Meghan & Jonathan are so in love with each other. When they look at each other it's almost as if the rest of the world goes away. I even felt like an intruder a couple of times. (I snapped out of it though). These two are darling to be with, honestly, so smart, sweet and just plain fun. (Okay, the bride sent paint chips to her bridesmaids and MOH and told them to just get a dress that matched pretty close. She didn't even see most of them until the wedding day. LOVE IT!} They so get us too and it's always a joy to work with people who want to play with us, and make a little time for it on their wedding day! This is another couple who planned a "first look". One, so they could get more fun pictures of their love story (about 100 more images!) and two, so they could get all their family pictures taken BEFORE the ceremony and go directly to their reception with their guests. We've become big fans of this plan because it's just so smart and fun! I love to see the looks they give each other and the special time they have together. Jonathan was really checking out the dress and veil and was a bit awestruck. It's just the best!  Afterwards, we had a fun little session across the street at an old-fashioned park with a vintage ferris wheel. Sophia took one for the team and climbed aboard for the ride!  They had an outdoor ceremony on the lawn of their reception site - waterside and glorious with vows that left tears in everyone's eyes. The Wavetones cranked up the sound for the reception, where the bride and groom treated their guests to spectacular fare and beverage until the wee hours.When the bride puts her boots on...watch out!  Beautiful flowers in shades of blue, to match the brides sapphires, in vintage teacups and silver vases, a cake bar with so many cakes it was hard to choose, and family fave cookies to take home! More tops to my muffins but they were sooo good! Speaking of hard to choose... here's just a few! And a few more... :D

A beautiful day, a beautiful bride, a totally smitten groom. It just doesn't get better than that. Oh but wait! It does - add gorgeous flowers, a magnificent ballroom, a rockin' band, a fly-fishing trout groom's cake, and a candy bar that would make Dylan's do a double take and have it all put together by Jane Kelly to perfection.  That pretty much sums up Reese and Ward's wedding day in Oklahoma City - a beautiful church wedding with their reception at Gaillardia Country Club.  They are such a sweet couple and it was so fun to just hang out with their families and friends.  Dave & the Wavetones kept everyone dancing into the wee hours. Cigars (real and bubblegum) around the firepit, Oklahoma Photobooth snapping silly scrapbook pics with feather boas and such, and, of course, Reese's peanut butter cups to finish off the night!

On behalf of my entire family, I'd like to take a minute to thank all of you for your prayers, support, concern and help during this very sad and difficult time. On June 7th my grandson Cohen was born in Dallas and underwent open heart surgery and then several other surgical procedures throughout the week. He was a strong little fighter but just had too many obstacles to overcome and on June 18th, he died. I believe that even though he was just here on earth for a short time, he knew how much he was loved and he loved too. He touched many, many lives and we are so proud to have known him and to have had him every day we did. My son, Brent and his wife Megan are amazing parents. They bathed him, baptized him, sang to him and held him in their arms so he felt safe and loved. I was in total awe of their strength, faith and devotion throughout this entire ordeal.  They were first time parents, yet having to make life and death decisions for their son several times a day and always did it with grace, dignity, compassion and mostly with love.

Since I have been gone and extremely preoccupied the past few weeks, I wanted to take a moment to thank all my friends and family but also our very patient clients - Reese and Ward, Meghan and Jonathan, Libby and Spencer, Jamie and Chip - still waiting for their May and June wedding pics. They're coming!  My senior clients with countless rescheduled sessions, thank you for your patience and flexibility.  Todd Scott Ballje at Beautiful Day Images for stepping in at the eleventh hour and covering a wedding for me on the day Cohen died. And my darling friend, Sophia for taking care of all this stuff when I just couldn't think or stay awake to do it. Her daughter Jessie and husband Kyle for taking the reins on the memorial service for Cohen (and for sending us Coneys in Dallas when we really needed that little piece of home). I'm sure I'm leaving someone out but please just know how much all your kindness has meant. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

For the past few years, I have been a volunteer with an organization that photographs parents with infants who are dying or were stillborn. It's called Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep.  It's not something you talk about. It makes people uncomfortable I suppose. I cry in my car after every session I've ever done and think it might be my last. But then I get the sweetest thank you notes from parents so I go back again.  I never thought I would ever be called upon to do this for one of my own but that's how things worked out and I'm sure my NILMDTS experiences helped me get through it on June 18th when Brent and Megan asked me to photograph them with Cohen. We miss him so.  Here's a few pics of our little guy and I think his mom is getting back to blogging about him too. :) Thank you all again and bless you all.

Usually when a baby is born, the waiting is over. That's not the case with our little one. My son Brent and his wife Megan welcomed their firstborn - Michael Cohen Marshall - to the world at 8:55 a.m., June 7, 2010, with tears of joy. True to the poem, Monday's Child, he is "fair of face". So darn cute! Tons of hair, of course. He looks absolutely perfect. It's just so hard to believe that on the inside that's just not the case. He came out just screaming at the top of his lungs, pink and pretty mad! Total newborn style! Although he did not require immediate open heart surgery (a blessing), he does require it - to survive. We had a wild rollercoaster of a ride on his birthday. Within 12 hours, he was great, then not so great, then needing surgery right away, then having a heart cath, then settling in and deciding on a surgery date. That date is today. Cohen will have his first open heart surgery today at 1:00 p.m. They told us to expect it to last 6 hours or more. He must be on a bypass machine during this time as they repair his arteries (TAPVR) and place the BT shunt to direct the blood flow correctly. It's the first of three open heart surgeries he will have in the first 2 years of his life. He will have a single chamber heart. There's more info on Megan's blog - InThisWonderfulLife.com. We so appreciate all the outpouring of love and support you all have shown them and the prayers for our little guy. Please don't ever stop those prayers! He needs to be surrounded by that positive Grace all the time. Our faith is strong in the doctors at Children's Medical Center here in Dallas and God's guidance of them in their care and treatment of Cohen. They have been wonderful to Brent, Megan and Cohen, explaining all the problems and the possible solutions. It's a terribly stressful time for them and the kindness has been so wonderful. Our hearts are overflowing with love for this little guy and we'll post more pics and info to keep you posted. Thank you all again for your continued support and prayers!  Cohen's slideshow

  

The words to their first dance echoed as Blessid Union of Souls sang,  "We've taken our time and for this I'm so glad. Now we can be sure that this moment will last." Kendall and Blake have known each other since childhood. They've grown up in the same hometown. Norman, Oklahoma. They've had many a Saturday listening to the Sooner Schooner blast victory into the sky.  They've waited patiently for the day to marry, each knowing all along, that day would come. It was only appropriate that they marry in that hometown, with all their friends and family in attendance at McFarlin United Methodist Church with a reception at the OU Stadium Club with the rockin' I.J.Ganem band serving up all the beat they could handle. These two LOVE to dance! That love made the reception so much fun! So contagious! Love birds were scattered throughout the OU skybox.  I loved all the bird nests and cages! So cute!  Trees and nests, great food and cups that turned pink when the bar filled them up!   Amy Cakes of OKC made the cake and THE MOST SPECTACULAR BROWNIES for the groom's cake that I have EVER eaten! I'm NOT kidding. And, of course, they had these darling little bluebirds in coconut nests on top!  Kendall was a gorgeous bride! (She always has great shoes and matching glasses! Her wedding day was no exception.)   Meg Guess Couture had a special "something blue" put in Kendall's dress - her new monogram and her wedding date! A Date with Iris created the florals and we always love working with Von Wedding Films who create the most wonderful video!  I hope these two OU Alumns will watch it again and again, and look through their photographs for many years, remembering this wonderful day and all their friends and family that celebrated this blessed union of souls and wished them well as they trade their crimson and cream in for the crimson tide of Alabama!  Congratulations!  Here's a few highlights of their wedding day (they had a "first look" so there's a few more!)