Heather Neal Photography

This was such a lovely late spring wedding at the First Baptist Church in Lee’s Summit, MO and SUCH a sweet couple. Usually I have already shot a few weddings by June but this wedding actually kicked off my wedding season and it was a great start to a busy year of “I do’s”. One of my favorite things to do when blogging about weddings is play “My favorite things”. As someone who attends A LOT more weddings than the average person I think it’s interesting and fun to take a look back at what stands out to me and what I loved most about each one, so here are my faves from this beautiful day:

1) The tradition. So many weddings today include all kinds of unique things to really stand out and usually those are some of the things you can find on my “favorite things” list. What stood out to me in this case though was the charming and comforting tradition that you don’t see that often anymore. I hadn’t realized how much I had missed a good church wedding!

2) The Father/daughter/grandfather dance. Ok, this is really #1. The father daughter dance gets me every time. I think it’s because I know how quickly time is flying and I can just picture my husband and daughter on her wedding day every time I watch a bride and her father. Although it’s not just me, these are often the biggest tear-jerking moments in most of the weddings I shoot. So at this particular wedding when grandpa cut in, well…let’s just say it’s hard to shoot through tears. But luckily I managed to capture it all.

3) The slideshow. There were multiple big screens with slideshows of the bride and groom from their childhood all the way through the present playing during the entire reception which was a lot of fun!

4) The bouquet/garter toss. So perfect. The girls eagerly hoping to catch the bouquet with a few little girls who are dreaming of someday being a bride especially hoping to be the lucky catcher and then a bunch of guys standing around hoping NOT (or at least acting like it) to catch the garter.

Congratulations and many happy years to this lovely couple!

Definitely one of the biggest honors of my job is to be asked to photograph a wedding. There is something so special about being there from start to finish of one of the most special days of a couple’s lives. This couple had some bad luck leading up to their wedding. Every time I checked in with them for an update in the weeks and months prior to their big day something had gone wrong or someone was sick. I kept telling them they were getting everything out of the way so their wedding day would be perfect. And it was. I loved that this venue (Cellar 222) was located in downtown Kansas City. I also love that I was able to find an alley right behind it with graffiti, ivy and strung lights! If you haven’t noticed, these alleys are kind of my thing this year. 😉 Another favorite thing from this wedding was their first look. I edited it in both black and white and color for them, but I always personally lean towards black and white when it comes to capturing real moments and I just love these. Also check out the image of the Bride and Groom in the window. Maybe not one for the frame but it makes me laugh because I was in the reception area capturing details before the guests arrived and the Bride and Groom were waiting outside for everything to get ready. I noticed them through the window and tried to get a “candid” shot of them talking and enjoying the moment alone…but I got caught. Oh well…LOL. Lots of love and best wishes for the future for this sweet couple and their lovely family!

I’m not sure how or why I waited so long to blog this beautiful wedding but it’s sooo worth the wait. This was the second daughter (of three) from this family who’s wedding I was fortunate enough to photograph and it was perfect just like her sister’s. Seriously a wonderful family and they have found wonderful husbands as well! This was the first wedding I have done in Warrensburg and I absolutely loved the venue…Milestones Barn. Such a fun wedding and fun time working with this family again. I look forward to working with them again in the future. The third sister caught the bouquet so…who knows?

It’s been a while since I’ve had a wedding to post but this one makes up for the wait. It was a perfect late fall day at Deer Creek Golf Club. Such a beautiful wedding and blushing bride and what a happy family that was joined together! I always like to reminisce on my favorite things when blogging about a wedding and I have several this time. Obviously the grooms wedding band. I absolutely loved that he had a ring that he just couldn’t wait to put on. Grooms deserve to feel that way too! The wedding gown. This bride was absolutely beautiful and her gown was amazing! The Bride/Son dance. They had a little trick up their sleeve and what started out as a serious dance turned into something fun instead…Gangnam Style! Many wishes for many, many happy years to this couple and their wonderful little family.