Bailey and Tanner Engagements

I don't remember the last time I worked with such a happy, playful, beautiful couple.  They say (whoever "they" is) that smiles are contagious.  I wholeheartedly agree - authentic smiles are contagious.  :)  How could you not smile looking at these two?

 

We started at Vivian Park up Provo Canyon, then worked our way past Sundance and through the Alpine Loop.  One of my all-time favorite places during the fall season.   If you have the chance, the Alpine Loop is even better by motorcycle!

To cheese or not to cheese?  I spent many years of my life trying to be sophisticated, mature, and avoiding cheesy at all costs.  But the older I get, the more I smile when people embrace the cheesy, sappy, silly, playful, ridiculous part of life and relationships.  It's fun.  So, with that in mind, we had to throw the leaves in the air.

 

That's all, folks!

Click here to see more of Bailey and Tanner's engagements

Spring Engagements - Maria and Todd

As a photographer, I have a rule about wedding days - I am not allowed to go to sleep until every photo from the day is imported and organized on my computer.  So, here I am at 4:30 am with a smile on my face, importing 150 GB of photos from an amazing wedding day!  Maria and Todd were married today in Wanship, a beautiful little hidden community tucked away in the canyon just past Park City.  I was in heaven.  A wedding day with an incredibly picturesque landscape, filled with Swedish food, dancing around the maypole, and drinking song!   So many photos, I'm excited to go through them!

For now, here's a few highlights from Maria & Todd's engagements this spring.  These two were so sweet, I love how Maria never stops smiling!

 

We did the photos up Provo canyon, in the Alpine loop - Sundance, Aspen Grove, Timpanogos Trailhead, and wherever we could find to stop on the side of the road!

 

Congratulations to Maria & Todd!

Summer love with Heidi & Steve

This post embodies a lot of what I love about summer.  Bright colors, bare feet, lots of sunshine, watermelon and mountain streams.... this engagement session had it all!  Heidi and Steve were just great, and brought tons of super fun colors in their wardrobe.

We shot up past Sundance near the start of the Alpine Loop, and these were actually taken mid-day. Up the canyon it is often best to start earlier because you can get these wonderful backlit trees and leaves... they are gorgeous!

  

  

  

The Perfect Touch of Winter

It looks like Xinling and Daniel's photos are going to be making an earlier appearance than I anticipated!  I loved these photos so much, I put in a late night to get them done so that I could share them with y'all.  Even though we shot these photos just recently, we happened to pick a day and location that was covered with the absolute perfect amount of snow.  We spent 90% of the shoot just above Sundance in Provo Canyon, and it was breathtaking.  It wasn't bitterly cold (given that it was the end of April), it was lightly snowing (just enough to give those awesome specks and add a romantic "je ne sais quoi"), and there was the perfect little layer of snow everywhere.  

As Xinling and Daniel were actually married in December, the winter setting was just right.

I love this next photo.  Love love love.  It captures the feeling of the day to a T.  Not a worry about the cold, no concerns about the possibility of getting the dress a little dirty- just plenty of love and excitement for photos to show it off.  There's nothing I love more than a sincere laugh.  To me, that is the face of beauty.

Look how gorgeous she is.  Daniel is a lucky man!

When we headed down the canyon to finish the shoot we found out that it had warmed up a bit and suddenly everything looked like Spring again!  I promised a look at Xinling's traditional chinese wedding dress, and here it is...  The red and gold was amazing- super brilliant colors.

Take a look at all of Xinling and Daniel's formals here.

The McCulloch Family

Georgette and Gordon

Gordon is a huge golf buff, and so Georgette was able to convince him to go with these period golfing clothes for one of their engagement outfits.  I thought they were spot on!

I loved seeing their inner child come out as they played with the leaves... :D

Kelsey's Bridals

Well, Kelsey and Alec got married this last weekend and everyone was able to see how beautiful she looked in her dress. Thus, I am now able to put up the post showing her bridal shoot. It was a lot of fun, one of the sessions up above Sundance while the Fall colors were still in abundance, and we were joined by Kelsey's entourage- all 4 of her roommates. :)
Kelsey is an amazing singer, and is a member of an all-girl musical group at BYU, so we managed to get a couple of pictures of her singing in her dress. She and her group ended up performing at the reception out in California. I'll definitely be adding a post after I get the photos from the wedding day processed.







To see more of this bridal shoot, click here.

Liz's Maternity Shoot

We got Liz's maternity shoot done up above Sundance right before all the really vivid Fall colors in Utah apparently decided to disappear. She brought her son Hunter along, and he was wonderful with helping out Mom by holding different changes of clothing. We managed to get some nice "almost-a-big-brother" pictures with Hunter as well.
I was especially exited to hear that Liz found me through Google just by searching "Utah Maternity Photography". My husband Thomas has been diligently making improvements to my website and my blog trying to make it more search engine friendly, and so it's great to see that it seems to be working. Plus, it's always wonderful when new clients contact me out of the blue and say "I found your work and I love it!"
I love how Liz's photos turned out, even though it makes me slightly sick that someone can be so close to giving birth and still look as incredibly thin and fit as she does. I mean, there's a baby in there!!! :)








To see the rest of Liz's photos click here.

Kelsey and Alec's Engagements

Kelsey and Alec's engagement shoot was the final one in a whirlwind schedule of 4 different fall color shoots in 24 hours. We stopped for a moment at Bridal Veil Falls, and then immediately headed back up to Sundance Stables to get some beautiful autumn-colored backgrounds.
I love Fall! Even though this was the fourth time driving up the canyon that day I kept squealing as Thomas and I drove up the road and I saw all the different colors and shades in the trees. As a photographer I am completely addicted to colors, and the more vivid and varied the better. So while this is definitely my favorite time of year, there's always a slight undercurrent of panic as I try to get in as many photos as possible before they are all gone. It is definitely unfair that Fall in Utah is so short compared to other places in the country!

Kelsey and Alec were wonderful models, and had lots of fun playing among the trees and ferns as we took their pictures. We hadn't met each other until we all showed up at Bridal Veil, but as soon as we began shooting everybody relaxed and we immediately began joking around and laughing as we went along. I love when a photography shoot just flows and it doesn't feel forced or even feel like work. It's just me playing with my friends and doing what I love to do best!
Kelsey and Alec are going to be married in November in Redlands California, so I'll get to escape the cold for Thanksgiving and travel on down there to shoot. I love traveling!








Be sure and keep a lookout for Kelsey's bridals in the next couple weeks! In the meantime, check out more of this shoot here.