Joe + Ali - The Covenant Sessions - Saint Louis

Returning to St. Louis is always an interesting experience for me. I was part of a suburban middle class family, and we basically went from home to school to church to Target and back. We seemed to avoid going to the city center other than for hockey or baseball games. On occasion we would head down to see the Arch, pack ourselves into a tiny pod and slowly make our way to the top. From the top of the arch you can see for miles in all directions, but the history, culture, and beauty of the city were essentially lost on me. St. Louis has a few serious, very real issues, but the city is thriving, especially now, more than I ever realized.

Joe + Ali have been dear, dear friends of ours for about as long as we can remember. The three of us were part of the same church youth group, and from the moment Mindy and I met, she and Ali started forming a bond that has grown stronger over the years. One of our favorite things about visiting Joe + Ali is that we know, not matter what, they're going to lead us to an amazing restaurant. Usually these restaurants are in parts of the city that I never saw growing up, like Rooster in South Grand, or Dressel's Public House in the Central West End. The Shaved Duck in Tower Grove, or Baily's Range downtown. Seriously, if you're a foodie, St. Louis should be on your list.

Coincidentally, today marks their nine year anniversary. In those nine years, they've been through a lot, and it's been amazing to watch their relationship flourish despite some financial hardships, losing jobs, a number of miscarriages and car accidents, and starting a business. They have never lost sight of their love for each other, and even after having four beautiful children, I've seen first hand the way they look at each other. That look may be a little more tired, and a whole lot wiser, but it's not entirely different from the way they looked at each other in high school. They have always remained faithful to one another and to Jesus. Ali has served on the staff of their church, and Joe is a brilliant worship leader. Their marriage has been an encouragement and a blessing to us for years, and we're so excited to share these images.

Here's to you, Joe + Ali, on your anniversary! We pray that God will continue to strengthen your relationship and instill an even more intense desire to follow Him.

Introducing The Covenant Sessions

Love grows.  Love changes.  Love is easy.  Love is hard.  Love is worth it.

A little over nine years ago, Mindy and I made a promise. This promise was made between the two of us, but also between us and God. Even more than a promise, it was a covenant; a sacred bond that cannot be broken. It goes far deeper than the feelings we have for each other, which ebb and flow with the daily current of life. We made a commitment to stay with, support, and love each other through thick and thin, every day from here on out.

We take this commitment seriously, and believe this covenant is meant to be celebrated. Not just ours, but every marriage covenant. Committing yourself to one other person for the rest of your life is hard, but oh man, is it good. Celebrate your marriage. Show it off to the world. Cling to your spouse, make your relationship your priority. If you have kids, teach them how to love by showing them how you love. Give the world a reason to be hopeful.

We're excited to announce The Covenant Sessions, new series we're launching this year, to coincide with our TEN year anniversary. We'll be offering sessions on select dates, in select cities around the country throughout the year. This is where we'll be, and when:

The Covenant Sessions are our way of celebrating the marriage relationship that we value so much. We believe the stories of couples who are in it for the long haul are beautiful, and that they're worth sharing. Couples have photos taken to celebrate their engagement, and everyone has photos taken to remember their wedding, but too often people forget to give their relationship the credit deserves after the honeymoon is over and the real work begins. We love highlighting these milestones, and we think life after the wedding deserves it's own place in the spotlight.

Shoot us an email for more information about booking a session on one of these dates. Availability is extremely limited.

Best of 2013 // Wedding Portraits

In our last post, we wrote a little bit about how we approach a wedding as photojournalists. We love capturing the wedding day as it unfolds in front of us, but we'd be lying if we said we didn't love the small part of the day when we get to steal the bride and groom for portraits. Each of our couples is very dear to us, and we cherish the time that we get to spend with them, away from the madness of all the checklists, alone for a few minutes, ignoring the responsibilities and just enjoying each other. It's pretty incredible to not only witness two people in love, but to have the honor of translating their love into a photograph, tailoring our style to their unique relationship. Not to mention, there's no better time to really push ourselves creatively. We hope you guys enjoy some of our favorite portraits of 2013.

Jaime + Ryan // Peach Picking Engagement Session // St. Louis, Missouri

I've known Jaime for a very long time, and I've never seen her smile quite they way she does around Ryan. Their wedding is going to be amazing, and we can't wait.

 

Peach picking at Eckert's Orchard in St. Louis, Missouri.

Maggie + Bill // St. Louis Wedding Photography

I grew up in St. Louis, but I don't think I've ever lived there. What I mean is that I've never spent more than a few days at a time in St. Louis as an adult. I've never experienced many of the things that make St. Louis the great city that it is. Sure, I've been to plenty of Cardinals and Blues games, and I've been up in the Arch way too many times to count. But there's so much more to St. Louis that I wish I knew. The Hill. The Landing. The Loop. The Rams? If you remember from their engagement session, Bill is the "little" brother of my best friend Joe (the really hairy brother in the group, you'll know it when you see him). Mindy and I both absolutely love the Bubenik family, so obviously it was a huge honor to be there to photograph Maggie + Bill's wedding. It was awesome to catch up with so many old friends too.

We started at Maggie's parents house...

The guys got ready at the church...

As we were scouting out locations, we found this killer little spot sandwiched between a few buildings and a parking garage. We were shooting in the middle of the day, and it was blazing hot, but this little shaded area gave us some great soft light and some relief from the heat.

With the exception of Harrison, the best man, all of these guys are brothers. And they're huge.

Then, across the street, we found the holy grail. This little walkway between two of the buildings had this absolutely killer rainbow awning. And adjacent to that was a great water feature, and some benches, and some shade. It was perfect and really meshes with Maggie + Bill's personalities. They were loving every minute of it, and you could just see both of them relax and come out of their shells a bit. This is them.

Yeah... it was hot.

Joe's daughter Evie was the flower girl, and I swear this little girl cannot get any cuter.

The reception was at The Malt House Cellar, literally one of the coolest spaces I've ever been in. Such a great vibe, with the stone walls and exposed wooden ceilings (it was in the basement), it was an extremely casual reception, but everyone was having a great time (and if you ever go there, you HAVE to try to Beer Cheese Fondue. AH-MAY-ZING).

Maggie + Bill // St. Louis, Missouri // July 9, 2011

Flowers: Emily Testrake

Dress: Blushing Bride

Tuxes: Blossoms Bridal

Ceremony: Hanley Road Baptist Church

Officiant: Jon Hessel

Reception: Malt House Cellar

Caterer: Moulin Events

Cake: The Cakery

DJ: Complete Music

Photobooth: Park Avenue Photographers

Definitely another case of friends-turned-clients-turned-even-better-friends. Congratulations guys.

Jessica + Ryan :: St. Louis Photographers

Jessica is my sister, and Ryan is her boyfriend. Over Thanksgiving they asked us if we’d do a shoot with them, and we were excited to oblige. We found this old warehouse last time we were in St. Louis, and it was perfect for this casual session.  

Sunflare to the max!

Apparently I’m funny:

LOVE Mindy’s perspective here: