For My Sister {Montana, Engagement Photographer}

When my sister, Carley, and I first brainstormed ideas for James's and her engagement shoot, she had a lot of them.   She really wanted to use my grandmother's old double bike, and she also really wanted to do some photos in a boat.  She also had a very specific location in mind, and luckily the owners were amazingly accommodating.  That is one thing I admire about my sister, if she wants something done, she will get it done.  (or find someone to do it for her)  James knew about the boat, but was unaware that we were going to have him ride a very unsafe, old, yellow, double bike down a dirt road.   He had a great attitude about the whole shoot however, and he obviously knows my sister very well.  He told me he would do whatever she wanted so that the photos turned out the way she wanted so that he wouldn't have to do another shoot.  Well luckily for James everything did work out the way Carley and I planned.  I would actually venture to say it worked out better.  

Now...the sappy part.  I have watched Carley and James grow as a couple over the past few years, and could not be happier for my little sister.  James is crazy about her, and treats her with kindness and respect.  He pushes her to go after her goals, and picks her up when the stress of it all weighs down on her.  It is no secret to James and I that Carley is a special girl.  Her laugh and sense of humor is one of my favorite qualities, and she has such an incredibly good heart.  She loves passionately, and having her as a sister is one of the best parts of my life.  I am grateful that she found James, and know in my heart that he is the only person I would want to share her with.  James is already a member of our family, and I can't wait to watch Carley and him be an aunt and uncle to Kevin and I's little guy.  OK.....now that I have made myself cry-here is the sneak peek you have been driving me crazy for Carley.

A lot of these photos were taken out at The Inn at Willow Creek.  It is beautiful out there, and luckily the yellow wildflowers bloomed early this year.

 I can't pick a favorite, but I do love the below gazebo photo!

 This shoot would not have went nearly as well if we didn't have our handy boat man....Seriously though, my parents were such a help.  My mom found the boat, and made sure we could borrow it.  They met us out at the river with it, a cooler, and waders.  They also put new tires on the old yellow bike for us.  We were at my dad's old stomping grounds of Willow Creek so he was a happy camper.  

Baby Bird and Belly Update

I haven't been all that great about documenting my growing belly through photographs.  Honestly some days I really like my baby bump....other days I think I am huge, and that nothing looks cute on it.  So there are some days when I really want to take photos, and other days where you will not get a camera near me.  I do however want some tasteful belly/maternity photos to document this time in my life since it is going by so fast, so a couple weeks ago I asked my cousin, who occasionally works with me on weddings, to shoot a few quick photos of me.  It was actually the perfect day for it because I had just hit the 28 week mark was officially in the third trimester.  Plus, we had a nice evening with pretty light to work with, and my family's ranch as the back drop.  

I did think about doing weekly belly photos, but summer is an extremely busy time for me, and I didn't want to just snap a quick pic in front of a white wall each week.  I also didn't really feel the need to have any taken before I really started showing.  However, now that I am, I will be better about documenting my growing, and changing bump-or maybe not depending on my mood.  I will actually be taking my sister's engagement photos this weekend, and she has agreed to snap a few photos of me in return so there should be more to come soon.  Plus, I want to include Kevin in some of these photos as well, but I figured I would only get one maternity shoot out of him, so it needs to be the main one I end up doing.

I haven't given a pregnancy update on the ole blog in some time, and I have to say, that the second trimester was a breeze.  I don't want to jinx myself, but I had a ton of energy, I felt great, and being able to finally feel the baby move was awesome!  Now, however, my energy level has dipped a bit, and it seems like it takes me a lot longer to recover from a busy weekend or from shooting a wedding.  The urge to nap is back, and although I am still nesting, I am glad I got a lot of the big nursery stuff done early.  I am starting to feel a little uncomfortable, and baby likes to keep a foot in my right rib cage which is not the best feeling.  I am not sleeping well, and have a hard time getting comfortable.  I am a back sleeper so trying to sleep on my side has been tough, plus it makes my lower back hurt, but just about everything makes my lower back hurt.  Kevin is a great sport about giving me massages, and I am I thankful for that.  I fully expect all of this to get worse, and I am trying to prepare and brace myself that the worst is yet to come.  I have three more weddings to shoot, and then my schedule slows down, and I can spend the last month and half getting caught up on editing,  housework, and can just lay low before baby gets here.  (Clients-I am not booking any shoots in October as of now.  I might take on a couple local ones depending on how I feel, but I really want all my editing done before he gets here so please book your shoots now so that I can get you in)

We had our birthing class this past Saturday, and that really made it feel all very real.  I have to start actually thinking about labor and delivery and have a tentative plan.  After the class I do feel a lot better about writing a birth plan, and I feel like all the decisions in regard to that have been talked about and made.  I did feel a little bad for Kevin, as he was sitting next to the class nerd.  It has been a long time since I have taken any sort of class, and now that that too cool for school phase has passed, I was able to embrace my inner note taking, question asking, nerd.  I felt like my sister...(kidding car-but it's actually true)

Hopefully I will have some more photos to share very soon, and before I know it, I will be sharing photos of our little man.  I am SO SO excited!

 Thanks Shayla K. for the photos!

Mr. and Mrs Hartmann {Three Forks, MT Wedding Photographer}

 After my first meeting with Caitlin, I just knew that this wedding was going to be amazing, and it definitely was.  First off, it was being held in my hometown of Three Forks at one of my favorite locations, the Sacajawea Hotel.  Caitlin is beautiful, and I knew she was going to make a stunning bride, plus she has wonderful taste so I knew the details were going to be amazing.  On top of that Ben and her are incredibly photogenic and natural in front of the camera.  Then I received word that there would be individual cakes used as the centerpieces on each of the tables.  Not just any cake, but Elle's Belles cakes.  That was seriously just the icing on the...well...cake.  

The day unfolded beautifully, and there were so many touching, sentimental moments.  I can honestly say that I usually get a little choked up at least once per wedding.  I can't help it.  I love weddings, and everything they stand for.  However, at this wedding I got a little teary at least 3 times.  My heart is so happy for this beautiful couple, and that they get to begin their lives together officially as a family. Congrats again on the marriage and enjoy your sneak peek!