AUTHENTICITY OVER EVERYTHING
We live in a world where it’s far too easy to make fake look great. It’s why every single photo on this website and especially the stories below are filled with nothing but real photos of real clients. No styled shoots, no gimiicks, no pinterest page inspired work - just the most recent, most raw, and most real moments happening in my life and the lives of our clients lately.
STL WEDDING STORY Melissa + Sam
“Fortune and love favor the brave.” — Ovid // There's just something about a military wedding, in a gorgeous cathedral, with a sweet couple, and a whole crew full of crazy friends... I think you'll agree.
BRIDAL.Emily Ayers
THE BEAUTY OF A WOMAN MUST BE SEEN FROM IN HER EYES, BECAUSE THAT IS THE DOORWAY TO HER HEART, THE PLACE WHERE LOVE RESIDES. - AUDRY HEPBURN
CONNECTION. Emily+Daniel
LOVE IS OF ALL PASSIONS THE STRONGEST, FOR IT ATTACKS SIMULTANEOUSLY THE HEAD, THE HEART, AND THE SENSES. - LAO TZU
CONNECTION Kyra + Ryan
PERFECT light. PERFECT couple. PERFECT afternoon. Kyra + Ryan are a dream and I can't wait for the world to see this session.
ULTIMATE WEDDING $5000 TOWARDS YOUR BIG DAY
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW about this years most EXCLUSIVE wedding event along with our very favorite bridal photos from 2015! Over $5000 in free give wedding day give aways!
RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR
Our top ten goals for 2016!
BEST OF THE BEST 2015
70+ WEDDINGS // 20+ STATES // 4 PHOTOGRAPHERS // 1 VIDEOGRAPHER. THIS HAS BEEN AN AMAZING YEAR FULL OF ADVENTURES AND MOMENTS WITH SOME OF THE MOST AMAZING COUPLES WE'VE BEEN BLESSED TO SHOOT. THIS IS IT! OUR FAVORITE WEDDING DAY IMAGES OF THE YEAR!
WEDDING STORY. Meredith + Vinson
"For her I changed pebbles into diamonds, shoes into mirrors, I changed glass into water, I gave her wings and pulled birds from her ears and in her pockets she found feathers, I asked a pear to become a pineapple, a pineapple to become a lightbulb, a lightbulb to become the moon, and the moon to become a coin I flipped for her love." -Nicole Krauss // COMPLETELY REFRESHING. This wedding was a little different from the norm for me, but it took seconds for me to completely swoon over Vinson + Meredith's love. Every element was gorgeous and these two together are magic.
WEDDING STORY Monica + Jonathan
You are the finest, loveliest, tenderest, and most beautiful person I have ever known and even that is an understatement. F. Scott Fitzgerald // Yet another Bates-Reed wedding pulled off impeccably. What made this wedding unique though wasn't the decor but the amazing girl in the white dress. So proud to call Monica a friend and to finally share this wedding.
CONNECTION Emily + Andrew
The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well. — Ralph Waldo Emerson // These two are a perfect example of love - for each other, the people around them, and Christ. I walked away from this session so happy just to have spent a few hours watching them together. Go see why.
BRIDAL BEAUTIFUL. Monica
“To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage.” -Lao Tsu, Chinese philosopher
WEDDING STORY. Katherine + Bryan
"TRUE LOVE NEEDS NO LANGUAGE; IT OVERWHELMS BOTH THE LOVERS. A TRUE EXPERIENCE OF BEAUTY LEAVES YOU IN SUCH AWE THAT YOU CANNOT SAY A SINGLE WORD."
BRIDAL BEAUTIFUL Clair
"Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute." Albert Einstein // One of the most stunning brides I've ever shot. Clair is every bit as funny as she is beautiful
WEDDING VIDEO GUEST BLOG
"In the present there is perfection and joy. This moment here with you is the present. This moment is pure love." - The Bride (Heather) // Guest blogging an incredible wedding video today from Dave, our team videographer and mastermind of Dave and a Camera
CONNECTION. Katherine + Blake
“She wasn’t doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together.” —J. D. Salinger, “A Girl I Knew” // These two mean a lot to me. Of course ut helps that they're beautiful together.
FAMILY MATTERS. Williams
“Family is not an important thing, it’s everything.” – Michael J. Fox // The right kind of family. The perfect family session.
CONNECTION Melissa + Sam
“Love must be as much a light, as it is a flame.” – Henry David Thoreau // Before we took off to STL to spend an incredible weekend watching these two get married we had a last minute chance to get them in front of the camera for a perfectly laid back fall engagement session.
WEDDING STORY Delyn + Megan
"I cried the day I realized I was in love with him. We hadn’t been together that long, but I was sure of it. It was vulnerable, slightly terrifying and completely exhilarating all at the same time." - Megan Stirewalt // THIS WASN'T JUST THE MOST IMPORTANT WEDDING I'VE SHOT SO FAR. IT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITES AS WELL. CHRIST CENTERED, EXCITING, BEAUTIFUL.
BIRTHDAY. Harper
"YOUTH IS HAPPY BECAUSE IT HAS THE CAPACITY TO SEE BEAUTY. ANYONE WHO KEEPS THE ABILITY TO SEE BEAUTY NEVER GROWS OLD" - FRANZ KAFKA
WEDDING STORY. Tracy + Chris
“There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.”
-Nietzsche // BIG. BOLD. LOUD. This wedding was stunning from start to finish and couldn't have been more packed full of detail.