Andrea & Sundance - Married!

Andrea and Sundance have been together since Nov 13 1998, so it would only make sense that they would get married on Nov 13 2011 on their 13th anniversary. Their wedding started at 1300 hours (1:00pm) and it couldn't have been a more beautiful day for it! Here in Kansas City it was in the 70s which made for perfect outdoor shots. They were married at the Sylvester Powell Jr Community center in Mission KS.

I have had the pleasure of photographing another wedding there in 2009 and as it turns out it was where my husband and I had our wedding reception in 2008! It was a small personal wedding with only about 10 people attending. Even though they have been together 13yrs you could still see the love for each other. It was very sweet.

Before the wedding started while waiting for the groom to arrive I took a few shots of just the bride Andrea. I think this was a first that the bride was ready before the groom!

 After the wedding we took some time to do some personal bridal shots of just the bride and groom. It was nice doing such a small wedding. It was a perfect way to get me back into the wedding mode after having the baby.

Both the bride and the groom were really great about doing whatever anyone asked. You could see the love for each other and their families. They also had a great sense of humor!

I couldn't have had more fun at a wedding and it was nice that it wasn't a full 8hr wedding for the first one back from having a baby.  We wish them all the best and happiness in their new life together!

Congratulations Andrea & Sundance!

Free Personalized Holiday cards offer!

Free Personalized Holiday Card Promo offer:

Book a Family session for only $125 and get a 25ct pack of personalized holiday cards free.
25ct pack of cards includes 1 design only.
All appointments must be booked by Nov 30, 2011
All card orders must be submitted no later than 5pm on Nov 30, 2011
All card orders will be placed on Dec 1, 2011
Any appointments booked after Nov 30, 2011 we cannot guarantee on time delivery for Christmas.
Any card orders not summited by 5pm Nov 30, 2011 will be subject to a $15 shipping fee on all orders under $50.
Shipping fee is waived if order over $50 is placed.
There is no guarantee on orders placed after the 5pm deadline on Nov 30, 2011.
Offer good for single family households only. Additional households may be included in the shoot for an additional charge of $50 per household.
Additional cards may be purchased for $50 per 25ct packs. (Contact us if needing to purchase multiple packs)


Photo sessions are available either in our small indoor studio (Limit 4 people), outdoors or in clients home (unlimited number people).

Offer ends Dec  15, 2011
There are limited slots available.
This offer is valid for a limited time only.
Highlights Studios reserves the right to cancel or make changes to offer without further notice.

Happy Anniversary Wendy & Aric!

Two years ago today I had the pleasure of being the photographer for Wendy and Aric. Right from our first consultation meeting I knew we were going to get along great. They were fun and it was almost like we became friends right then. I got a good sense of what type of photography they wanted and the wedding was a blast. At the time I was 4mo pregnant and that was going to be my last wedding before the baby came. Wendy and Aric kept making sure I wasn't over doing it and making sure I ate something so I wouldn't get sick. The wedding went smoothly and was so beautiful.

It was a beautiful fall day, they got married in an old barn that had been turned into a small event center. They had fall decorations. There was One tree left on the property that still had the bright red and orange leafs left as if waiting for their wedding. It provided a great back drop for bridal party poses.

One of the things I LOVED about this couple is they really wanted to get lots of great creative pictures with their bridal party. They allowed plenty of time BEFORE the wedding to do so. The guys were ready quick and we got to have fun doing poses. All the guys had ideas of poses they wanted to try, I love it when the clients suggest posses because it puts a bit of a personal spin on it. One of the things they really wanted was pictures with them wearing sun glasses. FUN!

Of course there were some nice formal shots in there too.

The girls were fun too! The two younger bridesmaids were the brides daughters. All the ladies were so pretty and we had fun working with them too. Although it was more conventional shots for these ladies.

Pictures of just the bride and groom were fun and sweet. The grounds at this location provided lots of natural back drops.

Then we got to combine the two wonderful groups and do some really nice fun group shots. Remember that tree I talked about earlier? Lots of fun!

After that it was time to head in for the ceremony. It was preformed by the brides sister who gave an AWESOME sermon about marriage.

Finally they were husband and wife! The reception was great as well! What a great couple!
Today is their 2nd anniversary!

Happy Anniversary Wendy and Aric! We wish you all the best in your life! Thank you for inviting us to be a part of your special day!

I've been taking a break

So it might not be as evident or maybe you figured it out based off my last post where it said I was pregnant but I haven't been doing anything really since that last wedding in March due to pregnancy. Now 32wks pregnant and having a 16mo old already at home has slowed me way down. I can't wait to get back into doing wedding photography though and hope to have a nice busy spring season at least. So while there aren't any new great pictures to post there will be soon I'm sure as I at least will take pictures of the newborn when she's here! Can't wait to get back into it! I know my camera is lonely without me! :)

Shawn'Ta and Edwin Married!

March 19, 2011 was cold and rainy, but that didn't dampen the spirits of my wonderful bride and groom. The day for the photographers however started out on a shaky note. Since we had booked the wedding only 2wks prior and I had gotten sick I had not been able to scout the location beforehand like I normally did. So when the directions I printed (I will refrain from saying from which site) were completely well not complete it caused a little stress on us as we were trying to find the wedding location. Finally we arrived at the church 20min later than scheduled. Thankfully the wedding was still an hour and a half away and I was able to catch up on my duties of photographing the bridal party getting ready for the big day.

The bride had the rings ready for photographing as I had asked ahead of time, she was so well prepared!
As we finished preparing for things the bride informs me that they are going to have some of the groomsmen and bridesmaids not coming down the isle as I thought would happen, instead they would be coming out from the sides. At that point I was ever so glad to have along this time my younger sister who is learning wedding photography and assisting me. This was her first wedding to help me on and wow did she do a good job! Between the 2 of us we pulled off a large wedding ceremony with some really pretty pictures.

This overhead shot was actually captured by my wonderful assistant! Didn't she do a great job? It looks amazing, since she's young and full of life and I'm well not and full of um baby (I'm pregnant) I thought it best to let her navigate the running to the back and up the stairs to take a couple quick shots before running back down... Trust me I've done that before and I was happy to let her be the runner!

After the ceremony we had to crank out the posed pictures as their time for using the church was quickly running out. We still got some amazing pictures and its all thanks to a wonderful bridal party that were quick to follow orders and didn't wander around when they were not in front of the camera... Every wedding photographer knows how restless bridal parties can be.

 And of course what wedding photography is complete without a few "Fun" photo's?

After the photo's it was off to the reception where things happened fast, I really liked how they did things. They kept me busy but didn't keep me around when I wasn't really needed. While it was a huge wedding for me it went so smoothly I hardly noticed I was there!

The first dance was nice and slow (for the most part), which was nice for taking some great pictures. Honestly I have so much fun doing weddings anyway but this one was just FUN. Some people you just click with really well and this was one of those couples.

They even played nice with the cake cutting. Although she did fake him out once,

And finally in the final pictures, I don't know her whole story but her father was unable to be at the wedding. After all the toasts were done they handed her a phone and told her that her dad was on the phone. I captured the emotional short conversation.