A teaser has been in order for a few months now and it’s finally time to showcase Mr. & Mrs. Jeremiah Johnson! You may remember Jeremiah and Adriel from their engagement photos here. If you know me you know I only take on a few weddings here and there and it has to be just the right mix of fun, details and of course the perfect couple for me to say yes. This one was an easy yes for me! She could have just told me the colors and I would’ve been hooked – turquoise, orange and brown (notice my blog colors). The details of this wedding were incredible…the beautiful off-white dress with incredible beading and tulle detail, the ribbon look of the bridesmaid dresses, the sharp tuxes with their turquoise ties, the old, little, white, church, the sparklers, the adorable black and turquoise favor boxes for the sweets bar, the birch branches and flowers – it all makes me giddy just thinking about it!

I spent the day with Adriel and she couldn’t have been more relaxed or ready to just be married. She had every detail just right and wasn’t worried about a thing. When those doors opened and she came down that isle with her dad she looked absolutely stunning! I wish I could have had a second shooter just to get Jeremiah’s reaction as she arrived. I know his heart skipped a beat.

The girls weren’t ready in time to shoot photos before the wedding, but the guys and I had a little pre-wedding fun! We stirred the pot a little at the church and got in a little trouble for pushing the envelope, but the images we did get were worth it! They all looked super sharp and I’m sure they enjoyed my theatrics as I shot. I tried to get a full shot of the churh steeple and when I was lying down in the snow nearly at the river I’m certain they had a good laugh at my expense, but hey – it was worth a try! Thanks guys for being down for anything and taking a little heat for my creativity.

If you’ve ever attended a reception with Jim Matherly you know he’s going to get you on your feet and keep the party going as long as the venue will let him. But, ff you’ve ever been to a reception with Jim Matherly and OUR FAMILY you know the party ain’t stoppin’ until someone is pushing our crew out the door and unplugging Jim’s speakers. Okay well not literally, but our family knows how to rock it out! From the family shot, to the 50 person train, to the sweet swing dancing by the Wolfe brothers – this reception was no exception!

What a great night and a beautiful way to start your new life together. We wish you the very best while you endure the icky Texas and New Mexico heat for the next year +. We miss you already and wish we could have made it work to see each other in Texas. Congratulations you guys and thanks again for your patience!  Love you both.  Enjoy!

Oh and even though the image quality isn’t great on the bouquet and garter toss series of images near the end of the slide show I think it is pretty hilarious and worth checking out! Look at the determination of the chicks to get that bouquet and watch the guys as they wait to see who is brave enough to pick up the garter – hysterical!

I’ve been craving some outside shooting and when I came across this shoot from last winter and it reminded me that with all our beautiful sunlight returning and the incredible sunrises and sunsets we’ve been having that some snowy fun is in order. So if you’re up for some snowy family fun give me a shout and we can gear up and head outside! Have a great weekend.  

One of my goals for this year is to learn to photograph at night (the moon, stars, fireworks, northern lights etc..). I picked up a book at the library this week and put a little of what I learned to use. This is my first and second stabs at photographing the moon. These shots were taken on Sunday. It was about 35 below and I was bundled in my new PJ’s, hat and Uggs. I have some work to do, but it was fun to have results on my first trip outside.

There are some really amazing things about it being 40 below… Hot tubbing at the cabin with icicles on your eyelashes yet feeling like it’s warm out is pretty amazing. Dropping a quarter in the parking lot and trying to retrieve it within 30 seconds only to break a nail because it’s already embedded in the ice is pretty amazing. Our ice fog sunrise and sunsets are pretty amazing. And lastly, the site of a spider web at 40 below, to me, is also pretty amazing. So for all of you who are wishing for warmer temps here are a few shots at 40 below to make you smile, cringe or at least appreciate for a minute these chilly days. Oh and a fun collage of a sunny backyard shoot I did of Lael while we were in Texas. Stay warm!

Hot tubbin at the cabin with my bro & my tough Alaskan girl over New Years

Sun rise, sun rise looks like morning in your eyes…

Chilly spider webs

A little sun for the soul…

You know when you meet a family and you just feel like you’ve known them forever – that’s how we felt from the day we met these guys. We bought land from them in Cantwell and after a little back and forth on price we got the deal sealed by throwing in a photo shoot! They are a young, fun, down to earth, Alaskan family who feel genuine to the core. They have a great life in Cantwell – they live in a beautiful cabin on the river, they hunt, grow their veggies, bake their bread, enjoy the land and teach the kids how to appreciate the little things. He’s a pilot and owns a guide business. After working super hard in the summer and fall they head for warmer weather in the winter. We admire the simplicity of their life and feel we could all use a lesson in getting back to the basics and appreciating the little blessings life has to offer.

The kids were a little cranky about being cold so the shoot wasn’t quite the vision they had in mind, but as a result there are a TON of awesome images. Enjoy the teaser!