the blog
Blake and Gina tied the knot at The Bottle House on a gorgeous fall day surrounded by their loved ones! The Bottle house offered great spaces for the wedding party to relax, get ready, and take pictures before the wedding. The ceremony and reception space was very warm and welcoming with a ceiling lined with beautiful bulb lights.
Gina’s dress was stunning and complimented her bridesmaid’s and flower girl’s dresses perfectly. Blake is a firefighter and the couple included special sentiments to his profession throughout the day. From her garter to their cake topper and all the tiny details in between, it really specialized their big day. One of my favorite moments of the day was Gina and Blake’s first look with Gina’s daughter – it was so incredibly sweet!
The couple shared handwritten vows and then hit the town with their wedding party in a limo to start celebrating. This group was so much fun! When we got back to The Bottle House, the real party began with speeches and dinner and ended on the dance floor! Things really got crazy when the glow stick came out. This group danced the night away! I had so much fun capturing these memories – thank you Blake and Gina!
Wedding Day Details
Paper Goods | Shutterfly
Florist | Turner Flowers
Caterer | Hog Wild Pitt BBQ
Cake Decorator/Baker | Irina’s Gourmet Bakery
DJ/Band | Jason Spencer’s
Hair Stylist | Lisa Balmer
Make-Up Artist | Blush and Mane KC
Bride’s Dress Designer/Store | Bridal Extraordinaire
Bride’s Veil | Bridal Extraordinaire
Rings | Jared’s
Bridesmaid Dress Designer/Store | Azazie
Allison and Todd had an intimate courthouse wedding with their closest friends and family. They had their wedding day at Johnson County Courthouse before celebrating later that night. They also had their beautiful daughter with them to celebrate, which was so sweet!! She was wearing a little white dress to match her Mama 🙂
Allison’s bridal party wore blush pink dresses and held small bouquets! Todd’s men wore darker suits than his light gray, which made for such a cool contrast look! We grabbed family photos right outside the Johnson County Courthouse before heading to Lake Olathe for some portraits of the two of them.
I loved this day and the intimacy of it! Courthouse wedding days should never go over looked because of how special and intimate they are. Thank you Allison & Todd for having me along on this amazing day! You are surrounded by some of the best family & friends and I felt lucky to be apart of it all!
Justin reached out to me to set up the most gorgeous Bellafete Proposal in downtown Kansas City! He wanted the afternoon with Andi to be perfect! Bellafete is a luxury event planning service, and they did an INCREDIBLE job bringing Justin’s vision to life! Once you see the photos below you’ll understand what I mean by ‘gorgeous!’
Bellafete also put together a luxury picnic to help surprise Andi! This included champagne and a light snack for the two of them to share. They also had a frosted glass sign set up at the scene that read “will you marry me?”!
If you’re wondering if the bride-to-be was surprised, the answer is YES. Andi thought they were meeting up with Justin’s coworkers for a company picnic at the memorial – she was completely surprised and overjoyed when he asked her to marry him. We headed to a spot with the most perfect skyline to add some variety to their session after she said yes. And then we came back to the park to pop the bottle of champagne!
I loved everything about this Bellafete proposal and working with their company was such a pleasure!
Jamaica and Aidan booked a session with me during my Spring minis! I hosted the sessions at Shawnee Mission Park! This afternoon was gorgeous, it felt like the sun was somehow extra glow during golden hour. And we couldn’t get enough!
Aidan and Jamaica fit together like puzzle pieces. In the short session I had with them, their love was obvious for one another. You wouldn’t question anything spending 10 minutes with them! This made it so easy to let their love do the work! I gave them fun prompts so they were always moving around and being playful! I love the images we captured!
I found out a month after these Spring minis, Aidan proposed to Jamaica in Amsterdam! She obviously said yes and now they are busy doing all the fun wedding planning! Congrats to you both! This afternoon was a blast and I feel so lucky to have met you both!
Alexandra and Lauren had never had photos professionally taken of the two of them before reaching out to me! I love helping new clients realize that having photos taken is way easier than it looks, and doable for everyone! These two were a little nervous but warmed up so quickly & we had the best session at Loose Park Rose Garden!
Loose Park Rose Garden is one of my favorite locations in Kansas City- the park is big and has a variety of different locations; the rose garden, the pond, wide open field, and super tall trees. 10/10 recommend. Loose Park does require a $30 photo permit pass to shoot there, but it’s worth the trip & time you spend!
On this beautiful spring day, the red bud tree was our favorite spot! The color really complimented Lauren and Alex’s outfits! This was the perfect time of year for a session here due to the flowers being in bloom! Literally stunning!
Thank you Lauren & Alex for the best night at the park! So happy I was able to do this session for you 🙂
Grace and Abby drove from St. Louis for their engagement session with me!! We started at the Nelson Atkins museum, followed by Casual Animal Brewery! We ended the session on a rooftop with a great view of downtown Kansas City! This session was so organic and true to the two of them. Having a beer downtown with good company and great conversation was the vibe was knew we wanted for them!
I met Grace through my sorority at Missouri State, and knowing they trusted me enough to shoot their engagement session after having to drive 4 hours felt like such an honor!
As I said above, we were able to use the Nelson Atkins museum as a great starting point for us! We utilized the steps and the giant Pilars right out front! There’s always great light bouncing off the building later in the day too so we took advantage of that!
Then, at Casual Animal Brewery, we grabbed a beer and made it more as if they were on a date! Truthfully, I’d love all my sessions with my couples to feel like you’re on a date! I want them to be that relaxed! We were able to get that done for Grace and Abby after a quick outfit change and their fav beers.
We ended this great night on a rooftop over looking the cities skyline! I feel like the rooftops in the city always go overlooked so I’m glad we had great weather and were able to take advantage of this space! Thanks Grace and Abby for making the trip! I loved spending this evening with you!
Daniella and Jack had the best Westbottoms Summer engagement session last year in Kansas City! The Westbottoms use to be a place for manufactured warehouses and is now all historic buildings! They have antique stores, lofts, studio spaces and even a few haunted houses in the fall!
As you can see it also makes a great space for an engagement shoot!
Daniella and Jack brought two outfits for the shoot that we picked out to compliment the spaces we were shooting at! The first spot was a huge underpass that even had string lights underneath! The whole space was both modern and industrial.
We then went to a brown stone building with a giant blue garage door! I love finding hidden gems in the most unexpected places!! And then we ended the shoot with some greenery! It was so fun just walking around and chatting with the two of them as we went from spot to spot! The Westbottoms Summer engagement sessions are one of my new favorites!
Thanks Daniella and Jack for hanging with me that evening!
I had the best summer couples session with Madison & Jake last year! I’ve said this before, but I think parking garages are one of the most underrated session locations out there! Especially living in a big city!
You’re used to everything all shoved together and buildings being so close and tons and tons of people. Which don’t get me wrong can also be the best sessions! But if you need a bit of space…the top floor of a parking garage can usually give you that!
If you don’t have access to a park or are looking for city vibes with some space, let’s head to the closest garage and create some magic!
I had the sweetest afternoon with Madison and Jake! They are such good company to have and we laughed so much throughout this summer couples session! Madison wore a cute long sleeve flowy top with some blue jeans and a pair of nude heels! Jake also wore a pair of dark jeans with a short sleeve stripped shirt and some nike high tops!
Even with a small space to work with we were able to get a variety of shot for the two of them! This evening was so fun and it was a privilege shooting this session for Madison and Jake! Wish you two nothing but the best!
I met with Madisen and Jordan for a Shawnee Mission Park engagement session and a beautiful warm day! We were able to move around multiple locations and ended the shoot with a champagne bottle pop!
Oh did I mention the wild flower field!?!? Take a look for yourself – it’s GORGEOUS!
The wild flowers at Shawnee Mission Park make for such a fun photo spot, they love to bloom in late May and early June but they don’t last long!
Madisen wore a white mini dress and Jordan wore a white button up long sleeve with blue jeans. It was the perfect dressy-mixed-with-casual attire for them to be comfortable but still dress up for this fun shoot!
Engagement shoots where we get to adventure around so many different backdrops are so much fun!! During this shoot we had everything from covered locations to full sunset locations to a nice blue hour. And If you guys have read some of my recent blogs you’ll know I love Shawnee Mission Park engagement sessions!
Thank you Madisen and Jordan for spending the evening with me! You guys are a joy to be around and are so kind and thoughtful! I can’t wait for your amazing wedding day Spring 2022 we will definitely have a blast.
I met with Ariel for a Fall Senior Session at Shawnee Mission Park right outside of Kansas City! We were able to sneak in four outfits for this session! I honestly love when my seniors want to incorporate their own style in a variety of ways during the time we spend together shooting!
At Shawnee Mission Park we started underneath the trees where the perfect amount of leaves had fallen and given Ariel the best area to work in! Her first outfit was dressy but comfortable! I love that it found that perfect sweet spot between trendy and timeless. That white and denim combo is a fav.
But we couldn’t leave this Fall Senior session without adding in a bit of spice to her outfits! Check out that INSANE red dress she brought!! She brought the fire to add the perfect amount of flare to this session! I love all my seniors that come to me for their sessions! It’s such an exciting time in their lives, and it’s fun to document that. We laugh, joke around and just have the best time! It makes me so grateful to be a Kansas Senior Photographer!!
Thank you Ariel for the best evening!!
