I love this shot, showing her beautiful ring!

How cute and loving is this photo of them snuggling up in the cold?

Jenn and Justin, thanks for making the drive to Archbold for your session!  We hope you’ll find these portraits and memories worth your drive!  We can’t wait to make the trip to Fremont and photograph your wedding! 

After going to the salon, the ladies decided to go catch a bite to eat.  Brian and I went straight to the church, where all of the bride’s special items were waiting.  I was so happy to have to time shoot all of the little details.  I love details!  Several of these held special sentimental value, which really gives me goosebumps when I get the privilege to shoot them.    If you couldn’t tell how much I admire these, just check out our new website… the images are all over it!  Anyway, I’d like to share them with you, along with an image of the happy newlyweds!  Congrats to the both of you!  We wish you the best of luck!

We started the shoot at their home, which I don’t typically do, but I’m glad we did.  The home was beautiful, and we got a bunch of adorable images.  Here are a few at their home:

Once we got rolling, we hopped into the car and went to shoot at a park in Adrian.  There were a few bridges, a creek, and a lot of really large trees!  This park is known for it’s paved trails, but they sure don’t plow the snow from them!  We all walked (or tried to walk!) through the deep snow to get to all the good spots.  It was so funny watching Kina and Matt play in the snow.  They were such good sports!

Little did we know that we’d need to be good sports, too…. Shortly after this photo, Brian was trying to get a “fun” angle and fell right through the thin layer of ice on the creek.  I couldn’t see him, but here’s the couple, getting a kick out of Brian’s misfortune! 

Once we got over the initial shock of Brian getting wet, we were able to capture this shot, which represents the couple’s theme- double two’s.

Here are a few more from around the park.  I love the photo of Kina and Matt going for a K-I-S-S under the tree!

I’ll close this entry with another of my favorites.   This was taken somewhere around the downtown area, against this crazy wall that I spotted from blocks away!  I love the color combos and the brightness of it all.  Somehow the cheeriness made it seem not quite so cold!  Kina and Matt, we had such a great time getting to know you better!  We can’t wait to photograph your wedding on August 22nd!

If you remember, this was the couple that we drove down to OSU to shoot engagement portraits for.    We had so much fun getting to know them that day, so the wedding day was that much more special to us, simply because we had a chance to know them a little bit better.

We started out the day photographing Linda and the girls getting ready and hanging out at her mom’s house near Kenton.  It was a very relaxed setting, and it set the tone for a laid back and fun day.  After the girls finished getting pampered, we all moved on to the church, where they were to do final prep before portraits.   We had plenty of time to photograph a lot of fun details, especially the flowers and rings.

The flowers were sooo pretty, and Linda’s bouquet could be my favorite of the whole season.  However, it wasn’t just the blooms that made this bouquet so special, it was what she had intwined with it…. a locket containing photographs of her father and grandfather, both of which had gone to home to be with God.   This tiny little thought, this little piece of jewelry…. can you believe something so small can take up so much space in your heart?  That it can make a such a big difference?  This locket allowed Linda’s father to walk down the aisle with her on her wedding day.  Now that is a special bouquet.

You know, it’s times like that when we realize exactly how important photography is.    Linda and Derek were also blessed to have their wedding in such an amazing church, St. Johns Church of Christ, in Kenton.  It has been added on to, but the sanctuary is mostly original.  I loved seeing the old parts of the building that actually had writting on them in German!  The pastor was so kind, too!  I’ve never seen someone so accomadating to a bride.  He even took the time during the rehearsal to determine the best placing for everyone in the wedding party, so that it would actually look nice, not just a bunch of people standing there.

The reception was held at the Hardin County Armory, and it was so unique.  The outside looked like a castle and the inside had two levels, so I was able to take some fun images of the party happening below.

I’ll leave you with one last image, a detail shot of the bridesmaids’ flowers, with the cake behind it.  The cake was done by my favorite “cake lady,” Cynthia, from Cynthia’s Cake World.

Brian and I finally moved from the tiny town of “Stryker” to a town that’s a just a bit bigger, Archbold.  They’re only about 10 minutes away from each other in Northwest Ohio, but moving that 10 minutes made all the difference.  (Yes, we finally have a town with fast food!  And a grocery store!!  Woo-hoo!)  Our new home is in the historic downtown area, and believe it or not,  this big house is 109 years old!!  It’s a lot of fun to enjoy a lot of the original things in the home, such as the beautiful woodwork.   I especially love the old antique doorknobs through most of the inside of the house.  You just don’t see art in the little everyday things like this anymore, you know?

However, moving into an old house has it’s pros and it’s cons!   The photo above is of the doorknob to the upstairs of the house, where all the bedrooms are.  However, keeping in mind that the house was built in 1900, our queen-size mattress didn’t fit through the staircase!  No problem, though!  Stan and Sue (Brian’s aunt and uncle that we rent from) have done this enough times that they happily helped us on moving day.  (Along with both Brian’s family and my family- thank you all!)  If you’ve never seen a mattress going through a second story window, it is actually quite entertaining.

If you’re wondering, yes, they did have to take out the entire window!  Crazy, huh?   Anyway, the house has been a pleasure, but I believe one of the best things about moving was that we were finally able to have a family pet!  Since it was quite cold outside, I knew I wouldn’t want to potty-train a puppy, so when my grandma called me about this poor little stray kitten, we knew it was meant to be!  Poor Brian never knew he’d love a pet so much, but he does!  (yeah, I think he’ll admit it!)    He even got to name her a Spanish name, Nena, which means “baby girl” or “little girl.”  Yes… spoiled.    Here she is a few weeks after we brought her to our (and her) new home:

All in all, we’re very happy with the changes that have taken place this winter.  The house provides plenty of fantastic space to live and work.  (With room to spare!)  We’re excited to see what kinds of changes will be taking place within the next several months!

Anyway, all of the blogs below (listed under February) are the entries being brought over from our old blog.  We have plenty more good stuff (lots of images!!) to come, but we’re also super-busy, so I’ll do my best keeping up!

By the way, if you’ve been around before, you may have noticed a few changes on our website, as well as our overall company look.  Let us know what you think!  We aim to please. 

~Ashley

P.S.  Sorry this entry is photo-less.    I promise it’s not going to be a habit.

was absolutely an amazing fit. I just couldn’t believe how beautiful it was… but not in an old, paintings everywhere sort of way. It was bright and airy and open and the lighting was sooo amazing! Ok, so it wasn’t completely perfect… it was really hot in there. But, I’d love the chance to shoot there again, anytime! Oh, and the windows with the huge window seals and Annie’s summery potted flowers (which also adorned the hall) were just the right touch. And, as if I hadn’t been lucky enough, Annie and Josh were nice enough to walk across a field by the hall to get some gorgeous relaxed/romantic portraits. Annie must have been having fun (and probably felt the beauty radiating off of her), because she actually asked me to keep shooting her portrait. Well… I won’t turn that down…ever! What a joy and a privilege it was to capture this amazing day.

Annie and Josh, thank you so much for welcoming in Brian and I, showing us a good time, and letting us capture those memories. We wish you the best of luck in the future and we can’t wait to do those maternity portraits we talked about!

Before we got started with the girls’ formals, there was a fire truck and Life Flight in the church’s parking lot. We aren’t sure what happened, but were told everything was ok. Ironically, the bride’s dad happened to be a firefighter, so it worked out perfectly that the truck was there… just in time for portraits! So, something potentially scary ended up being quite a blessing, as we got some truly unique images of Mandy and her dad, as well as with the girls. I’m not really sure… but.. if I had to guess, I’d say that opportunity won’t come around at too many weddings!!

After the ceremony, I followed them to the local bar, where they got down and dirty and the party got started! We also got to stop off at a park by the river, for a fun chance to take some fun photographs. It was kind of funny, though, because a lot of storms had just gone through, so trees were down everywhere! Oh, and while I was following their party bus to the park, I got mooned by a bunch of groomsmen!! Good thing I couldn’t see through their windows, huh? (Joke’s on you, boys!)

Mandy and Trevor, you guys are such a fun couple! I hope all goes well with your move to Las Vegas! Here are some images to help you imagine their day: