January Wedding Shows & My Associate Photographers

Well it's wedding show time again! We will be a part of 3 shows in January. The first one is All About Weddings on January 5th at the University Plaza Convention Center in Springfield. Our second show will be Wedding Extravaganza on Jan 19th at the Springfield Expo Center. The final Show is the West Plains show to be held on Jan. 26th in West Plains, MO at the Cowan Civic Center. It will be our first time to be a part of the West Plains show. For the brides who have contacted us and know they want to book you might want to contact us before the show at 417.880.6600 and we can get together and get your date reserved before the shows. We always have brides signing contracts at the shows so it's always good to be on the books ahead of time. I look forward to meeting all of the new brides and I always enjoy seeing my brides at the show!
Also, This will be the first year my Associate Photographers will have their own booth! Scott and Christi are so excited to be a part of the wedding shows. They are two wonderful photographers who have been fully trained by me, I am proud they are both a part of my photography team. They are at a different price point so we can serve brides with different photography budgets, we are so excited about this!

I look forward to seeing you at the shows!
Dawn

Bambi Cantrell is Blogging!!!

I just had to share this with all of you photographers out there. My dear friend Bambi sent me an e-mail and told me she is now a blogger! I just about fell over! I have wanted her to blog for some time now so needless to say I am thrilled. She is one of the most talented photographers in the industry and was voted one of the top 10 wedding photographers in the world by American Photo magazine. So what more can I say besides check out Bambi's blog and drop her a comment welcoming her to the world of blogging! ;-) This is truly a gift to the photography community that she is sharing her talent with us. Thanks Bambi! Here is the link to Bambi's blog

Great First dances

Okay so I have never had this happen at a wedding, but I hope I do! ;-) (hint,hint)

URBAN CARLEE!

Okay so I love,love,love photographing children! But I want to photograph who they are not just take a picture of them. I want parents to see the son/daughter they love and know when they look at our work. There is such a difference between capturing them and taking a picture of them. Children are so in tune with everything and they know if you are just trying to make them do what YOU want. So to get really great pitures they have to love what it is you are doing and have FUN! Here is an Urban session with one of my family clients. I have been photographing this little girl for a few years and I love every moment I get to spend with her, I hope you enjoy looking at what she and I created together! Thanks to Carlee and her wonderful parents!

Dawn

Custom Christmas Cards!

Our Families have been keeping Kyla busy designing their Christmas Cards. Thought we might share our favorites!

Megan & Derek

Just thought we would share some photos from our November 3rd wedding! Megan and Derek had a beautiful Autumn themed wedding. It was perfect that the leaves were still on the trees but had the bright gorgeous colors that we love. This is a great couple and we had a lot of fun with them. Doesn't Megan make a beautiful fantastic Bride!

This is why we do what we do!!

Here is a note I just received from one of my wedding clients:

Our love note to you: Where do we even start? Being we were 2,000 miles away from home, websites and phone interviews were all we had to work with! We must say that we weeded through HUNDREDS of photographers, but when we came across Dawn's website, something in our hearts told us she would be the one, and when we talked on the phone for the first time, there was an instant connection and we booked her immediately before anyone swept her up! Our first engagement session attempt is without a doubt one of the most memorable days. We were in town for only one day that October, and of course it was raining! And we don't mean a drizzle. It was an absolute downpour with crosswinds that would knock down a mule. We decided to take cover and as we were walking, our umbrella literally flipped inside out! That's when we realized it wasn't going to happen that day. Dawn was so sweet and understanding, and all she could say was how thankful she was for the time we had given her family to get away and spend time together. How selfless is she? Needless to say, our second go at the engagement session went off without a hitch, and our pictures turned out absolutely amazing! She captured the essence of the day and the love that we share for each other is so easily seen with every picture she had taken. On the day of our wedding, Dawn and her team made sure that all the focus was on us, personalizing every picture. The day moved so quickly and the details that were lost in the busyness of the day were all savored throughout every single picture. In 50 years, we will be able to sit down and look at these pictures and be able to relive the day for what it was. Thank you Dawn. Thank you for everything you've done for us. You are not only our lifelong photographer, but also our lifelong friend. We miss you terribly, and love you more than words. Here's to trashing that dress!! ~Greg & Cassie Dunkel

Maylana & Nate

Here is another one of our awesome couples. We thought we would share with you some of Malayna and Nate's photos. This was such a fun wedding and we had a great time taking photos around Stone Chapel. Here's a fun fact for you: Malayna is the third girl in a group of friends who's wedding we have photographed. Enjoy the photos!

Greg & Cassie Dunkel

Here is a sneak peak at Greg and Cassie's wedding. I had the most wonderful time with this couple. They booked me for their wedding about a year and a half out. So we had some great conversations over the phone and had a total of three times meeting each other before the wedding. This is really good since they lived in Arizona! We had an instant connection from day one so the whole wedding was like hanging out with great friends. It is hard to put into words how great this wedding was so I hope the pics show you what it is like when you have a great bond with your photographer/clients.

Love to you Greg & Cassie!

Trash The Dress Video!!! Goodwin Films

To View the video click here

Okay so can I say once more I LOVE doing these sessions! I really hope you enjoy the video by Goodwin Films. Thanks to Brandon for the great Video and of course thanks to my wonderful couple Tracie and Adam! They have put so much trust in me from day one and it has been wonderful! Love to you both!

Dawn

Demetra & Jamie's Wedding

Demetra and Jamie were wonderful. They were such a super easy couple to work with, and they're so happy!!! We feel totally blessed to have gotten to be part of their special day. They're so laid back, and Demetra is just as sweet as she is pretty :) This is actually the third couple we've photographed in a group of friends. (Remember Cortney and Breanna? They've all known each other for quite a while!!!) OH and here's a fun fact... the first time I (Dawn) met with Demetra to plan her wedding, we had to meet at Panera Bread because it was during the infamous Ice Storm of 2007... no one had any power!!!

Spotlight Vendor...Kim Nave of Signature Weddings

Well as most people know I LOVE wedding coordinators! I think the service they provide is invaluable. I have photographed so many weddings where the mother of the bride (& groom) are working so hard they don't get a chance to be the mom. This is only one of many reasons why I suggest looking into a Wedding coordinator/planner. They offer so many services that I'm sure there will be one that will help you to make your wedding planning go much smoother. I have worked many weddings with Kim as a coordinator including my current Wedding Extravaganza Magazine cover bride Melissa. Also look through my posting of Christy and Gordan's wedding to see a wedding coordinated by Kim. To reach Kim go to www.signatureweddingsbykim.com or call 417.496.6887

TRASH THE DRESS!!!

Here is another fun session done AFTER the wedding. I LOVE doing the trash the dress sessions, they are so much fun and everybody is loving it! So far I have had the honor of going to Hawaii and trashing a dress (in the Rainbow Eucalyptus Forest on the road to Hana if you know where that is) and then taking Miss Missouri 2006 into the woods BEFORE her wedding (what a good sport!) So many girls are asking about me going on their honeymoons so they can do this very thing. Trust me I'm always up for the honeymoon thing, but if it is not in the budget we can find great things to do here at home! Tracie and Adam had such a great session and they looked like supermodels! so enjoy looking over their images. We would love to know your thoughts, so comment! ;-)

Thanks Tracie and Adam it was a blast!