I *love* photographing people from the South. Mainly, because half-way through getting ready photos I start talking with a drawl and no one calls me out. Secondly, they truly are the sweetest. :-)

Lucas + Lindsey’s two french bulldogs couldn’t be a part of the wedding day, so Lindsey had two blue frenchies added to her manicure that day. :-)

Lindsey’s mother putting Lindsey’s veil on. *love it!!*

Over to Ruby’s Garden for their first look!! Pure perfection. :-)

I love that Lindsey couldn’t stop swishing her dress. :-)

GORGEOUS flowers by Bent Willow Designs in Spearfish!!

Favorite image of the day, right here!! Lindsey, you are truly stunning and you made a beautiful bride!

Instead of a unity candle or unity sand, or any other ‘unity trend,’ Lucas + Lindsey made the ceremony a bit more personal by tying a knot. You see, Lucas likes to rock-climb and so they tied two pieces of hiking cord (presented by each of their mothers) together with a common hiking knot. Hooray for personal/meaningful twists on traditions!! :-)

I always love seeing the excitement as the newly pronounced Mr. & Mrs. exit the ceremony!

Stunning setup by Table 4 Decor, cake by Piece of Cake, and dance by JD Productions – it was a beautiful evening!

I think Lucas was glad Lindsey was using her tennis shoes for the ‘shoe game’ instead of her wedding heels. ;-)

Dancing with her father. :-)

I am not one bit sorry I took Lucas + Lindsey from their reception to capture this sunset image for them. :-)

Lucas + Lindsey – Thank you so much for having me photograph your wedding! It was such a treat getting to know you this summer and I hope you have a fabulous time being married! :-)

Brad + Jordin are those kinds of people that make me feel cooler just by being around them. I mean really, how many people do you know get engaged at a concert? I love the fact that whenever they hear a song by The Lumineers, they will always be reminded of the night Brad proposed.

I was so thrilled that they came all the way from Sioux Falls to the Black Hills to have me take their engagement photos!! Okay, so they came for other reasons (p.s. happy belated birthday, Jordin’s mom!!), but this sure was a nice bonus, don’t you think? :-) Enjoy a few of my favorites!

Let me just take a moment to nerd out. This next photo happened as we were walking back to our cars – you know, one of my ‘oh wait, just one more’ shots. Because, you see, had we been walking along this path a month ago, the sun would have been too far north to shine through these trees. I may complain that the sun is setting *so* much earlier these days, but I really need to appreciate all the new places I can photograph in the fall!! :-)

Aww, forest snuggles!

Jordin, you have the most beautiful brown eyes. And enviably voluminous hair. ;-)

Brad + Jordin – I had a wonderful evening spending time with you both and I am SO looking forward to photographing your wedding this spring!!

When Lexie first contacted me to photograph her wedding, I knew it would be a ‘purple ribbon day.’ You see, Lexie and I were in 4-H together and so we know the importance of paying attention to details. I couldn’t wait to see how she pulled together her ultimate 4-H project – the Kris + Lexie wedding. :-)

All three flower girls were on the lookout for Kris, to make sure he didn’t peek in the window before the first look. :-)

Right after Kris + Lexie’s first look, Kris’s two daughters came out for a first look – I couldn’t tell who was most excited!!

I had this as a sneak peek on Instagram – it’s my favorite from the day. :-)

Or maybe this one is my favorite. Or maybe it’s a tie. :-)

So… ring bearer #2 was not in the least bit interested to be a part of photos. :-)

Married!!! It rained all morning, let up just in time for us to take photos outside, and then the clouds parted and the sun shone through just after the ceremony!! Hallelujah!! :-)

The details were *so* perfectly Kris + Lexie!! Kris runs a construction business and loves to rebuild old cars. Lexie grew up in an old country home, going to auctions with her dad. Their decorations were a perfect mix of car parts and antique finds.

That teacup + saucer above? I’m surprised it didn’t *accidentally* end up in my gear bag at the end of the night. :-)

Can you believe I didn’t get a photo with Kris + Lexie?! I am so bummed. so here’s an text-version selfie…

:-D :-D :-D

Kris + Lexie – Thank you SO SO much for having me photograph your wedding! It was such an honor for me to capture your purple ribbon day. :-)

What a wonderful time of year! Time spent with my nephews and celebrating our first wedding anniversary makes for a memorable month. :-)

1. Isaac is three! He loves Thomas the Train, and his big brother loves helping blow out birthday candles. :-)

2. Jonas is in Kindergarten!! I’m sure his little brother misses playing with him all day long.

3. Our first anniversary! Thanks to all that sent warm wishes. We were staying with my parents for the weekend (I had a wedding on Saturday, and I can not WAIT to show you the images!!) so we celebrated by having lunch at Johnny Carino’s in Fargo.

4. Lindt Coffee Blast – I spotted this on an end cap in Target a couple weeks ago, and when I went back to get another last week, they were clearancing out! So naturally, I felt the need to buy as many bars as I could without looking like a hoarder. :-)

I had such a great time getting to know Pete + Angi the other weekend! They are so much fun to be around, easy to talk to, and as you can see – super easy to photograph!! I am SO excited for their wedding next month!

I love this next one because it looks like Angi just hopped out of Pete’s pocket! :-)

When we met for the session, we were on the edge of a severe thunderstorm warning. I was so worried we were going to get rained out, but the threatening weather stayed away from us, and ended up giving us some awesome clouds for silhouettes!! :-)