help a little bit.

Nostalgic Perfection: Emilie & Ethan

Emilie & Ethan scooped up my heart and tossed it back in time.  Sweet nostalgia for a time in which I never lived filled me and my creative spirit this week.  Such darling love, surreal simplicity, and vibrant dancing are marks of this unique couple, and so many parts of them remind me of Brian and I as we were dating (only they are a lot cooler).

As I got to know Emilie & Ethan, I was reminded of this photograph that I have loved my whole life. These are my grandparents.  This picture was taken, I would guess, in the 1940s and became the inspiration for this photo session. (Another small quirky side note is that Emilie & Ethan have rollerblading as a key element in their personal love story and my grandparents were competitive roller skating dancers.)

Emilie & Ethan are both so expressive and have a natural knack for being photographed, so as they made my job easy, they also made it so hard to choose what to share.  I was tempted to just post their entire gallery and say take a peek.

Emilie noticed the shadow that the eyelet lace on her dress made, so we used it, and I just love the delicateness of this image.

 

 

 And then we headed from our little rural scene into the "big city" for some jazzy shots to reflect their love of swing dancing.  Brian and I used to swing dance a lot, too, (and need to break some out again), so it was so fun to take photos of them dancing all over near Jazz at the Bistro in Grand Center.

 

 

And I just can't get enough of this one. Naturals. Seriously. They could get paid for this.

Summer Family Portraits

Did you know that Purple Lemon Photography offers gift certificates?

This summer family portrait sessions came from a gift certificate.  What a great way to bless grandparents! I love this picture with all the grand kids together with Grandma and Grandpa.

A little showcase of the kids:

 it's been a while since I used this style- and I brought it out for this little cutie.

Baby Shower

This past weekend, a friend and I threw an ice cream social baby shower.  I think it looked great. Here are a few photos so someone I know (my mom) can see.

Matt & Colleen Chose A Great Day to Get Married

As you may have seen on recent posts, or perhaps you just know, I really, really love my birthday.  Colleen and Matt got married on my birthday.  July 9th, 2011. What a great day.  I have to say I felt pretty loved- the bridal party must have had a little bridal birdie tell them it was my birthday, because they all told me, "Happy Birthday!" all day long.   Thanks!

Anyway, enough about me.  It was their wedding day!  Here are a handful of photos to highlight their day.

 Casey assisted on this one.  Love this ring shot she got! The greens and wood really fit the outdoorsy-feel of Colleen & Matt.

 I love this sweet picture of the parents coming back down the aisle!

 Casey captured this romantic moment. Isn't this sweet?

I am just loving this light fixture that is in the lobby at the Ameristar hotel as a backdrop.  We stopped there for some photos to get out of the heat and that lobby has so many cool lights and textures.

 As always the toasts were full of laughter and expression, and I usually like to pull a few out to share from the best man or maid of honor.  But this time I went with Colleen's dad.  His face was so full of affection and pride for his daughter. I just loved it!

 This wedding had a lot of special dances and events that I'd never seen before - like this one- called Chivalry, I think.  The kids all hit pots and pans and collected change from the bride and groom.  It is always neat to see traditions that each family has.

 Flash mob!!

Congratulations to Matt & Colleen!