Rachael + Joel :: Findlay Wedding Photography
One of the biggest honors a photographer can receive is having another photographer ask them to shoot their photographs. Joel just so happens to be a photographer himself, and we’ve worked together on numerous occasions. We’re part of the same FEO group, and we attend the same church here in Dayton. Out of all of our friends, Joel asked us to shoot his wedding, and of course we were happy to oblige!
He and Rachael were married up in Findlay, Ohio. It was a relatively cold, rainy day in April, but everyone was so excited and willing to do whatever we had in mind. It ended up being an awesome celebration
Rachel pulled one of the most hilarious pranks I’ve ever seen. Joel’s best man Jon blindfolded him, and after they made sure he couldn’t see, she traded places with her sister’s boyfriend who was wearing a wedding dress. I’m pretty sure everyone in the room was crying we were laughing so hard! That was before Joel lifted the dress and stuck his head under. Absolutely hysterical!
Ceremony: Van Buren Presbyterian Church
Reception: Findlay Elks Lodge
Flowers: The Flowerman!
DJ: The Music Men
Maggie + Billy :: St. Louis Engagement Photography
Many of you know that I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. What a lot of you don’t know is that St. Louis is indeed almost directly west of Dayton, and not “in the south.” When I first met Mindy and told her I was from St. Louis she asked, “What’s it like living down there?” Down where? St. Louis was a great city to grow up in, and I still have family and friends there. Holden’s grandparents still live in the house I grew up in. When we visit I love catching up with old friends and eating some of the great famous St. Louis food. They have the BEST pizza (yes, I’ll fight you Chicago people), and some greats like toasted ravioli that aren’t available anywhere else. And of course there’s my Cardinals and Blues!
Joe and Ali are our best friends back home, and Billy is Joe’s little brother. I, of course, use the term “little” very lightly. None of the the Bubenik brothers are little. In fact they’re huge. But they’re the nicest brothers you will ever meet, and they’re all either married to or dating wonderful women.
I was absolutely thrilled when Billy contacted me about shooting his wedding, and I love that he and Maggie are really excited to be working with us. It’s always nice to have clients that are pumped to have us as their photographers, and it’s even better when they’re such close friends. We met up with Maggie and Billy on our last trip to the Lou, got to know Maggie a little better, shot some photos, and ate some cake. If that sounds like a good time to you, you’re right.
Janeisha + Bobby :: Columbus Vow Renewal Ceremony
Janeisha and Bobby have been married for 10 years, and they decided it was time to renew their vows. I cannot believe how much these two love each other.
Ceremony + Reception: Father’s House Church
Flowers: The Flowerman!
Wedding Coordination: Brittney Lane
Cake: Sugar Inc.
WELCOME Holden James Braun
We’re proud to announce that BRAUNphotography finally has a third member! Everyone, please welcome our brand new baby boy, Holden James Braun. He was born on the morning of Wednesday, January 26. Mindy and I have been looking forward to this moment for so long, and now that he’s here we honestly couldn’t be happier…
We had been planning on doing a natural birth, with no drugs or pain medication. Well, Holden had some plans of his own. Mindy’s water broke on Monday evening, and by Tuesday afternoon no contractions had started, so the doctors informed us that to maintain everyone’s safety we needed to work a little harder to get him out. That meant Petocin, a drug used to stimulate contractions.
Now, here’s the crazy part. Petocin stimulates the contractions to start (or get stronger depending on the case), but it also increases the pain severity of each contraction. That’s why normally Petocin is followed up with an epidural. The pain of childbirth, only worse. But Mindy isn’t normal. We both wanted to avoid as many artificial stimulants, so Mindy decided to continue with the natural water birth.
I am so incredibly proud of her strength and determination. Not only did she birth a baby with no pain meds, but she was on a drug that made it hurt worse, and Holden came out at 10 pounds 1 ounce! He was huge! She’s seriously a super-human, and I love her for it. I just can’t say enough about how pleasant she was all pregnancy and how much I appreciate her and her drive during labor. Please, next time you see her, tell her she’s amazing. Because she is.
These black & white shots are from inside the delivery room just minutes after he was born.
And of course, as soon as we got home we got to work. Holden is four day old in these next photos. We stuck in him one of our baskets, and covered him in one of the craziest looking blankets we’ve ever seen. I think it’s perfect.
I hope it’s okay with you guys, you’re going to be seeing a lot more of this little guy around here. The most important thing in our lives was changed in an instant, and we can’t even express how much we love him already.
Thanks to everyone who’s visited, brought food, and congratulated us so far!