Baby Gabe!

This summer I shot my friend Kendra’s maternity portraits and yesterday I got to photograph her baby boy. You may remember I photographed Kendra on my new (at the time) orange bench (which I so proudly have to say I got for just $2!) so of course we put Gabe on the bench too. Gabe slept through about 98 % of the session. But I could tell just by the way he breathes – he’s a sweetie. Thanks for your time Kendra, I know it’s precious these days. 

Best, ie

And remember Kendra on the bench…

Kendra said she wasn’t camera ready, but I beg to differ.

I can’t help it, I love baby feet.

And one last shot – completely knocked out.

Dana & Jack – Married part 2!

Ok, I’m back with more from the Old Cathedral. Starting off with a few shots of Dana – absolutely stunning. I think these are favorites…

I think the Obama traffic made the carriage ride a little hard to enjoy. 

But once we got to the church, we were golden.

Of course I never miss a chance to get the Arch in a shot – LOVE it!

Just in case you’re not sure what KIND of silence is appropriate…

The priest, Fr. Denis, is a friend of Jack’s, they were in the seminary together… until Jack met Dana.

The Old Cathedral really is lovely.

The singer is a friend of Dana’s. She was wonderful. If I had audio I would share… really, she’s good. I meant to get her name & info but we both got busy. If someone reading this knows her name please leave it as a comment, otherwise I’ll follow up in a later post, promise. She was really good.

Announcing Mr. & Mrs.!

And out the door they went. I think this is a favorite too.

Great flowers, I love fall bouquets.

Jack’s friends (and his family) are all in Grand Rapids, MI so I made sure to get some shots of the guys just hanging out. They’re all so close, it’s evident how much they genuinely like each other. They’re a fun crowd.

And now for a game I like to call “Who does this person look like?” I know, the title needs help…

Ok, here we have Dana with her new nieces, Emma on the left and Annie on the right. Who does Annie look like? Yep, Dakota Fanning.

Next we have Jack’s mom. Who does she look like? Yep, Joan Cusack. 

I hope I’m able to look like this at my boy’s wedding. Mom just looks so happy and content… like she’s really soaking up her time with Jack during the mother / son dance. I’ll be such a mess when Griffin gets married. I know I have many years to wait….

And finally… This is Tony, the best man… he’s been married for 3 weeks. Who does he look like? Yep, a guy named Steve who I use to work with at a newspaper in Illinois. Hey, I didn’t say they were all going to be famous.

Dana & Jack, I hope you’re having a great honeymoon. Travel safe and I’ll see you when you return. Can’t wait to go through proofs!! Best, ie

Dana & Jack – Married!!

What a crazy day!! Dana and Jack got married at the Old Cathedral in downtown STL today. The day was fabulous in every way once we got past the craziness that the Obama rally brought to the area. Truthfully, Dana & Jack handled the stress very well. I’ve just got a few photos now, I’ll post more tomorrow or Monday. Dana & Jack – thank you so much for sharing your day with me, it was beautiful and super fun! 

The Old Cathedral really is beautiful. And I like that it’s a cathedral but still intimate. 

All Catholic churches have a crucifix but most are 3-D, this one is 2-D and I LOVE it.

Seriously, could Jack be any happier?

Two days before the wedding, the Obama rally was announced and Dana was really concerned that we wouldn’t be able to get any photos under the Arch. Luckily it’s big and we found our angle. Yay us!

Nice moment. 

I haven’t looked at everything so I’m not sure if this is my *favorite* but I really like this setting. Jack & Dana met at SLU. Sorry to be so brief but I need to hit the sheets! Can’t wait to share more with you! Best – ie

Paul and Maui’s Wedding

Beckie usually writes all of the posts to The ie Blog, but I am going to contribute as a guest writer today. On October 4th I traveled to Norman, Oklahoma for my cousin’s wedding and took a few pictures while there. It was really great to see everyone and to be at Paul and Maui’s wedding. Here are some pics…..

The ceremony was held at a friends property in Norman….40 acres…..it is the same place that Paul and Maui met…….it was awesome. They had a stage setup, shade structure, 2 food tents, beer tent and this is the tent where ceremony took place.

Final touch…..Great job Aunt Karen

Maui’s son Gabe walked her down the aisle and led her crew to the ceremony. Quite a sight and very cool. This pic doe snot quite show how many people there where.

I don’t think that I have ever been to a wedding where so many people where crying…..all happy tears of course. The vows they wrote were so incredibly heartfelt and the intimacy of the ceremony was just amazing….there wasn’t a dry eye.

The married couple…..Congrats to both of you!!!

The Family.

Congrats again……Thanks for letting me be a part of your day……Denny

Rachel & Michael

This session has been a long time coming. Rachel & Michael’s mom (Mary) first called me this past spring. I’m told the kids haven’t been photographed in many, many years. But you’d never know, look how comfortable they are! 

Michael looks like his dad who looks like HIS mom… so basically, Michael looks like his grandma. What a cute grandma he has!  

And Rachel looks like her mother, beautiful. I think this is one of my favorites.

I was nearly mauled by a squirrel while shooting these photos. And apparently the idea of a photographer being mauled by a squirrel is funny…..

Or maybe they were laughing at me because I measure distance in butt cheeks. I never realized that was unusual… seriously, if someone asks you to scoot over one butt cheek, you know exactly how far you need to move, right? See, totally logical.

Mary – thank you so much for letting me photograph Rachel & Michael! I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I did making them! Best – ie

Krissy & Joe – part 2

I still can’t believe Joe doesn’t like to have his photo taken, look at him – he’s so cute! 

This wedding had many, many children. I stopped counting when the number exceeded my number of nieces / nephews (15). Krissy & Joe made sure each child had a role in the wedding. But when they had down-time, the kids hit the games.

The youngest kids (under 2) arrived via wagon – SO cute! Others were on foot as traditional flower girls and ring bearers, but these two draw the lucky straws (my opinion) — they were bell ringers. They came down the aisle ringing bells (duh) saying “Here comes the bride.” over and over… out of sync of course. The guests loved it!

A candy bar with take-home containers – what more could you want?

Krissy & Joe – Married!!

What a fabulous evening I have had! Krissy & Joe had their wedding & reception at Moulin tonight and let me tell you, it was beautiful! I’ll admit I’m a little biased since Krissy & I have similar taste… but really, all the details came together. So let’s get on to photos!

I don’t know if these lanterns were hung for their event or if they’re always up, but I really like them, and they fit Krissy’s decor.

The flowers were done by Lisa Gallagher at Belli Fiori on the Hill, I wish I had these for my wedding! Red calla lillies and fun ribbon – beautiful.

Love her shoes. Her girls wore black dresses & red shoes.

And here’s the lovely couple. Krissy is a cross between Christina Applegate & Marilyn Monroe. And Joe… well, he’s a Yankee fan and he doesn’t like to have his photo taken – need I say more? Great smile though… and really great eyes.

I love this moment.

More Marilyn than Christina.

Not only did they have a candy bar but they also had a major cupcake spread (4 different flavors!). For the traditional cake cutting they had this cool cake. FYI – I had a pumpkin cupcake, it was beyond fabulous.

I’m ending on a nice moment from the ceremony. I’ll post more over the weekend. Krissy & Joe – thank you so much for sharing your day with me! Have a fabulous honeymoon! Best – ie

Side note – I shoot a photo of myself with all of my bridal clients at the end of the night. It’s always hand-held by me (or Denny when he shoots with me) and we usually look pretty bad (end of the night, what do you expect?) but they’re always full of happiness so I love doing them. I don’t usually post them but I’m doing so tonight because it kind of turned into a series. So first, here is Joe, Krissy and myself just before I left.

Next we have Krissy’s mom (Linda) with my mom (squished in the middle) and myself. Linda & my mom work together and that’s how Krissy found me. So thanks mom for always carrying my card and memorizing my web address! We do a lot of hand-held group shots within my family so my mom’s been through this. She use to complain about everyone having to squeeze together, but she’s gotten over that. Tonight she actually suggested this photo! She’s come a long way!

Finally, as I was walking out of the building, I walked past a woman I really thought I recognized. Now, I had run into two other people I knew during the course of this wedding so I kind of thought I was just being crazy. Then I noticed another woman — it was Erin, a bride from 06 and the first woman was one of her bride’s maids! They were meeting a friend for drinks at Vin De Set. Small world! That’s Erin on the left, her friends Jerrica and Ellen then me. That’s all for tonight!

And here we are with Erin & Nick two years ago. Wow, I can’t believe it’s been two years. Erin, it was so great to see you! Hugs to your family! Now I’m really done! Good night all!