iris & brad get hitched! {louisville wedding photographers}

Last weekend I traveled to Birmingham, AL to photograph a gorgeous wedding for two very special people.  Meet Brad and Iris...  

These two love birds share a very special story... one that Lance and I have been privileged to see from the very beginning.  During the summer of 2010 Brad and Lance traveled to Nicaragua for what was supposed to be just a week-long mission trip with an organization called Amigos for Christ... turns out there was a pretty girl named Iris that was on staff with Amigos for Christ.  It didn't take long... once Brad laid eyes on her, the rest was history.  I remember when Lance called me from Nicaragua that summer... "Well... Brad met a girl... and I think he really likes her."  Lance ended up flying back after the week was over... but Brad ended up staying almost 2 more weeks.  I think it might have had something to do with a girl named Iris;)

And now here we are... two years later... celebrating their beautiful wedding.  There were so many sweet moments during their big day... here are a few of my favorites...

Iris' dress was gorgeous... loved the buttons...

It was a tad warm the day of the wedding... 

don't let the phone fool you... it got up to 106...

 ...such a stunning bride...

 ...the finishing touches...

...the bride and her beautiful mother...

 ...the wedding shoes...

 ...the bride and groom had a few friends that weren't able to make the trip to the wedding... but nothing a little technology couldn't take care of...

 ...the ceremony was absolutely beautiful...

 ...sealed with a kiss...

...loved the stained glass windows in this church... so beautiful...

 ...this one is my personal favorite...

...best.bridal.party.ever... 

...the reception site was just as gorgeous as the church... 

...the bride and groom look pretty good too;)... 

...this cake was pretty AND tasty... trust me, I tried it myself... 

...these two love birds never left the dance floor...

...and neither did anyone else...

 ...a magical evening indeed...

...happily ever after...

beach week...

Last week Lance and I took a major road trip.  First stop was Orange Beach, AL for some much needed R&R with Lance's family.  Second stop was Birmingham, AL to photograph a beautiful wedding.  (added bonus... I got to hang out with my sister too:) The entire week was fabulous... from road trip food... to beach reading... to snowcones... to putt-putt golf... to movies...  Rather than bore you with a bunch of blah, blah, blah... how about a photo re-cap instead?  

WARNING: massive amount of photos below... proceed with caution.

Here's what we were up to last week...

...we stopped for road trip food...

...we did some beach reading... (Catching Fire)

...we ate some snowcones...

...we played in the waves with Uncle Lance...

...we ate out...

...we ate in...

...we had another snowcone...

...we wore our shades...

...we ate some beach snacks...

...we did some more reading...

...we caught up on technology...

...oh, did I mention snowcones?...

...we did some writing...

...we did some coloring...

...we painted our toenails...

...we worked on our letters...

...we played mexican dominos...

...we laughed until we cried...

...we ate snowcones (oh, have I said that already?)...

...we caught some rays...

...we covered up...

...we played some putt-putt...

...we made our own pizzas...

...we went to the movies...

...we saw my sister in Birmingham...

...we photographed a gorgeous wedding...

...we stopped for some more gas station food...

The week was awesome.  Back to reality... already suffering from snowcone withdrawals.

thankful thursday {link up}

{Link up your own Thankful Thursday post below...}

This Thursday I am thankful for...

1) Gathering with friends.  We decided to have a few people over last night to celebrate the 4th of July. What started out being, "let's just have a few people over..." quickly turned into a 40-person party.  No lie.  What better way to celebrate the 4th though??  Lots of people... lots of food... and lots of fireworks.

2) These two munchkins.  I adore these two little cutie-pies and we had so much fun together at the beach last week... I think I'm already suffering from withdrawals.  You can see more cute pics of my nieces over on my sister-in-law's blog here.  Hoping to post some pictures from our beach week soon.

 3) Patience.  Not necessarily because I have it... more because I am thankful that God is patient with me when I don't have it.  I've been getting some pretty big lessons in waiting and trusting lately... and I still have a long ways to go.  But I am so grateful that God doesn't just throw up his hands and roll his eyes at me when I constantly think I know better than him.

What are you thankful for this week? Grab the Thankful Thursday button from the right sidebar and link up your own post below. Be sure to visit the other Thankful Thursday participants and share the love!!

Also linking up with:

Kate Says Stuff

The Fontenot Four

First Day of My Life

Brown Eyed Belle

A Punk, a Pumpkin & a Peanut

The Ramblings of Mrs. Hargrave

happy 4th!!

{source}

Happy 4th of July people!!  

At first I thought having the 4th fall on a Wednesday was crap... I mean, wouldn't it be better if Independence Day fell on a Friday or a Monday?  You know... so we could have a 3-day weekend?  But now that it's here, it turns out that I'm a major fan of having a random Wednesday off work.  Work 2 days... sleep in one day... work 2... off 2 more.  Yes... I could get used to this.

How will you be celebrating your 4th of July?  Cookout?  Fireworks?  Vacation?  We decided to grill some burgers and dogs and just invite a few friends over... a few friends... that has turned into mmmm... oh say, twenty-eight people... at least at the last head count.  While Lance slaves away over the hot grill, I'll be deciding which patriotic Pinterest ideas I should try...

Happy 4th!!!

dear june

Dear June,

You came and went as fast as the waves.  But none-the-less... I'm glad you came.

We planted flowers... got a much-needed haircut... ate dinner with friends... got a kidney infection... drank lots of water... read some books... went to the beach... ate snowcones... played putt-putt... did a lot driving... photographed a wedding... saw some old friends... shared a bed with my sister... and did some more driving...

Never a dull moment.  You came with newness... hope... relaxation... restoration... and quality time with the ones I love.

Goodbye June... Hello July.

Love,
Julia