First Christmas as a Family of Three!

With half of the Defy team moving north, I’ve been so grateful to spend as much time with them as possible lately, especially since their little one arrived. When he was just a few weeks old we took some family photos to use for their Christmas card when we took his newborn portraits. They are such a beautiful family and I know that only good awaits them in their future.

family of 3

 

mother and son

 

father and son

 

family of three

 

rings on toes

 

mother and son

 

daddy's hand

Jellybean

For this Thanksgiving, Defy is especially grateful for a little Jellybean. One of our photographers recently had her first baby. This little guy has brought so much joy to so many people and it’s time to share him with you!

Sweet baby Liam is on his way right now to visit all of his family in Colorado for the Thanksgiving holiday. We know they are beside themselves waiting to see his precious face.

Here’s the brand new family of three!

family of three

 

Jellybean the day he was born.

first day

 

Here he is at one week old.

oooh mom kiss one week

 

We met up a few weeks later for another shoot.

babe in basketrattleyawnmohawk

Cedars Camps – best place ever!

Hail to Cedars, symbol of life! There is a fantastic camp in the middle of the Ozarks in Missouri called Cedars Camps. This camp has a special place in my heart because it’s where my husband and I met! His parents met there as well. So for our anniversary this year we went back to the place where it all began. There have been a lot of changes through the years, but it’s still a beautiful place. I hope these photos can share just a glimpse of the beauty that is Cedars.

berries black eyed susan brake dandelion frog Galatia orange paddle wagon yellow blooms zip line

 

Defy owner upgrades to new title – Mommy!

We got these pictures done just in time! At 39 weeks our mommy-to-be walked around the apartment complex and we found some fun spots for some great pictures. We were able to include some props like adorable baby shoes, an adorable dragon, and a personalized “Jellybean” onesie. The dad was able to break away from work for a few minutes to join us for some pictures. He is quite the character! This little one is going to have some fun parents.

couple embracing baby bump

admiring her baby bump

 

baby bump with shoes heart on belly

shoes couple with dragon couple with dragon jellybean

mom has baby dad has no money dad had baby bump too

 

mom to be in swimming pool

Sweet One and Sweet Music

We love babies! Maybe more so now because one of the owners of Defy is about to be a mommy… In any case, we jumped at the opportunity to photograph this sweet one in St. Louis. She was such a sweetheart and did a great job during our shoot. My favorite part was when she got fussy, her loving parents sang a hymn to help calm her down. It made for a sweet photo op. Congratulations to these new parents on their bundle of joy!

baby sleeping

 

baby feet and monogram

 

baby yawning

 

baby winking

 

hymn sing from parents

 

baby with kisses from parents

 

baby with rings on toes

 

baby on saddle

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wonderful memories of one year gone by!

While one of our owners celebrates her fifth wedding anniversary the other celebrates her first anniversary! A year ago we all gathered in Connecticut to celebrate love and laughter! With the wonderful support of one photographer to another, we had great fun dancing, singing, and cake smashing. What a wonderful wedding! Here’s to many more years of love for the newly weds!

ceremony prayerring in flowersflower girl runningfirst dance to a capellafun with the cakegroom with all the boyslaughing togetherphotographer with brideputting on the veilsinging during ceremonywedding party on staircase

What a Way to End the Year!

We had the opportunity to photograph a wedding at the end of the year for one of our friends from church. We always see it as an honor when a friend wants us to be a part of their special day. It was a small ceremony where the attendants were the bride’s sister, and the groom’s sons. The love we witnessed that day was evident everywhere we looked. At least we live here in the south so when we went outside to take pictures, it wasn’t too cold. The bride even had a lovely fur shawl to keep her warm.

cherie

dress and shoes

bride before ceremony

 

kiss on hand before ceremony

 

rings in the Bible

 

with this ring

 

my love

kiss in bamboo

Last Minute Bliss

When one of our photographers got married last year, we were asked if we had time to shoot another wedding in the area two days before. So it was a huge week of weddings. Not only did we find out about this wedding last minute, the bride and groom put the whole thing together in a month! When the bride is from another country, and the visa gets accepted, you only have a short amount of time to pull everything together. So even though the bride had only one person come from China, the entire night was full of love and fun.  The bride even changed into a traditional Chinese dress for the reception. And I have to admit, in all the weddings I’ve attended and photographed, this was the first one where I started tearing up during the speeches.

helping get ready

ceremony smiles

dress and flowers

bride and groom

dad and daughters

kiss on the golf course

It’s Time to Show Our Gratitude – it’s Memorial Day!

It’s Memorial Day! To many Americans this means an extra long weekend full of bar-b-que, friends and fun. Most of us neglect the real reason for this holiday – remembering and honoring those who have served our country. So to do our part to honor our veterans, and those currently serving, here is a collection of pictures from the past with a patriotic flair. We always love photographing weddings and portraits, but we also enjoy finding the beauty in the every day. The last photo in this post is actually a black and white photo we’ve colorized ourselves. We’re excited to debut this new technique we’ve learned on such a special weekend.

A big thank you to all those serving and God Bless America!

 

 

flag

air force guard

flag quote

in honor

jumping from plane

flags in park

wall of stars

monument and flag

Small Local Wedding

One of the great things about living in Marietta is being so close to the Marietta Square! We’ve done a few family shoots there, but this was our first wedding! Even though it was toasty outside, we had a lovely day photographing this wonderful wedding at the Marlow House. From the small, private ceremony to the exciting sparkler send-off, it was a fantastic first Marietta Square wedding. We can’t wait for more!

rehearsal with father

mrs reeserecreating old picturemom getting corsagemaid of honorfather giving bride awayrings first dance kiss groom dances with daughter two hearts one love