Check back soon....

For more of this adorable baby bump.

Have a happy Monday!

Happy Birthday Danielle

Today is my little sister's 21st birthday. I'm so confused as to when she reached an age older than 12.There was a long period of time where she remained the baby in my mind. She was the little girl doing somersaults during her floor routine in gymnastics. The little sister that Malorie and I picked on for being the youngest. The little sister who was never going to be old enough for boys, make up, or high heels.

And then she grew up. Somewhere along the line she went from being the baby sister to the high school graduate, with the boyfriend, the make up, and the high heels. Today she turns 21, and that little blonde haired 12 year old is gone.

Oh, and have I mentioned she is engaged? This July she will say I Do to her elementary school sweetheart! Seriously, they were in like 6th grade....and in some districts, that's still considered elementary school.

This photo was taken in an attempt to teach Danielle about back lighting. Kelly did a much better job explaining it to me back in April, but hopefully I made some sort of sense.

To my sister, second shooter, and bride to be. This has been a big year. I love you and hope you have a very Happy 21st Birthday!

Poor Guinto and Dyster

We are the worst pet parents ever. When it comes to hair cuts...we like to procrastinate. We wait until poor Guinto's hair covers his eyes and he can no longer see. We hold off until Dyster's little beard gets "bed head" when he sits up after waking from his doggy nap. All of the waiting is partly due to our busy schedules, partly due to laziness, and largely because the only person we trust to groom our pups is an hour and a half away.

About a year after we bought Guinto and Dyster we got this bright idea that we were going to attempt to groom them ourselves. We went out and bought what we thought were fancy special dog clippers. We ran them around to tire them out. We gave them each a bath. We dried and brushed them carefully so they were clean and ready to go.

In our tiny bathroom, I attempted to hold Dyster still as Adam started cutting away. About 3 hours, one fight, and a half shaved dog later, we gave up. There are people who go to school to do this job. And from then on, we vowed to leave it up to Adam's cousin Stephanie, who happens to own her own business doing this very thing we failed so miserably at. We drop the dogs off at Studio K9, get our errands done, and pick them up. No trying to hold the dogs still. No hair all over our bathroom. No sad puppies. And no fighting.

It's that time again.

The Fruit of the Spirit is not a Banana

Last year my friend Jim e-mailed me to see if I would be interested doing a project for the youth group he leads at North County Community Church. I was to take and design a picture for a postcard that would promote the upcoming youth group series. It has since then turned into a pretty regular thing, and I absolutely love it. I thoroughly enjoy wedding and portrait photography, but there is something about these projects that forces me to think outside of the normal realm of picture taking. It challenges me to take a theme and be as creative as possible with the limitations set by specific passages or lesson in the Bible.

This one has turned out to be my favore thus far, probably because this series is surrounded by one of my favorite Bible passages.
Galatians 5:22-23
" But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

It is such an encouraging verse that clearly depicts attributes we should strive to achieve in our daily lives.

Oh that the title? That's part of a song from the days of youth group. It never failes to get stuck in my head each time I hear "fruit of the spirit." And if you know the song....it's now stuck in your head.

Side note: I took this picture in our backyard. When we moved into our house the previous owners gave us some paperwork on our trees....they are insured. We own insured trees. We are so grown up.

Have a very happy Monday!

Christmas in February

For months I have been begging Adam for this camera. He told me I needed to wait. I needed to work for it. I needed to save for it. I pouted.

Now all I can do is thank him. I am so much more thankful and grateful knowing I earned this camera. I earned it through hours upon hours of hard work, dedication, persistance and kind words. Kind words from clients, family, and friends who have trusted and believed in me, even before my very first session. I have been truly blessed far beyond what I can put into words.

Arriving just in time for wedding season, here it is. My new baby!

A special thanks and shout out to Ray at Schillers for all of your help!

It's been a great weekend for Michelle Lunn Photography.

The World Wide Web

Well it's official! I can check off one exciting item from my New Year's Resolution post. Michelle Lunn Photography is now on the WWW. This blog has been wonderful to me! However, as old as the conversation gets, the phrase "check out my blogspot" never ceases to embarrass me. A blog is not embarrassing when you have a website to back it up (in fact it's benefits are immeasurable), but when a blog is the only thing that bridges the gap between my work and my name, professionalism goes out the window.

I have to admit, I finished my "first" website about 2 weeks ago. I wasn't extremely happy with it so I decided to wait and make a few changes. And by a few changes I mean I changed the entire thing. I built the site through Showit and I can not say enough great things about their team! The software's possibilities are endless, and the customer service at Showit is impeccable. I already have plans for the direction I would like to take this site, but I think that is all going to be put on hold now that winter is coming to an end, that was wishful thinking at it's finest. I have a lot of learning and designing to do, and I expect I will be making changes constantly, but for now, I am completely happy with the way it turned out! Check back often for updates! :)

Ladies and Gents, Enjoy.

MichelleLunnPhotography.com

Your website is your handshake and your blog is your voice.
-Jasmine Star quoting Anonymous

I want a firm handshake and a soft voice.
-Me quoting Jasmine Star

My Crazy Valentine♥♥

I know many of my readers are friends of mine so they are more than familiar with this story. To those of you who have heard this once, twice, or more, you have my full permission to stop reading now.

Adam and I were Sophomores in college. He lived in the Sig Nu house and I lived at the Chi Omega house, the two were less than a mile apart. Valentines was approaching and I decided to make big plans. I was going to cook a dinner made up of Adam's favorites, Chicken Parmesan Pasta, garlic bread, salad, chocolate cake topped with my mothers oh so wonderful home made whipped cream icing recipe, and chocolate covered strawberries. Oh and the sparkling cider, you can't forget the cider..because when you are 20, sparkling cider is as cool as champagne.

The Scheme
I wanted to find some way to set up this entire dinner in Adam's room at the Sig Nu house without him knowing. I then wanted to find a way to get him to his room before the food got cold. The idea I came up with was perfect! I had it all figured out. Adam had a test that evening. His plan was to take me out to a new restaurant in Rolla. I told him to call when he was on his way "so I could be ready upon his arrival." Then as soon as he called me, I would bee-line over to Sig Nu with three of my friends and all of the food. We would quickly set everything up, and when he arrived at Chi O I would tell him I was running fashionably late and to make himself comfortable on the couch in the living room. I would then drive back to my house, come downstairs as if I just finished spraying my hair, and walk out the door. On our way to the restaurant I was going to tell him that I left my camera in his room at Sig Nu so we would have to stop by his house before dinner. Perfect right?

Reality
My phone rang and my I was off, with all 3 of my accomplices. We actually must have gotten there in record timing because we pulled into the parking lot just in time to watch as Adam exited the font door at Sig Nu all spiffed up for dinner. We each took a dish, or two then headed upstairs to where his room was. I was in such a frenzy as I put my hand on the door, thinking we needed to run in as fast as we could without spilling the Chicken Parmesan and get out of there before he suspected anything. Much to my surprise I opened the door and there it was.

A table in the middle of the room.
Two chairs.
A black table cloth, cleanly pressed and draped perfectly.
Red Roses.
Two plates. One with a rose and a Jewelry box laid across it.
And last but not least, food!

We had the same idea! He cooked all of my favorites! Fettuccine, oriental salad, and chocolate cake! I freaked. My friends knew his plan the entire time so they were sure to snap a few photos of me as I stood in shock after opening the door. In a moment of panic I decided the best thing to do at this point was to shove all of the food under his bed, out of sight so he wouldn't know I had been in his room. I know, I was just full of brillian ideas that night!

My friends and I laughed the entire car ride back to Chi O. I snuck back into the house and I walked downstairs the way I always had, 15 minutes late. We walked outside, got into the car, and we were headed to "the restaurant."

"I forgot the directions," he said, "so we will have to make a quick detour to Sig Nu." I couldn't hold it in, my nerves got the better of me and I blurted out, "I have a confession, I saw EVERYTHING and there is an Army's worth of food under your bed!"

We really did have enough food to feed all of Rolla for about 3 days. It was probably the best Valentines to date! We had so much fun stuffing our faces and laughing as we told each other what we went through that day.

4 years later, I entered this story into the "My Crazy Valentine Contest" on St. Louis' local radio station, 92.3 WIL. A few days later I got a call from Bo Matthews himself! He told me if I could tell my story on the air they would send me a $100 gift certificate to the Melting Pot. I was so nervous I rambled on forever. After much editing on the radio station's part and hearing my annoying voice on the air, we had a night out at the Melting Pot!

That year will be hard to top, but this year we had a nice relaxing evening at home. I made dinner, he did not. We watched a movie and cuddled with our puppies.

I hope everyone had a fantastic Valenties day!

Sarah and Josh Tie the Knot: Part II

Sarah and Josh's wedding was a fantastic way to kick off 2011! The first moment I saw Sarah in her dress I sat there in Aw. Her gown was gorgeous and she was stunning. When Josh first saw Sarah in her dress it brough a tears to his eys, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a little choked up watching him myself. After the ceremony we spent a short time out on Main Street in front of the Conservatory to get a few shots of the two of them.

Josh continued to look at Sarah the same way he did when she first walked down the aisle (minus the tears). He had this look of adoration that I could not get over and I think it radiates through each and every photo.

Sarah, you are beautiful!

Sarah and Josh, thank you SO much for allowing me to be a part of your special day! You two are perfect for one another!

Thank you to my second shooter and sister Danielle for your help and your moral support. I can't wait for this wedding season with you!

And finally, thank you again to Amy, for trusting me with your clients!...I guess I should thank Maddie (Amy's daughter) as well, without her I would not have had the opportunity to shoot Sarah and Josh's wedding day!

Sarah and Josh Tie the Knot: Part I

I had never been to the Conservatory before. It was beautiful, especially with the overcast skies. As Sarah was getting ready and guests piled in, I could feel the excitement in the venue. Josh was as sweet as a groom could be. It was quite obvious, he was extatic to be marrying Sarah.

And then there were the kids. I have never seen so many adorable chilren come from one family. Each child that walked through the double doors of the Conservatory was just as charming as the next. I love kids. My origial life plan was to become a teacher, which I still intend to do....once I finish school, someday. Lucky for me my second shooter loves kids just as much as I do and she did a great job capturing their little faces throughout the day. This commonality is just one of the reasons why I love my second shooter. The main reason you ask? Because she is my sister! Yes, Danielle is braving the photography industry with me, and I'm so excited and so blessed to have the help and support from someone who knows me so well.

I'm doing things a little bit different this time around. I'm excited to blog this wedding and rather than one super long post, I am dividing it into two. So I will start with a few ceremony pictures....and of course an adorable mini kids feature. Then check back next time for some after ceremony shots of Sarah and Josh, they'll be worth the wait!

First kiss as husband and wife

Now check out the cute little faces and adorable outfits on these kids in the wedding!











And now, a little teaser of what's to come. Check back soon for a lot of love between this Mr. and Mrs!


To be continued.....

Next on the Blog...

A gorgeous bride, a handsome groom, the conservatory, and my love for my second shooter.

Check back soon! Happy Friday!!