When Candice contacted me about photographing her wedding I was excited to shoot in Northeast Nebraska again. In my heart I am still a small town girl. I seriously love the way Pender unites and shows up to celebrate. Candice and Martin's wedding didn't disappoint!


The Gardea wedding was filled with meaningful moments, from the first look with Candice's dad to the heartfelt toasts and spotlight dances. The whole day was a vivid picture of what is right in this nation, and right in our state. What a beautiful coming together of different cultures and traditions. I witnessed so much love, willingness to try new things and such a welcoming spirit that it warmed my heart on so many occasions. When Martin's sweet little grandmother welcomed Candice into the family with a hug or when Martin's dad stepped alongside Candice's dad during the speech to comfort him, it brought tears to my eyes.



Candice was a radiant bride. Not only is she beautiful, but she is spreading her beautiful vision into Pender with an amazing restoration project. Her vision made for one of my favorite photo backdrops of all time, but I especially loved how personal it felt to photograph her on her wedding day at the Palace Lofts.

One of the best parts about my business is watching families grow up and celebrating many special and significant moments with them.

I've gotten to watch Brock grow up in front of my camera from the Little Brother at his sister's wedding, to his high school graduation, now falling in love, and soon becoming a husband! Having that opportunity is such an honor to me.

Brock and his lovely Bride-to-be were so much fun to work with. They were willing to go for it with all my ideas, let me drag them around to several locations and didn't even mock me (too much) when I told them my age and was off by a solid 10 years (it how old you feel right?).


Camille told me during our consult that she dislikes having her picture taken. This is something that I hear all the time, and also totally relate to. Getting in front of the camera can feel hard. Body image for women, especially in this day and age is hard! However, Camille rocked her session beautifully - like model level! Seriously, how cute is she?

I adore engagement sessions. Young love is so beautiful, natural, and affection happens so organically. Watching the gentleness, kindness and tenderness between a couple is good for my soul.


I also love engagement session from a strictly business point of view. Having a "trial run" before the wedding has so many benefits. From a photographer's side, it gives me an opportunity to get to know you, what makes you smile, how to help you relax in front of the camera, your "best" side, if you blink a lot, etc. All those little things I am watching for during engagement pictures helps so much on the Big Day. A potential downside is that you might already know all my cheesy jokes on the wedding day, but that's a risk I'm willing to take ("Two guys walk into a bar. The third guy....")

One of the joys of my job is how it connects me to people I wouldn't have met otherwise. Beautiful people like Bri!

As we went through our initial consultation in preparation for their engagement session, Bri told me that she loved the rustic beauty of the country. We talked about what she and Mark love to do together, where they are most comfortable, then we settled on heading to Mark's childhood home for our photos.

Mark's childhood home was one beautiful surprise after another! Bri had never been  upstairs in the barn, and as we walked up it took our breath away! What a beautiful piece of history. I loved hearing Mark talk about how as children they would play basketball up here.









THIS!!!

One of the most common phrases I hear since having Adeline is "I bet you have some great pictures of her / Do you just take pictures of her all day?" While I do have tons of pictures of this little sweetie, the old adage that the shoemaker's children have no shoes is also true.



I was determined that I would actually go through her pictures and make a special video for my and my little family. I'm only a week past my deadline too!

Our year has been amazing. My heart is overwhelmed by all the sweet moments our family has had and the joy of baby in our household. It's almost more than I can process even! Pip has been the sweetest baby, and T has been the best brother- well, as brothers go! I cannot image our family any other way.




We would love your comments on this post to celebrate Pip's birthday and her miracle story.

Blessings,
Julie