Kelsey and Justin’s Romantic Farm Engagement

**If you are a friend / family member of Kelsey and Justin’s… don’t forget to leave them a comment or compliment below!! **

When Kelsey told me that there was a family farm with an OLD barn that she would like to have in their engagement photos… it was like the heaven’s opened up and the sun shone down… Seriously… this is the stuff I live for!  Creeks… barns.. dogs… I am all about it!   When we arrived at the property I was unsure if I was even in the right place because I could not FIND the barn!  But there she was… hidden behind MUCH brush and MANY chiggers… (my ankles suffered!) there was this beauty…

Can u see her???  If not look closely…

NOW you see her right?!  I love it when people take me to locations that are sentimental and special and this barn definitely is both of those things to Kelsey and her family!  Standing inside its crumbling walls I couldn’t help but wonder how many mouths that one barn’s profits had fed over the years and how many kids had played hide and seek there.  There is a certain form of reverence that I feel for old buildings like these… similar to the respect I have for elderly people… my mind just goes in a millions ways wondering what it was in it’s hey day!

And what would a FARM engagement session be without a dog… and not just any dog… HUCKLEBERRY HOUND!!  Cute right?!!  He was WAY excited to be included in the photos!  I hear that when Justin proposed he was informed that he was getting a package deal… Kelsey AND Huckleberry!

Obviously Justin and Huckleberry get along just fine…

And yes that would be Troy… aka photographer… aka husband… aka Dog Whisperer.  I think his exact words to Huckleberry were “Hey look here dog… you’re gonna sit your butt down there and we are going to take this dang picture…”  LOL

Kelsey had also requested that we go to their favorite Creek for some photos…. so we did!  We braved the skeeters and the chiggers and the random cats!!  The pics made it totally worth it!

We even found this cool old building on a hill … like I said before… old buildings… speak to me.  Troy may be the dog whisperer but I think I am the “crappy old building” whisperer!

Right about this time a random cat decided to befriend us.  I managed to lure him away once with the promise of something in my hand and a hearty “here kitty kitty kitty” the second time… she was not fooled!

As night fell… we managed to get some pretty cool shots near an amazing rock formation that turns into a waterfall when it rains!  Wish we had had some rain!! Of course it has rained EVERY DAY since then!  Sheesh.

And so adventure over the creek and through the barn was over but stay tuned… the wedding images will not be far behind!

Melissa & Joe’s Stonewall Farm Engagement

When Melissa first called she told me that they were going to have a small wedding on their farm.  Well in Kentucky that could mean a LOT of different things.  I was unprepared for the GORGEOUS main house and state of the art barns that we would find on the property!  Of course I was pleasantly surprised also by just how sweet Melissa and Joe were together.  You can just tell when Joe looks at her that he absolutely ADORES Melissa and vice-versa.  It was a privilege to work with this fabulous couple and their families.  Bridal and Wedding sneak peeks coming soon!

Emily and Alex’s Gratz Park and Overbrook Farm Engagement

Ok… so I will start off by saying that this post may be a little more image heavy than normal because this couple is a little extra special to us!  How could they not be when the BRIDE also happens to be our cousin and ALSO happens to have invited our kiddos to be her flower girl and ring bearers!  Needless to say that this wedding day will be full of memories for all of us and will be captured by none other than Troy and myself.  (could turn into a complete circus… but we have our fingers crossed!  LOL… totally joking… it will be great!)  We were invited to Overbrook farm for the first part of the session and I cannot say enough about how QUIET and beautiful it is there.  I could live there the rest of my life and be totally happy!  There is a new place to explore around every corner.  Gorgeous horses, scenery and even some geese that were none too happy we were there!  (They hissed at us as we drove by! YIKES!)

Here are a few from Overbrook:

Does she have AMAZINGLY beautiful hair or what?!!!!  If my hair were that long I would be in one constant seizure of pain… obviously you can tell I am a short hair kinda gal!  LOL  The wind off the water was whipping us every which way but we were thankful for it because it was UNSEASONABLY warm 90 degrees that day!!!!!  HOLY CARP!

Then there was the WATERFALL!  Be still my heart.. to the far left of this image in the shadow you will notice a few geese that were none too happy we were there!  They were squawking and hissing!  Not very inviting!  LOL… I so wish I could take my kids here for a photo.  It was just PERFECT!

The we drove around a bit more and climbed to the top of a hill through a grove of trees and on the top of the hill sat this barn.  It was literally breathtaking.  I have only had my breath taken away a few times in my life and looking through that barn and seeing the TRUE rolling hills of Kentucky in the background was nothing short of amazing!

On our way up to the top of the AWE INSPIRING BARN’s Hill we stopped for a few along the way!  There were horses in both pastures to the right and left of us… it was truly beautiful.

Somewhere along the way Emily and Alex stole a few second away from the camera… or so they thought!  LOL

And then I saw it… every woman has a look.  Now I know it sounds silly but truthfully there is a bit of sexiness to be found in ANY bride to be!  Heck its teh best time of your life!!  You feel most beautiful and in love and it shows!  This is Emily’s “look”.  Now for those who know her, you know she is normally a BRIGHT smile and happy kinda girl.  I personally thinks she looks like Giada…

Do you see it??

See it now?!  See.. told you! Not only is Emily and amazingly gorgeous, member of ones of the best families on earth, super sweet, totally stylish, but she looks like a celebrity too.. what more could a photographer ask for?

An awesome location… yup… got that too!  LOL

After we had fun playing at the farm we headed downtown to the spot where Alex proposed to Emily at Christmas.. I have seen pics of the engagement itself… VERY sweet and thoughtful but I think Alex was freezing his butt off!  It was like -10 degrees outside!!! LOL  Lucky enough for us.. it was more like 89 degrees this day!  Yes, apparently we like to go from one extreme to the other!

The tulips were in bloom and FANTASTIC!  I think this feels a little Vintage New York!

One of my very favorite images from the session!!!   Something about it just grabs at my heart!

And yes a little sexy for the end!  So that about does it… I have to say a little “Sorry” to our Uncle John.  I know that at some point we were going to have to let you down easy that Emily’s “friend” Alex will, before the end of the year be Emily’s HUSBAND!  LOL… I know that they may have had to issue the images to you in small bits John but your little girl is an amazing woman now and we are proud to be a part of her wedding!!

Jill & Aaron’s Keeneland Engagement Photos

Jill and Aaron will be getting married this coming October and we will have the honor of photographing their wedding day!! YAY   I know it is going to be beautiful and we are always proud to be a part of our couples’ special days.

We met up with Jill and Aaron at Keeneland to start off their fabulous and fun engagement session!  Although it was quite cold outside (as evidenced by the snow on the ground…) Jill and Aaron were tough and it made them all the more likely to be caught snuggling One of my favorite things about Keeneland is that it has so many different “looks” and no matter what season you in it is beautiful in a different way each season.  I know that there are plenty of photographers in Lexington who shoot at Keeneland but I like to think I SEE Keeneland in a different way!  Yes, the paddock is awesome but I am always drawn to nooks and crannies like the old black barns and the stone building (that used to be covered in poision ivy!!! eeeek).

One of my favorite things is this gate that stands, alone, at the top of the hill.  The sunlight always  streams in just a certain way, filtered by the tree that shades it.  Something about that spot just takes my breath every time.

And then a funny thing happened… I was taking a standard couple shot on the other side of this vehicle and had a good sized lens on my camera so I was only seeing a tightly cropped image.  Troy, however, was standing over my shoulder and off to the side a bit and THIS is what he saw:

I mean really… that should be on a commercial.  Sorry guys… just couldn’t resist posting it!  I vote we enter the pic in some contests and if we win a car we will share it   How about that?!  LOL  Or maybe we can win multiples cars and then we each get one!!!  Yeah… I like that even better!

After Keeneland we headed out to my favorite field.. where the grass is always golden and so is the light!  I mean I really could not be any more in love with this field if God attached a little note to it that said :  “To Amber … from God… have fun and take great pics!” … sigh…

My favorite thing about Jill and Aaron… they are fabulous TOGETHER!  There is no oddness.  They fit together perfectly and are so comfortable together that it makes my job easy!

It’s funny to me when people say “You have such amazing photos!”.  I always respond, “It’s easy when you have great subjects!”.  That statement could not be any more true than with these two! 

Happy Valentine’s Day you love birds you!

Tracy & Adam’s Somerset (The Coal Reserve) Engagement Photos

Tracy and Adam will be getting married this summer in Somerset, Kentucky and the whole SS&G crew is looking forward to their fabulous wedding day!

For their engagement photos we headed out to Somerset and to The Coal Reserve.  I have to say that I have seen a LOT of venues and this place WOWed me!  Brides in the area looking for a venue… we got a sneak peek of what I am sure will be one of the most sought after venues in the Somerset area and it was nothing short of AMAZING!

It’s always fun to work with couples whom we have previously met.  Adam was a member of Dackery’s wedding party a few years back at Cumberland Falls (Remember Chelsen and Dackery?!  They had a stunning wedding ) and Dackery (our former groom) will be a member of Adam’s wedding party this summer.

Adam is a Pulaski County Sheriff’s Deputy!  Obviously, from the photos you can tell that he takes pride in his work.  We were stoked to get to work with Adam IN UNIFORM!  I love it when couples prepare for their engagement sessions and have ideas that are uniquely them!  It was definitely a first for me but we loved it!  I think the pics of Adam in uniform turned out especially fabulous!

We even took a few just for the Sheriff! 

If you didn’t notice the “coal” theme… its there notice this pile of rocks in the landscaping?  Not just rocks… coal!  Even the “bark” around the landscaping was coal chunks!

Indoors there were these towering 20-30 foot walls that were made from stacked stone coal!  Even the fireplace had coal chunks in it instead of “glass”… All very special and amazing.

We are totally excited for their upcoming wedding day and know that it will be a beautiful and memorable event for all!!!

Maureen & Chad’s Damask Custom Photo Engagement Guest book

I have been absolutely bursting at the seams waiting for Maureen & Chad’s wedding to roll around so that could post their stunning custom photo engagement guest book.  Maureen sent me images of her aisle runner (which was A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!! btw) in a black and white damask and her cake design (which was completed by the AMAZING Brenda Renner of The Sugar Forest) and from that we established a “theme” / design for her book.

Other than that, Maureen let me go to town with the wording, images and design and I truly impressed myself.  I want to make my own family a book like this!  It takes a lot to impress me (photography wise.. for obvious reasons) and this did it.  THEN to get it back from the printers and to see the custom cover!  LOVE IT!  It was really neat for me to listen to the guests “ooohs” and “ahhhs” as they wrote little messages to the bride and groom.  I think the words: Amazing, Awesome and Cool were used multiple times as well as at least two people who were discussing how they had never seen anything like this book!  Well… the books are bountiful at the old Schmidt Studio, so brides… come on over!

The photo guest book turned out simply stunning but I always wait until after the wedding to post the books.  So yes, today, is officially after!  I am posting!  (Been waiting a while for this!)

Anna & Chuck’s Engagement Photos at Shakertown

For Anna and Chuck’s engagement photos we ventured out to Shakertown one day in late fall.  It’s funny to me that there are so many things that are distinctly Kentucky that I never have really had the chance to explore.  Exploring Shakertown with these two was super fun and I can only imagine that their wedding day is going to be a blast.

First I have to say that Anna’s fiance’s name is A-W-E-S-O-M-E… I have a Charles (my middle son) who we were thinking of calling Chuck before we decided on using his middle name “Ross” as his “name” so it’s always fun to meet other Chucks, Charlies, Charles, and of course Rosses!  But even better… Chuck’s last name is TAYLOR!  I stinking love it.  I am sure, after having lived in this name his entire life that he may get sick of it but I love it.  I would totally bribe him to wear “Chuck’s” to his wedding!  LOL

I just really love couples who are so comfortable together.  I think that I have categorized all couples into three lump sums: 1) Giggly Anticipation, 2) Hip and Sexy, 3) Totally Comfortable.  Anna and Chuck definitely fall into the TOTALLY comfortable category.  It is always a JOY to photograph a couple who have such a great connection.

And of COURSE we share a mutual love of the UK Wildcats Basketball!  GOOOOOOOOOOO C……A………T………..S  – CATS CATS CATS!  I guess if I ever had a DUKE fan I might have to refuse to photograph their sportswear.  Does that make me a bad person!?

A funny side note about this photo… what you CANNOT see is there is a whole pasture full of COWS right behind them and down the hill.  And for some reason, on this day, it must have been close to feeding time because the cows were a bit loud.  Every time we would try capture an intimate moment a COW would let us know how he felt about the whole thing… it was quite comical.

Josh & Amy’s Engagement Photos

We met Josh and Amy at a park near Amy’s house because we wanted to get some photos of the couple and their adorable dogs, Kota and Dante.  I think Dante is one of the most adorable dogs I have ever met in my life!  I would totally take him home with me but I think Amy is kind of attached!  LOL  I loved that Amy and Josh were dressed in one of our favorite attires… UK gear and even the dogs had their own UK shirts!

We are so excited that Dante and Kota will be a part of Amy and Josh’s wedding this summer.  It should be tons of fun capturing these special members of the family as they join the group for the wedding.  This year must have been the year of the DOG in the Chinese calendar because we certainly have met many special fur babies in 2010 and look forward to seeing them again in 2011 at their parents’ weddings!

After Amy was thoroughly exhausted from chasing the dogs around the park, we headed out to Waveland State Historic park for some more intimate couple pictures.  It was a beautiful fall day for engagement photos and here is what we came up with!

We are excited to photograph their wedding this summer and know that it is going to be a fabulous day!

Kristen & Alan’s Lexington Keeneland Engagement Session

Kristen and Alan were married August 7th at the same church in which Alan was ordained.  This very chic couple met while working at Barnes and Noble thus the B&N pics at the end of the session.  Although it was brutally hot outside we braved the sweat and managed to create some fabulous images!