Behind the Scenes of the 2020 Wedding + Portrait Season!

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It’s the moment. . . err…post, we’ve all been waiting for. . .

I know you guys surely enjoy seeing the beautifully curated blog posts, the lovely images, the pretty little details, the emotional moments, the joyful laughs, ya know… all that good stuff. But I also know, that you also enjoy seeing the oopsies, the accidents, the awkwardness, the fails, the falls, the outtakes, and all that entails the “behind the scenes”…

How could you not!?

This post — I look forward to putting this post together year after year possibly more than any other post I do.. lol why? Because it’s REAL!! I mean, wedding moments are real too, and engagement session moments are real as well… but obviously with weddings and engagements, anniversaries etc — I’m choosing to show you the best of the best, the curated version. The, perception is reality version.

But this post? Oh no. I rip the lid off. I show you the stuff that most photographers probably would prefer never see the light of the day, the stuff most photographers probably delete. But not I says me, not I.

I give you — the outtakes and behind the scenes of the 2020 wedding season

Disclaimer: It’s totally cool to share this, cause I love transparency and honesty and I don’t mind people laughing with me. It’s totally cool to share this cause my couples are awesome and don’t mind my sharing their less than stellar moments. Don’t take life too seriously folks, we don’t make it out alive anyways :)

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Jill and Pietro….. random airplane arms and, well, I’m not sure

When you pop into an art gallery for some unique candid photos, and the owner shares a bunch of stories with you about his native homeland and the art in his store —

When in the middle of your engagement session… your sister and her fiance show up nearby to tour a venue and come over for a quick chat — true story, lol this for real happened, unplanned!!

When a train goes by during your engagement session and it’s impossibly L O U D

After chatting with Jill’s sister, these guys decided to chat it up with a local, he didn’t have as much to say though.

No mirror no problem!

What actually happens at engagement sessions —

When innocent walkers come by and become not so innocent

Trust falls…. important part of your engagement session, and of any relationship

Justtttt before Covid hit, there was a really fun day I got to spend at The Hawthorne House — they had recently completed a bunch of really impressive renovations and I went up to take photos of it all!! In addition, we planned a small styled shoot — with the help of sweet Ashley from Good Earth Floral, Cottontale KC, Pretty + Planned, Posh KC, Emily Hart Bridal, Supply Events, BBJ Linen, 71 Studios Video and one of MY awesomeeeee past couples — Yuki + Anton!

A little behind the scenes photo of me taking some behind the scenes photos of Ashley, haha —

And a quick iPhone shot of me with my sweet couple! SO glad they were able to join us for this — they definitely make good company, AND good models ;)

Speaking of good company… Anton knows how to have fun, including that photo on the right haha. Sorry John!

Wanna see the full shoot from this day?? You can see some pretty shots of Hawthorne House, and of Yuki + Anton’s modeling skills — oh and some cotton candy eating cause obviously cotton candy is a requirement!! — Spring Wedding Inspiration at The Hawthorne House.

And that same day — once the sun went down, Hawthorne House opened up their doors to a really special open house bridal event! And yayyyy I got to see FIVE of my couples who were/are getting married there — all these sweet lovelies below except ONE got married there last year!

From left to right:
See Susan + Loren’s wedding!
Katie + Andy’s wedding to come May 2021!
See Erin + Gabe’s!
See Miranda + Sawyer’s!
See Emily + Joel’s wedding!

Another fun night pre-Covid was when one of my 2020 brides turned friend — Miss Annie below!! The actress extraordinaire, was in a local Kansas City play and I went to one of her showings!! SO much freakin’ fun to see her do something she loves to much! And yessss before ya wonder, it absolutely stirred up my wannabe-an-actress-daydreams!!

Editing day assistant pictured left ….. Vendor Zoom call (with a blurry unable-to-sit-still doggy) pictured right!

Every single year I manage to get an accidental shot of my own feet — I graduated in 2020, to accidentally getting shots of my couples’ feet — GO ME

Left:
Kristin “Come on buddy, smileeeee, show Elizabeth your teeth!”
Right:
Behind the scenes moment? Yes. Sweet memorable moment? Also yes.

Emily and Joel — making sneak attacks work, even in the rain. And Emily’s Dad showing up with their doggies and a really genius way to keep their clothes from getting wet!

Pretty sure a bride who can balance their bouquet in the palm of their hand wins an award… like a second piece of wedding cake. Go Greysen!!

When mini donuts get hand delivered to the dance floor… THEN it’s a party!

Susan and Loren’s engagement session… momentarily interrupted by a slow-moving turtle, headed for the water. Moments later, Susan going to extremes to make Loren laugh, hey, I laughed!

This might be a behind-the-scenes situation, but it’s also a really special situation. Jill and Pietro Facetimed her sweet Grandma who couldn’t be at the wedding in person — this call allowed her to see her family, and her beautiful granddaughter in her wedding dress!!

Your girls really really step up for ya on your wedding day — case and point:

Checking for goose poop? Looking for wildlife? Playing a game? — Nah man, this is the “we tossed our car keys on the ground and now can’t find them”

The face of a heavy pour

Sometimes I catch bugs mid flight — like below, and instead of a bug, or in this case, a dragonfly… it turns out looking like a mini helicopter headed straight for Rachel and Josh’s heads

And sometimes cute doggies doing cute things distract me during your photos

When Amy said she bet they could climb that tree, I knewww the photo on the right would be totally and completely worth it — but during the photo on the left, I was behind my camera praying up a storm that neither of them would fall outta said tree

Standing on log seemed like a good idea at the time…

How many strong ladies does it take to pop the cork off a champagne bottle…..?

When the moment you see yourself in your dress on your wedding day is so amazing, you can’t help but break the intensity of said moment with a silly face!

Bridesmaid veil floofer extraordinaire — thank goodness for these types every single year!

Tara showcasing how incredibly hot it was on her wedding day:

Continued hot wedding day examples — gotta air out the undercarriage:

Flash a peace sign at me on your way down the aisle? Guarantee I’ll take your photo at the reception when you clearly can’t hang

First boob grab of someone other than his Mom….. monumental moment

Bartender second from left…. so help me, come 2021 I will get you back

Lipstick smudges, always happening when ya least expect it

Everybody wants in on the footage

Balance lost, BALANCE LOST —>

Pretty sure I end up with a shot like this every wedding season — if a plane flies over during your outdoor wedding ceremony, chances are I’ll take its photo

And for this wedding and this plane… everyone else also noticed said plane

Bet ya no one saw that one coming

Videographers double as veil floofers too!

Hot as effin balls? You absolutely use your wedding dress to wipe the sweat — no shame in her game!!

The entertaining ways of Luke — as endured by Alison — as photographed by me:

What I said - “Gently spin that lady around!” —
What Connor heard - “Roughly spin her around as fast as possible”

All I hear when I see this is “HMMMM?”

Getting down the aisle how she damn well pleases

There’s always that ONE groomsman who just can’t keep it together — case and point:

When your BFF surprises you on your wedding day with a custom pair of undies….. with your future husbands face on them.

Theatrical water break — that face though!

For the rest of my career I will be requiring an attention-hogging-doggy in the bridal party photos

When an innocent round of the shoe game turns into — who’s shoes stink the worst??

Judge ruled — Kaylie’s the winner of stinkiest shoes!!

Howling at the moon a little early in the evening

They act like they got caught doing something bad, he was zipping it UP I swear!

Love when strangers cheer and clap for ya on your wedding day!

Love it when the guys mock the girls doing the “hand in the hair”, and love it even more when I catch that ish

Please note that none of these shots are in focus. Not a single one. Why ya wonder? Because this sweet little angel gave me a run for my money, that’s why

And when she finally slows down for a second… it’s only to be nosey in my camera bag lol

Do you think Maddie knew??

Gimme an “M!”

Moving Grandma the easiest way possible — and Mom over there with the thumbs up, lol I love it.

Minor hazing on your wedding day?

Those dang veils always giving ya trouble, but dang they look so good!! — PS, love these sweet videographers: Abby + her hubby Brad!!

Remember when I said veils look so dang good though???… I may have spoke too soon…

Love working with awesome videographers like Abby + Brad, but every time I work with such, another line gets uttered outta my mouth approx 7,000 times per day — “Guys this camera right here!!!” — look at poor Brad haha, trying to direct their attention to me too! It’s a team effort out there!

Poor guy. Convinced, completely, that he caught the garter…

This wedding was a DREAM and it involved a DREAM TEAM!! iPhone pics were a must!!

ANOTHER PERK TO BOOKING ABBY AND I TOGETHER — after we get home late….utterly exhausted from your amazingggg day — we snap each other photos like these gems:

His name is Bradley and he’s full of shenanigans and laughing at his own self —

Of all people, of course Bradley is one to pop his knee like Cinderella!

Everybody line up for spray deodorant!

“PSST PSSST”

Let’s talk for a second about Alli’s PRECIOUS Grandma… making sure Alli’s train was taken care of was her number one priority, and she took that job SO seriously! AND SHE’S INSANELY ADORABLE!

Sweat wiping …. the not so glamorous side of weddings, but reality no doubt — Alli still makes it look good though, THAT BABE!

Picking up the groomsmen like…

Bridesmaid second from right — CERTAIN she just accidentally flashed me — can’t stop laughing over this, even now LOLOL

Time to pick up the bride now!!

CHEEEEEEEESE

Wedding day group selfies, a must!!

Me in my happy place — a field of wildflowers and a beautiful joyful couple on their wedding day!!

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY

LOL Poor Aaron… terrified. For good reason — look at those mongrels coming in hot

Someone didn’t get the memo about the matching socks

Groomsman second from right…. SUCH SASS.

Coolin’ it in the bridal suite

When your girls are JAZZED about photos!!

Poor Aaron.. always getting snuck up on! But this time, not mongrel groomsmen… this time, a hot new wife!

This bridesmaid was GOALS … determined to win the game, she took that groomsman down like a champ!

Element of surprise, or actual scare?? Who can say!

One of my favorite second shooters, Miss Alissa! We work well together, we take iPhone pics together, AND we take Polaroid pics together! :)

Bridesmaid bottom left — poor girl just couldn’t get her confetti popper to pop

Alissa and I sharing those train duties!

Left: When bubbles attack
Right: Honorary groomsman

SNEAK ATTACKS FOR THE WIN!

Wedding day necessities

More sneak attacks for the win — but this time, with a flower! So sweet of Cory!

Spin your partner round and round and… oope

Late night wedding surprises of the very best kind…

Photo bomb

Someone’s really excited to see the photographer

Teamwork!!

When the best man forgets the rings and the coordinator brings them out mid-ceremony — smooth, real smooth

Coffee dates with other photographers and wedding day selfies with venue owners turned best friends — all a part of this glorious job!!

Such a good brand new husband!

Never will pass up the chance for a photo with my sweet sweet couples!!

They spent a lotttt of time talking about + trying to decide just how many buttons is the right amount of buttons to be unbuttoned….

When I said there are spiders in this field as big as our heads

Photos with my sweet brides — another photo I’ll never ever pass up!!

Quick break from photos for a small back injury — zippers cut sometimes yo

Photobomb’s happen every chance a photobomber gets

Veil floofers are almost always my second shooters, the videographer, the planner, a bridesmaid, a groomsman… but on this wedding day, it was a very-eager-to-help guest… IN HEELS. And no, she didn’t fall down, not once!

MOM’S (aka: rockstars) — there to catch your gum as you spit it out, and there to check your underarm hair

Trying to put me outta business by shooting over my head with a snack plate and drink also in hand, pfft

Heyyy girl heyyyyyy

So ravenous for chocolate that she’s simultaneously eating her own hair…. relatable if I’ve ever seen relatable.

Ever wondered what it looks like when a guest spills beer on your photographer’s camera — well, here ya go!

Payton on left — “Okay who can pop their leg most like a Disney princess in three…. two…… ONE”

Intermission of engagement photos for a very intense chess match // and another quick intermission for a very unique selfie with meeee

Tip to the wise — check teeth prior to photos

LEFT: group selfie on a wedding day with the lovely couple, the videographer, me, and the venue owner!
RIGHT: same wedding, but the funnel cake guy says “Hey I got a good shot of you on the dance floor earlier”, and I said “OH cool, send it to me!” — and this was it. Epic.

Collecting ladybugs out of the bridesmaids’ hair — you’d be surprised (maybe) how often we all gotta do this on wedding days!

Hands down one of the best timed shots I have EVER taken in my life — this guys face is everything LOLOL

Party so hard you rip the armpit of your wedding dress — and then ya keep on partying #awesomebride

Cats at venues — result in my getting very distracted. Not pictured is me repeatedly whispering “mew mew mew mew mew mew mew”

Quick game of how far can I get these Spanx to fly across the room

If you show up for photos with something stuck in your teeth that your wife has to remove for you… I will photograph the entire thing.

And will definitely continue the photos when your wife ultimately gets grossed out (I may have gotten grossed out too)

So happy about getting that slimy green thing out of his teeth, he takes the motorized cart for a spin

Tanner — feeling unsure about this cake cutting process

Tanner “Did you guys see how much cake she took down in one bite!?”

When the shot you didn’t fully want turns out to be just as disgusting as you feared —

The shadows on my shirt make me look even sweatier than I actually was, haaa

Scaring small children with my camera since the early 2000’s

Screw the aisle, this kid does what she wants

The most common way the littles get down the aisle — so much pressure, I get it!!!

Videographer taking the veil floofing job so seriously she legit looks like she’s being overtaken by a tornado — I SEE YOU GIRL

…………..awkward.

Donuts at weddings…. donuts are one of my biggest vices…. I get so distracted by them, I accidentally take a photo of my own reflection instead of the donuts

He gets it, he totally gets it!

When your bridal party loves you just as much as your new spouse loves you

She just can’t help herself and I was there for it

Even helping you get your boogers — that’s friendship right there

Peace-sign flashing bridesmaid never misses an opportunity

Tyrannosaurus Scott strikes again

Scott though…

Took Molly a minute to realize what Scott was up to

When ya gotta go, ya gotta go, and that’s that!

When the walk back from the car to the woods is just easier if you wear your fiancé’s massive shoes

Another tyrannosaurus!? Those suckers are always popping up in my photos!!

When you aren’t the touchy-feely type at all….

Me: “What will you eat first later tonight, cake or cookies??”
Rodger:

Teeth pickin’ — I’m telling ya, I’ll photograph it every single time.

Photo intermission for a vendor who needed up the driveway

Awesome videographer Kory stepping up to help floof the veil!

Not Kory’s fault —

When the prompt given is beyond the brides comfort zone — Rodger loved it though! haha

Element of surprise — I think she definitely surprised him

The moment the real relationship shows through:

Butt grabs, you do ‘em, I’ll shoot ‘em

Somebody’s readyyyyy to get marrieddddd!

Girls so excited to hug the bride, a vase of water/flowers gets knocked over and pandemonium ensues…

Pandemonium continues as one of the bridesmaids rushes past the camera to grab towels — and totally looks like a deer caught in the headlights LOL

2020 family photos — social distancing

The wind on Annie and John’s wedding day was out of freakin’ control — but naturally, Annie took it as an opportunity to lean into her theater side, in the best way possible lol

It meeeeee

Something about this uncontrollable windy shot makes the Titanic theme song cue up in my head, and I love it

We totallyyyy got asked to leave the premises by the monk…. oop.

How the girls felt about being asked to leave

VS how the guys felt about being asked to leave

Sweet second shooter Lauren, helping a girl out!

John Kyle…. taking the sneak attack prompt SO seriously lol

Annie talking about how 2020 was so messy and complicated for us all — so why not kick off their reception with CAKE FIRST ;)

The kind of stuff that happens during heartfelt toasts

Photographers get craaaazy too, trust me

This kid though..

Father of bride getting sassssssyyyyy

One of my favorite DJ’s and one of my favorite planners — at the same wedding!!! Fernando himself of Fernando Productions and Keasha of True Love Coordination!

Bridesmaid doing a fine job of introducing the star of the day — bride, Emily!

Sometimes on your wedding day, you cut your toe on a sneaky nail in the floor

The moment you know things are getting out of hand…

All I did was walk up and this guy struck this pose…

…. for this guy, and his reaction was… so good, I still can’t think of a caption that sums it up well enough lol

Tradition continues — I take a celebratory selfie when I get home from my last wedding of the year!! The look of success!!

The prompt may or may not have had something to do with a butt grab… and Julia may or may not have grabbed a little too hard LOL

Updated headshot outtakes ….. totally gotta for sure include these gems lol

Back in 2018 I started taking a selfie in any mirror I could find on wedding days, I didn’t do it every wedding, just when it crossed my mind. But over time, it became a tradition, and this past year, I finally gave it a name/hashtag for social media purposes — #weddingdaymirrorselfie

Andddd…. not only that, but this past year, it caught on in the industry, and others started doing it too! Mike, as you’ll see, always tags me in his and I love that other photographers are doing this! More wedding day mirror selfies in 2021!!!

Go Mike go!

Popularity gained so much that at my last wedding of 2020, I took a solo mirror selfie as usual, and then when my bride arrived, one of the first things she asked me was if I had taken one yet, and then wanted to take one with me!!

Rounding out the year and this post with a “we survived the 2020 wedding season” coffee/bubble tea date with none other than my mirror-selfie-copy-cat-buddy, MIKE!! :)

And that’s it, folks!

That’s all she wrote! That’s all there is to see — all of the 2020 wedding and portrait season wrapped up in my fave shots, and all of the 2020 season wrapped up in the behind-the-scenes recapping kinda way. I hope you enjoyed this!!