SARAH

Sarah and I met up on Sunday to shoot her senior pictures. She wanted something different, stylish and a little funky. I think we pulled that off! Especially with her great look and style! :) We had such a blast! I've been meaning to post these for a few days now, but I am a little behind on everything with all that has happened over the past couple of days!! Here are some favorites:





Her boyfriend even dropped by to get in a few pictures! What a nice guy!






A note to those of you who have contacted me in the past couple of days - I will be spending the majority of my day on Thursday returning phone calls and replying to emails. I have a TON of things to get caught up on, so if you do not here from me Thursday, please know I will be doing my best to get in touch with you on Friday. And thank you to everyone for all of the great comments and emails on the pregnancy! :) You guys are the best! I am super excited.........and cramping..........and a little hormonal! hahaha! I will hopefully know tomorrow how far along I am. And there will be a special blog started up just to keep up with the pregnancy and the new baby!!!

Have a great day!

~ Crystal

BIG NEWS!

I just wanted to share with everyone that Jeremy and I found out Monday that I am PREGNANT!!! wow! This is very unexpected because we were NOT trying! But we are very excited. I have been busy over the past couple of days calling family and friends and letting them know. I am on my way to the doctor right now to have some tests run. I will let you know how it goes!! :)

I had three of these positive tests!!!! :)

I also found out on Sunday night that my best friend since 7th grade, Jill, is pregnant as well! She and her husband live about 10 minutes away, so it is going to be a blast going through this together!!!!! So exciting!!!!!!! Oh, and Jill, thank you for forcing me to take the test! I wouldn't even know by now if you hadn't!!!! :)

I had an AMAZING senior shoot with a fabulous girl Sunday evening. I have been soooo anxious to post them, but I've been a little distracted. :) I will post her pictures very soon though!!! :)

Everyone have a great day!! :)

~ Crystal

CARRIE AND JEFF

Sarah and I traveled down to Lake Degray last weekend to shoot Carrie and Jeff's wedding. The ceremony took place at a lodge overlooking the lake. It was a beautiful day!! Carrie and Jeff are both from Arkansas but live in Austin, Texas now. It sounds like they love Austin.....exept for one little thing. Carrie is a die-hard Arkansas Razorback fan!!! :) (How about those Hogs TODAY, Carrie!!??)

The wedding day was filled with a little craziness and a lot of fun. Carrie has a HUGE family, and they are all sooo great to be around! Below are a few of my favorites from the day.

Getting ready.....




Carrie and her girls!


Here comes the bride!


A couple of ceremony shots I really liked....



The new Mr. and Mrs.


The sun had set by the time we could take some pictures of Carrie and Jeff alone. We managed to get a few shots of the two of them. They have a chance to get some really incredible shots in the future because they have a newlywed session with me!! I can't wait!



The first dance...


Can you guess what is going on here?! :)


The dance floor was lots of fun!




~ Crystal

MICHELLE & CASEY'S ENGAGEMENTS

I have had a super busy week, and I feel like I haven't left my computer. I think it may have grown attached to me at this point. There has been so much work for me to catch up on. I haven't even had a chance to post my favorites from the wedding last weekend. That post is coming VERY soon though, I promise.

One of the few times this week that I actually seperated myself from my computer was when I met up with Michelle and Casey in Little Rock to shoot their engagements. They are such an adorable couple, and they have a great story! They met through Match.com two years ago. They immediately hit it off, and now they are planning to be married in St. Lucia. They will also have a ceremony here in Arkansas. I will be shooting their small ceremony for close friends and family in December. We had a great time the other day, and they were very patient while we took some time to wait for the sun to go down a little bit. I can't wait for the wedding!!








~ Crystal

TIFFANY'S BRIDALS

I went down to Louisiana last week to shoot Tiffany's bridals. She wanted something fun and different. We went to her grandparents' house and spent most of the time out by their barn. We had some really amazing light to work with! Tiffany was up for ANYTHING, and that's how I like it! :) We laughed a lot and had such a blast!! I think Tiffany threatened Aaron not to look on here so that I could post some of her bridals! hahaha! Aaron is a trustworthy guy, so I know he will obey. :)







This store is a family store across the street from the barn. Palmer is a family name.





I would like to give a big thank you to Tiffany's friend Tara for being such a huge help with the shoot! Also to Tiffany's family for being soooo great! They were so much fun to be around, and they treated me to supper after the shoot. I had a great time talking with them and getting to know everyone better! I cannot wait for the wedding!!! :)

~ Crystal

FUN PORTRAITS

I had the privilege of shooting portraits for the McCullough family earlier this week in their lovely home. They have two beautiful young girls!! I love shooting sessions like this because it is so much fun for the kids, and the pictures don't look stiff and posed. Below are a few of my favorites from the shoot!




I loved how bright and colorful the girls' room was!




Check back for favorites from Tiffany's bridal shoot early Monday! :)

~ Crystal

JEFFIE & AMBER

I met Amber earlier this year at the Hot Springs Bridal Fair. As soon as she came up and introduced herself I was crossing my fingers that she would book me! She and her mother are two of the sweetest people I have ever met. Amber just glowed, and I knew she would have a beautiful wedding. She is such an amazing person, and ever since we met to discuss wedding plans she and I have had such a great connection. And when I received an email from her a week before her wedding explaining how she had been in a wreck two weeks before and broken her leg and had surgery my heart sank for her. I immediately called her to see if there was anything I could do and to discuss how this was going to affect her wedding day. I was expecting her to be really upset, but I couldn't have been more wrong. She was in such good spirits about it all! She was even laughing and joking about it and just so grateful knowing that things could have been so much worse for her.

Sarah and I headed up to Hot Springs from South Arkansas Sunday morning. Amber and Jeff's ceremony was at Garvan Woodland Gardens. David Yerby met up with us to help out, and I am soooo thankful! The day was a little crazy, and things moved slower than expected. David was such a tremendous help!! He is soooo very talented, and I am so blessed to call him my friend! And Sarah was equally just as amazing! She carried around so much equipment all day long and still managed to help me stay on track and get some SUPER shots! She's the best! Below are favorites from the day. There are a lot of them because I just couldn't narrow them down!!!

What a beautiful day for a wedding!!!


Getting ready:



The dress:



The shoes:


The rings:


The finishing touches....


I have no words here......this is just Amber: Beautiful!!! One of my favorite images of all time!


I love the light in this image of one of the flower girls coming down the aisle! Both girls were so sweet!


It was so touching to see Amber come down the aisle with one arm in her father's and the other arm around a crutch. I couldn't keep from crying.


What a beautiful chapel! Perfect setting for a beautiful ceremony!


Jeffie sang Ed Cash's "Marry Me" to Amber, and I cried.....again.


Wow!! What a kiss!!!


Jeff carried Amber out!! How sweet!!!


After the entire bridal party walked out, they all went right back in the church followed by Amber and Jeff. Everyone shared in a time of worship with song. It was so awesome! I had chills! And I cried.....again. It is so evident that God is the foundation of their relationship.

Amber and her girls:


Another one of Sarah's great shots!!!


A broken leg couldn't stop Amber and Jeff from sharing a first dance!


Cutting the cake got a little crazy!!


Amber's bridesmaids surprised her with a group dance to "Footloose." They all had sunglasses, crutches, and "casts" as props! It was soo funny! It was definitely a crowd pleaser, and Amber LOVED it!!




The happy couple leaving! (Amber was carried around a lot! :) )



haha! I love this!! Notice all of the air fresheners hanging around......wow!! The scent was STRONG!!


Amber asked if Sarah and I would follow Jeff and her to downtown Hot Springs after they left the reception. Of course we were happy to do it!!! She wanted to get some great pictures of just the two of them. This is such a great idea! I always try to encourage my brides to take a little time with their grooms alone for pictures! It makes such a difference! The sun had already set by the time we started shooting, so we got creative with our lighting! Here are a few of my favorites:







Aren't they a hot couple!?

Amber and Jeff, I hope you two got a chance to relax in Hot Springs! Thank you for being so patient on our downtown shoot. I really felt honored to have been a part of your wedding day. May God bless your marriage!!!

~ Crystal