Katherine- Children Portraits- St. Louis, MO

This is Katherine, my beautiful niece. 

Mike and I had the chance to head up to St. Louis this past weekend and visit his family.  It was a great time seeing grandparents and the whole clan.  It’s always fun playing with Katherine as well.

In most of these photos she’s "planting a garden".  She has such a big imagination and it’s always fun observing a little part of her world. 
We had a great time in St. Louis, but it's always good to come back home to Memphis.

-gretchen*shaw



Mike and Katherine playing b-ball. 




Tilt your head to the right to match Katherine's face...it's a better view.






Part of the garden-planting-process was creating a wall of protection with sticks. :)

 

wink!

 

Emily and Dylan - Wedding - Lincoln, NE

       I don't really know how or where to start this post...
       I had the privilege and honor to photograph a wedding of a great friend of mine.  Emily and I became friends almost exactly two years ago when we both moved, far away from both of our homes, to Yakima, Washington.  There we worked and served on the Yakama Nation Reservation for a church/non-profit called Sacred Road.   There were some good times out there, and there were some not so good times.  I could go on and on about different things we experienced or tell lots of stories, but I'll try to keep this short.  Emily and I shared a house with 2 other wonderful friends of ours, and essentially did just that...the four of us shared life together.  We laughed and cried and struggled and talked and got angry and ate and worked and prayed and got worn out...together.  We probably all saw the best of each other and the worst of each other. 
       So what does this have to do with Emily's wedding?
       To know even a little about a person, the things that have been on their heart, the joys and the pains, and then to come and celebrate with them an institution that is God-created, God-blessed, and to see a dear friend hold hands with the man she loves and sing Great Is Thy Faithfulness is a joy to me that I cannot describe.  It's times like these when I know, without a doubt, there is a true Groom, and I can't wait to go and meet Him.
      I know I'm probably getting too sappy and emotional, but I'm doing better than on the actual wedding day.  I was nervous about what photos I would actually end up with considering I was usually looking through a blurry and wet view finder. 
      All that to say it was truly a joy to photograph Emily and Dylan's wedding.  AND it was a fun one at that.  The ceremony started at 11:00 in the morning.  The morning light was AWESOME!  There was still a light snow on the ground and with the sun shining through blue skies, it was pretty much a dream come true (Except for the waking up early, freezing-cold-Nebraska-weather part.) 
They were married in a super old church with stained-glass windows all throughout.  Everything was super chill and super relaxed and simple...which I love! There were no freak outs if everyone didn't have the exact same shoes on or if every winkle hadn't been ironed out.  They were there to enjoy the day for why it counts. Their reception wasn't a typical one as well.  Emily and Dylan. along with friends HAND-MADE 3 different kinds of soup and bread to serve all of their guests.  Many friends and family also pitched in to make multiple different cakes to have for dessert.  So, there wasn't just one cake to choose from at this wedding...there were about 20! It was really neat to see so many people come together to bless Dylan and Emily.
      I love these people and loved being a part of their day!

-gretchen shaw