Happy Wedding Day to Candace and Danny!

Yup.. It’s 11/11/11 and that means a TWO wedding weekend especially since 11/11/11 fell on a Friday.  I first met Candace while working in the wedding industry but have gotten to know her over the past year since we photographed Maureen and Chad’s wedding!  We are SO happy for Candace and Danny.  They are the couple who you just know will be together forever.  Mutual adoration is how I would sum up their relationship (from our perspective! LOL)…

Can’t wait to see them say I do!!  See you guys in just a few hours! Happy Wedding Day Candace and Danny!

Joe & Helen’s Lexington, Kentucky Firehouse Engagement

I know that every couple likes to have “pretty” engagement photos but I am always 100% honest in saying that your photos, will be SO much “prettier” if we create them at a place that is meaningful to YOU as a couple.  The place you got engaged.  The place you went to when you dated.  The place you first met.  When Helen asked me if they could get some pics at the fire station I could have jumped for joy!  Seriously… new places, locations, ideas… they send my brain into a whole new level of creativity!

If you are a friend of Helen and Joe’s who has stopped by… be sure to leave a comment below this post for them!

The session started off at Keeneland:

Yes… we dared walk on the track!  It’s the off season…

Then we packed up and headed downtown to the Firehouse!  I almost giggled with excitement!!   And let me tell you… Helen is a MASTER at changing in the car.  She popped out of that car ready to shoot!

We just couldn’t resist playing with the rings… I mean we had the helmet there… it was just BEGGING for this photo!!!  So… Helen’s ring got it’s own little mini session… yes… we un-apologetically like to display the engagement ring!!!!!

And then Helen asked if we could get a few pics on the front porch swing.  Yes… this fire station has a front PORCH!  It is one of the oldest in Lexington, if not the oldest, so it is full of all kinds of cool history (I am a history buff so this is right up my alley!).  Helen and Joe have spent many nights enjoying the view from that front porch and it is where their love started, has grown and blossomed into the thing of beauty that it is now.  So sweet that they will get to keep this memory even long after Joe leaves the station

Yep.  It was a pretty fabulous day!  We ended it with a trip to Mi Pequena Hacienda for Mexican food!  I mean really… does it get any better than that?  And either I was REALLY hungry or that was some of the best Mexican food that I have EVER eaten!  LOL

Helen and Joe… we are SO looking forward to your wedding day and know that it is going to be an amazing good time!  See you again VERY soon (probably at Orange Leaf… again… LOL).

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!)

Kristen and Aaron’s Engagement Photos : the sneak peek

While I am catching up on a YEAR’s worth of blogging that I am grossly behind on, I also am going to incorporate sessions and weddings we are currently shooting!  (Brides.. don’t be upset if another couple is posted before you… I promise yours is coming soon!)

Kristen and Aaron will be getting married this summer and we are TOTALLY excited about their wedding!  We are ALWAYS honored to be a part of a wedding day but it is work for us.  We just know that these two are going to have WAY too much fun at their wedding and we will be there to capture every amazing moment!    Today we had the privilege of creating their engagement photos and truly enjoyed our time with them.

Because it is currently 5 degrees outside in grand old Lexington, Kentucky we decided to head downtown to the comfort and shelter of the buildings of Victorian Square, the Civic Center and Rupp Arena.  Even though it was cold, Aaron and Kristen even braved it for us to capture a few images on the front steps of the Lexington Opera House (which is always so beautiful!)…

We roamed through the pedways (which might I remind you are NOT heated at all and become like big FREEZERS in the winter!) and had some fun in the Civic Center… we even decided that we *heart* beef   (see photo below for explanation)….

We had fun finding the right spot inside the Civic Center on our way to Rupp.  I think my posing may have startled some older people but it is what it is.  We like our engagement sessions a little sexy!

But nothing can top our last set of photos in front of the entrance to Rupp Arena.  Hanging out on the old basketball floor there is always something a little magical.  Knowing that Rupp himself stood on that floor as have so many amazing coaches and teams that were there long before we were!  For a good old Kentucky girl… that makes my heart sing!  To be able to capture that piece of history beautifully and add it to the history that my couples are making together.. is pretty darned cool!

Maureen & Chad’s Engagement Photos

I was so excited when Maureen called me to photograph her wedding.  I have known Maureen, in passing, for a while now and she of course is close to our hearts as she is a nurse at the Kentucky Children’s Hospital!  Anyone who knows our family knows that we spend a fair amount of time in the halls of KCH with our daughter.  We truly love and appreciate our doctors and nurses for all they do.  We feel like KCH is our home away from home and the staff are like family to us.  I have had the privilege of photographing two of our nurses in the past year and feel it our honor to have been able to give something back to the people who have given us everything!

Our engagement session was the first time we met Chad but in just a short time we can tell that Chad absolutely adores Maureen.  We do a lot of engagement outside in the fall and when Maureen told me that was just NOT her style I had to smile.  Urban downtown pics it was!  We had a blast, created some fabulous images and are totally excited for their wedding next weekend!

The session started out in an alley in downtown Lexington, KY…

And of course what is more urban and cool in Lexington, Ky than this stunning piece of graffiti artwork that hangs on Vine street downtown?  Our city is a little like Stepford in that they seem to think that graffiti should be covered over IMMEDIATELY even though most of the time you can still see shadows of it through the paint they use so they should have just left it there.  (I digress…)  I love graffiti… so colorful.  I wish we had more of it!

Then we just roamed the streets and found a few cool spots for photos downtown before we headed to the Bigg Blue Martini bar inside the Hilton downtown hotel, for a drink!~  What could be better?  An engagement session and a Martini!

Pics inside the fabulous Bigg Blue Martini for your engagement and cocktail on the side?  Why yes we do!  Nice way to end a session   I think maybe we will end every session this way from now on!  LOL

The fabulous interior of the Hilton and the Bigg Blue Martini made for some stunning images.

I just know that their wedding is going to be equally fabulous!  Can’t wait!

Alyssa & Chris’ Engagement Photos

Alyssa and Chris will be getting married this summer at Keeneland and we are very much looking forward to their wedding!  For their engagement session we ventured out to Waveland State Historic Site, in Lexington.  It was a beautiful fall day.  In Lexington it is tricky to catch the fall color because our peak color comes at the end of October which is generally rainy.  Also, this year, we had a VERY DRY summer so our fall was not extremely colorful and the leaves fell early.  Fortunately enough for us, Waveland was still beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed roaming their grounds for our shoot.

Alyssa and Chris even allowed us to bring along a videographer friend who is making a promotional video for us!  (shhh… the cat’s out of the bag now!  Look for our promo video coming SOON!)  They were such great sports and we know that their wedding is going to be TONS of fun!

I have to say that Alyssa and Chris’ engagement pics are some of my VERY FAVORITES from this year!!!

Without further ado Alyssa and Chris:

A few fabulous black and white images from our session:

Then the fun part.  Sometimes we will ask our couples to do fun things like dance in the middle of a field or jump on each other’s shoulders.  We asked Alyssa and Chris if he would pick her up and swing her around… while kissing!  I guess its kind of like trying to chew gum and walk… here is what happened…

It started beautifully, all nice and romantic, great color… nice action shot… and no sooner than I said “looks great guys!” did this happen….

And like any good photographer… I did NOT stop to help them … I really was most concerned about getting the shot!  LOL  Bad… right?  I did however, stop to laugh with them after it was all over.  You have to laugh at yourself every now and then right?

(NOTE: No brides or grooms were harmed in the making of these photographs…( although I cannot speak for the grass … it was pretty dry and crunchy…..)

But I guess all is well that ends well right?

Amanda & Brian’s Engagement photos :)

Amanda and Brian are admittedly special to us.  We just met them in the process of their booking us to photograph their wedding but during that process we learned that they will be getting married at Cardome in Georgetown, KY.  Would anyone like to guess WHY that is SO important?

Image courtesy: Forish Wedding Photography.

Yes… 10 years ago Troy and I had our own wedding there and I still think that it is one of the most beautiful venues in Kentucky.  (PS… YES I own the rights to my wedding images and the “negatives”… 10 years ago our pics were shot on medium format FILM! )  **This is where I insert a mini lesson on copyright law… anyone visiting here… PLEASE… respect your photographer’s right to own their creations.  Do not copy, post, recreate or print your photos without their permission… it makes us photogs really cranky! … we do have businesses and children whose mouths we need to feed and we gave everything away for free we would all be broke and have no money to buy these cameras that help us create these awesome images!** rant over.

Amanda and Brian’s engagement session pretty much traversed the entire city.  We started out downtown at one of Amanda’s favorite places in Lexington, Triangle Park.  She has fond memories of Triangle Park, as do I!  We stayed downtown for a bit and later headed to Brian’s house to change and pick up their dogs.

We were off to Masterson Station park and some surrounding areas to shoot some true “fall” images!  It was cool gorgeous day and the fall color was amazing.

Here is what ensued:

Commonwealth Stadium Engagement: Kristen & Ben…

So I let it “slip” in my last post that we were allowed a few minutes inside UK’s Commonwealth Stadium to photograph a part of Kristen & Ben’s Engagement session.  Kristen, although originally from Texas, definitely bleeds blue!  (WAY TO GO!!!)  I LOVED that she stayed true to her roots rockin’ the cowboy boots with her adorable UK gear!

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!

Urban Engagement Photos Lexington, KY

Chelsen and Dackery will be married May 31, 2008. We had a ton of fun looking for cool places to shoot their engagement pictures. Obviously… they are huge football fans and we nearly FROZE to death creating the football field images! They were great sports and you can truly tell that theirs is a love that will last a lifetime! I can’t wait until their wedding!!!