Jonathan & Jessica :: Wedding Reception

"Aruba, Jamaica ooo I wanna take you... Down to Kokomo, We'll get there fast and then we'll take it slow..."

As many times as people ask about that song and where I'm from, it seems fitting for this post.

One of my dear friends from high school got married last month in Jamaica. How exciting! They had a great time and when it came time for them to come home and celebrate, the kept the celebration going into Kokomo... but not the island, the city in Indiana, although I'm sure she wished it was the island.

Jonathan & Jessica had their hometown celebration at the wonderful Kokomo Country Club, on one of the most gorgeous and hottest days of summer! They were used to it though, just getting back from the south and all. Their reception brought back so many memories being in Kokomo, around some of my high school friends, at one of the places we went to dinner before PROM... WOW... those memories make me laugh. We had some fun times back then and I'm so glad we were able to continue that "fun" tradition in Kokomo. It was so great to be a part of such a sweet, beautiful, fun couple like Jonathan & Jessica. They sure can throw a good party... it was one of the funnest wedding receptions... EVER... and I think everyone at the reception would agree.

Thanks guys for including us in such a wonderful time of your lives... Todd and I wish you the absolute BEST!

Here are a few of my favorites from their celebration and a slideshow from more of their day...

Jessica's dress was incredible...





And she was absolutely stunning in it...



Her dog, Jerzie, was a bit upset she wasn't a bridesmaid or even the maid of honor... sooo cute!!!



Instead, these beautiful girls were... so gorgeous!



And Jonathan... so stinkin' handsome, and I'm sure all other grooms are pretty jealous at his attire...



His guys were so fun!!!



LOVE IT!!!



And what an amazing couple... love you guys!!!



HOLLER... high school buddies!



Check out their slideshow with more from their day...

Simone & Jessica :: Wedding

So a couple years back, I photographed this amazing wedding and I remember the bride asking me if I could get a photo of her brother and his girlfriend. I took the photo, and thought how cute this couple was. She was a little petite blonde and he was a tall dark haired, sweet guy. Little did I know that a couple years later I would be photographing their wedding.

I LOVE IT!

Simone and Jessica were that sweet, cute couple. I was so excited when I heard from them and it was great to not only photograph their wedding, but the other couple, Mike & Rosaria, were part of the wedding party! How fun!

I met Jessica over at her house for some getting ready shots, and I walk in and she gives me the biggest warm welcome. I knew the day was going to be awesome before I even got my camera ready. She is the sweetest girl and she was so laid back and up for whatever we did. She was the perfect bride! Not even did the amazingly hot day or the few drops of rain stress her out. And then you have Simone, who is a pure gentleman. He compliments Jessica so well and they are so in love, it is evident how much they care for each other!

Simone and Jessica were married over at Trinity Lutheran Church, where Jessica attended school. It was cute all the bridesmaids who went there as well, were taking photos in the sanctuary before the ceremony where they spent many days of their lives. How fun! After the ceremony, the weather was not looking so hot, well it was HOT, extremely hot, but some rain started coming down. I was so glad Simone and Jessica wanted to continue on, it was perfect and didn't last long at all. Thank goodness! We headed over to the Palazzo Grande for the rest of the party, and that place is GORGEOUS. It suited them perfectly!

Congratulations you two! We had such a great time and wish you the best!

Here are some of my favorites and a slideshow from their day...

Dress: Alessandra Bridal
Flowers: Wafaa's Flowers (email: wafaaflowers@hotmail.com)
Cake: Carmen Humes
DJ: Solid Gold Sound
Limo: Luxury Limousine
Video: Two Penny Productions

Jessica is so beautiful as it is and she was even more radiant the day of...



And Simone... so very handsome!



How cute is this...



Their church was gorgeous...



I LOVE this one...



Sooo cute!!!



Adorable...



The next two are my absolute favorites...






And here is a slideshow from more of their day...

A is for Adrenal Glands

Seriously, who makes a title that? Ha! I do, I guess... hehe!

Well... the never ending back issues I have, have finally figured itself out. I guess I should say I have finally got an answer to what is the root to this terrible pain. (Hint, the title of this entry). After the months and months of pain, from hope then disappointment to more hope and more disappointment, I'm extremely hopeful now. I went to doctor after doctor, four long weeks of physical therapy, two very painful cortisone shots, three chiropractors, one of those telling me that my pain was in my subconscious caused by my childhood, I finally found one that the problem is in my adrenal glands, which in turn caused my ligaments to become weak and affecting my alignment which has caused all the pain.

What are the odds that I would have figured that out on my own... umm... maybe 1 in a gazillion, if that.

I can now sit for longer than 20 mins which is great and now I can blog without being in so much pain I want to croak, so I know that the treatment is working. Let's hope it continues to be positive and that this is the "right" answer and will help completely!

I also have more good news...

Our kitchen is coming along really well... I cooked in it for the first time on Monday and already have high hopes of good meals being cooked using all of that space! It's not "completely" done because we are basically redoing our whole back house: Kitchen (which was the BIG project), back room/dining room, and downstairs bathroom.

Check it out so far...



And also... I'm catching up on a couple wedding edits this week... for sure!!!

Jonathan & Jessica...



And Simone & Jessica... (a different Jessica - ha!)

Inspired by Dogs & Kids... Weird? I know!!!

Oh my gosh... is she not the cutest puppy you've ever seen (besides Maddox, of course!)



What a busy week it's been! I feel like summer is coming to a close... aghh... I want to hang on to it for a couple months more, even though fall is my FAVORITE time of year. I'm hoping that the days will go by slower, if that is even possible. I feel like we've been so busy this summer, especially this past week, that I'm not sure what the day or the time even is. I also know I've been a total blog slacker this summer, but if I had it my way, I would be blogging every day. Unfortunately, somehow the days seem to escape me and I'm not exactly sure where the days or months have gone. It's been one of "those" summers. Where you lose track of all reality and you are living in this world of chaos and un-organization. I sometimes see an end in sight and then something hits me on top of the head and snaps me back... literally snaps my back. Ughh... still working on the back situation... haha!

But this past week was another busy time, YET totally inspiring.

We watched the little love muffin in the photo above, which was so stinkin' sweet. Her name was Romi and I fell in love with her. It made me want to get another 'couple' dogs again. Todd is thinking I'm crazy at this point, but why not help those pups who need a home. I would do the fostering thing again, but it's sooooo hard to give them back. I guess I'll just stick to the watching other people's dogs until I can talk Todd into getting another one of our own, or just bringing one or two home and giving him a few sets of puppy dog eyes... hehe!

But this past week I had the privilege to be a part of such a cool trip to downtown Detroit. Downtown Detroit? Yes, Downtown Detroit. Todd and I are high school youth leaders at our church, and this past week I went down there, while Todd worked (Sorry Babe!), to help with whatever needed done, including: took some photos, pulled weeds, swept trash up, took more photos, mowed a yard with bush trimmers, picked up trash, raked leaves up, talked with some young inner city kids, became even more thankful for what I have, fell in love with 20+ high schoolers who are incredible people, got dirty, smiled and laughed a lot, and took even more photos. I'm sure I'm missing some stuff, but it was such a great trip!

Here are some of the photos from the trip...

Brian & Sarah :: Engagements

Let me dust off the cobwebs to my keyboard right now...

Seriously, it's been over a week since I've been on here. My deepest apologizes right now. It was one whirlwind of a week last week.

I won't go into details, but let's just say I think I now have a pinched nerve in my back and sitting absolutely kills, well sitting, standing, existing in general. I'm trying to function as best as I can. But honestly I'm wondering what in the world is going on. I'm trying to not let it affect me too much, but it seems if it's not one thing, it's another.

But bear with me, as I'm sure this too shall pass...

I did, however, get brightened up as I met with Brian and Sarah the other day. I am glad that taking photos doesn't affect me at all, and believe me when I say it, it actually helps! But both Brian and Sarah are two of the sweetest, kindest, most down to earth and gentle people alive. I knew it was going to be fun when I first met Brian and one of the first things I asked him was what "origin" he was. Ha! Good thing he has a sense of humor and we all just laughed. I totally could have worded that better, but somehow it came out that way. That's me for you... very slick with the wordage. But both of them are awesome and I'm so excited for their wedding in a few weeks!

Congratulations you two... see you both REAL soon!

Here are some of my favorites from our session...

Love this couple!



Raarrr...



One of my many favorites...



Sarah, you look amazing!



Sooo in love...



Adorable...



Umm... can they be any cuter?



LOVE THIS...



Super fun...