One of the best parts about being a wedding photographer is that I get to stay in touch with my couples afterward.  As they start growing their families, I’m often a part of documenting those sweet early years.  It’s a very cool thing.

Cristy and Don were married in May of 2008.  Their duo act is now a trio.  Judging by permanent smiles they had on their faces while watching Sidney during the shoot, I’m pretty sure they are loving this new arrangement.  Isn’t Sidney a sweetie?

This session wasn’t just about Sidney, though.  She brought along her four cousins.

Will and Claire are siblings.  When they’re not pushing each other, they look like this:

Siblings Liam and Jameson.  Looks like a fashion ad.  Work it, you two!

This session was originally planned to be a surprise for the kids’ grandparents, but someone let the secret out.  Guess who came along?  Lorraine—you’re one lucky lady!  You have some really awesome kids and grandkids.

Oh. Em. Gee.

Clearly, we keep everything very serious during these types of sessions.

Looooove this shot.

To Cristy & Don, Heather & Kyle and Tim & Kim—-Thank you for trusting me with such important photographs.  I’ll look forward to staying in touch with you all through the years.

To everyone else that dropped by to look at this post—-Thanks for stopping by.  I hope that seeing these images will encourage you to a)spend some time with your own sweet families and b)have some really good photographs taken soon.  Even if it’s not by me—seriously.  These years fly by, you know?

Bye, y’all!  Hook up with me on Facebook and Twitter!

Grace is an artist.  A very talented one.  Her reception centerpieces?  She made them.  Her bouquet?  Yep.  She did that, too.  I wish you all could see the questionnaire she filled out when we were putting together her wedding photography arrangements.  When asked about the colors in her wedding, she answered “all the colors.”  Awesome, right?

We started off the day with hair and makeup in one of the suites at Castle Post.  This was my first time inside the castle that sits off Versailles Road.  Pretty dang cool to finally be in there after being curious about it for so many years.  From there, we left for Keeneland where the rest of the day would be spent.  Grace and Jonathan did a First Look down at the paddock, then we went back up to Keene Barn for the ceremony and reception.  It was hot as blazes outside, but I’ll take heat over rain anyday, right?

To Grace and Jonathan—Thank you for being so laid back and awesome.  It’s obvious that you’re well-loved by your friends and family.  That says alot.

And a shout-out to the vendors that make the day great…

Eric Henninger – videographer

Soul Explosion – live band

Elaine Cook – harpist

Dr. Dwight Moody – minister

Resa Browning – wedding planner

Trudy Thornton – flowers

Here are some of my favorite images from the day:

Best belt buckle ever.

Grace’s 68 Chevy is named Bob.  Love this shot?  HERE is some footage of how we did it.

And the slideshow….

Do me a favor?  Don’t let our time together end here.  Stay in touch!  All y’all!  You can connect with me through Facebook and Twitter.  Feel free to leave a comment below, too, if you feel so inspired. Oh, and please click HERE to see all of the images from this wedding.

Final thanks to Betsy Whiteman and Magnus Lindqvist for shooting with me.  Great images!  I’m very proud to shoot with you.

I tend to have really laid back clients, but Cynthia and Ryan take laid back to a whole new level.  I love them for that.  Breaking from convention, they chose Old San Juan, Puerto Rico as their wedding venue.  We all stayed at the El San Juan Hotel and Casino (gorgeous, btw), and the ceremony was at the iconic Fort San Cristobal.  Incredible.

Here are some of my faves:

Their First Look moment.  We did most of the family shots before the wedding.

Love these expressions.

Can’t wait to print this huge.

I love this shot of us in downtown Old San Juan, but c’mon….could I BE any more sweaty?  Yikes!  LOL

Here’s the slideshow!  After you check it out, please leave me some comment love and then connect with me through Facebook and Twitter.  Cool?  Oh, and you can preregister HERE to see all of the images once they’re ready.  Thanks for stopping by!   -shaun