Naomi & Ryan :: August 8, 2009

St. Hedwig's Catholic Church - Milwaukee, WI
The Astor Hotel - Milwaukee, WI


I started my day driving to Milwaukee in pouring rain. The rain was falling so hard I could barely see the road. I was hoping that the rain would stop... I was looking forward to Naomi and Ryan's downtown Milwaukee wedding for quite a while.

Naomi is an Appleton native and Ryan is from Great Britain. The two met and fell in love, traveled the world and became husband and wife. They each have amazing style and personalities. Naomi is a graphic designer and just opened a custom invitation business, while Ryan is the man behind Milwaukee's own Quizmaster. You may remember their engagement session with guest shooters from Every Little Moment Photography in Utah...

Luckily the rain stopped 5 minutes before our coverage time started. We had to dodge a few rain drops in between wedding party photos at the Cudahy building and the Calatrava, but it was well worth it.

Here are my favorites from the day... there are way to many to post in this blog entry. So be sure to check out the Ardent Photography Fan Page on Facebook for more images!





This image is special to me not only because the wedding party looks so fantastic but because both the old and the new art museum's are in the same photo. This wedding party is in essence bridging the old and the new...


The Wedding Horseshoe was a gift from Ryan's family sent as a good luck symbol. Because the horseshoe is "U" shaped, to retain the good luck forever it is essential that the horseshoe is hung by the ribbons and should not be turned upside down or else all the good luck of the marriage may fall out.


I just love this image of the wedding party taken with a fish eye at the Milwaukee Art Museum








Naomi and Ryan rocked the reception at the Astor Hotel with a choreographed first dance. The dance was made even more exciting with the blowing of the HUGE fan that helped keep the hot dance floor cool.


A perfect shot to end the perfect evening. Congratulations Naomi and Ryan!!!


Ceremony: St. Hedwig's Catholic Church
Reception: The Astor Hotel
Invitations: 2 Hearts 1 Design
Entertainment: Tim Dorsey, Dorsey Entertainment

Naomi & Ryan :: August 8, 2009 ~ Sneak Peak

Full blog post with a TON of photos coming soon!

We're expecting...

Our second baby! I'm excited to make this exciting news public! I am currently 15 weeks, and I am due on March 3, 2010, which happens to also be my husband's birth date. So far I'm doing great and have not been feeling any morning sickness.

We are really excited to be using a midwife again. If any of you are prego or thinking of becoming prego soon you should look into alternatives to OBGYN's. Our experience with a midwife is a bit more personal and they less likely to use drugs or any interventions. Another thing I am excited about is using my Hypnobirthing Techniques for a drug free delivery. Now I know what to expect and I know I can do it again.

Enough of the baby talk... what does this mean to you? Well, fortunately I don't have any weddings booked for 2010 until May. I am still booking weddings but I am taking a new approach... I will be able to share this exciting news very soon.

I am excited to continue to offer Unveiled Portraits on a monthly basis and up to 20 Senior sessions.

I hope to post a photo of me and my baby bump soon. Thank you all for your well wishes!

Maryanne & Mike :: Green Bay wedding

July 11, 2009 - Green Bay, WI

Maryanne and Mike planned a long distance wedding all the way from Seattle. I was fortunate enough to see them in Seattle when I did their engagement session last December. Maryanne and Mike swiped me up from the airport (I had a long layover on my way to my photo retreat to Hawaii) and we did a fly by night engagement session in Kerry Park. It was great! I was so excited to shoot their wedding.

Here are some of my favorites...



Another personal touch was Maryanne's mantilla veil which was her mother's from her wedding many years ago.

It was important for Maryanne to be married in her hometown church. The priest that married them was Maryanne's cousin, which made the entire ceremony personal and meaningful.





Most of the groomsmen were from the West Coast and they had a fun time making fun of our Wisconsin accents.



I love having the guys hassle the groom...


We were so lucky to find this old firehouse in Green Bay that matched the colors of their wedding...








Their first dance was a Salsa... wow - another great wedding full of fancy dancing!

For bonus images from this wedding become a fan of Ardent Photography on Facebook!

Fauxtobooth!

We had a blast at Rachel and Zak's Appleton wedding at Trolley Square on July 18... we ran a photo booth during the dance. My photography assistant, Natalie, ran the booth and did a wonderful job taking photos.

Here are Natalie and I testing out lighting... we had so much fun!

My second shooter, Mia Stevens, even joined in on the action!

Congratulations Rachel and Zak!!!

If you are a current 2009 bride or groom and would like to add a crazy photo booth to your wedding day photography coverage.... contact me to hear more about our special promotion!

080809 - Milwaukee Wedding Photography Sneak Peak

I had a blast shooting the Milwaukee wedding of Naomi and Ryan. I have so many favorites from Saturday... I couldn't wait to post one of them.

Xavier Senior Portraits Class of 2010

Another sneak peak from my sold out senior sessions... Here are some of my favorites of Erin, including her proof book cover.


Each of my seniors receive a beautiful keepsake of all of their photos printed and bound in a beautiful and durable book.

To see BONUS images from this shoot become a fan of Ardent Photography on Facebook!

Appleton Senior Portraits Class of 2010

Here is a sample of some my favorites from Emily, Hector, and Tom's sessions...







To see more images become a fan of Ardent Photography on Facebook