Leah and John :: Engaged!

This is Leah and John... they are getting married on September 26 of 2009. They are having their wedding ceremony at St. John's in Little Chute and their reception at Trolley Square in Appleton.

We did these engagement photo at the beginning of October... the colors on the trees were just starting to change color. Leah and John coordinated their outfits perfectly.

These two are perfectly in love and perfect for the camera. It was so easy to get natural expressions...

Enjoy!

October 10, 2009 is open!

I had been turning down inquires for October 10th of next year... I am actually NOT booked on this date. If you are looking for a photographer for 10/10/09 please contact me!

Thanks!!!

Kaylin and Jake :: Married

Kaylin and Jake, September 28, 2008
Victory Church - Waupaca, WI
Bridgewood Resort - Neenah, WI

I first met Kaylin and her mom, Julie, for a consultation... and no Jake. Jake was overseas serving in Iraq. They had set a date and then later found out that Jake might not be home that soon. So they pushed the date back a bit. Luckily for me they picked Sunday, September 28. I was glad it wasn't Saturday... I had an "official" day off on the 27th to celebrate my son's second birthday. I turned down many consultations for that day... I don't want to be the mom who has to shoot a wedding on her child's birthday.

So Sunday the 28th it was! The weather was slightly overcast, the Packers game was playing on the radio and best of all... Jake was home and ready to be married to the love of his life. The day was perfect and so was everything else.

While Jake was away, Kaylin and Julie did a lot of planning and handiwork. All of the couple's invitations, programs, name cards, menu cards, napkin holders had intricate detail all done by hand. Their friends and family at their church were all on hand to decorate the sanctuary with tall white pillars, hanging candles and an aisle runner. There were 9 wedding cakes at the reception! All of the tables were named for virtues of a strong marriage. No detail was left unnoticed...

Here are some highlights from the day.

Explored....

I found out yesterday that one of my engagement shots from last week made the front cover of Flickr's Explore page! Flickr's Explore are a collection of images that are deemed "interesting"... I've had about 67 images make it to the Explore pages... but never on the front page.

Flickr's finest images are selected for their clickthroughs and where they are coming from; who comments on it and when; who marks it as a favorite; its tags and many more things which are constantly changing.

Having this photo on the front page of Explore has landed it over 2,100 views in less than two days, 120 comments and 314 people call it a favorite. This is a huge honor for me... and I am so excited to have finally made the front page!!!

View original image with comments on Flickr...

Thanks to Tracy and Tim for taking me up on the idea of spinning on the merry-go-round and for giving me a few shots to get it just right. We were all pretty dizzy after this shot! The rest of their engagement photographs are just as awesome!!!

Every Little Moment....

My friends Aubrey and Samantha of Every Little Moment Photography from Salt Lake City, Utah were in town last week as my guest shooters. We had lots of shoot on the calendar including 2 weddings, one engagement session and a couple of "just for fun" shoot outs.

The girls flew into O'Hare airport and rented an HHR to drive to Neenah. On the way into town they met up with me and local photographers in Hartford, WI for our monthly meeting. The girls were able to have a glimpse of the new project we are working on for our brides...

The next day we traveled to Oshkosh for a shoot-out between Ardent Photography and Every Little Moment. Included in this session was my assistant Natalie.

On Friday it was down to the Madison area to shoot a wedding for Lizzie and Mike. They had their reception at the Lake Windsor Golf Club... voted Best of 2008 by Wisconsin Bride Magazine for best reception venue!!! It was fab!

On Saturday we shot a local outdoor wedding at Smith Park in Menasha... This wedding was a BLAST to shoot. It was a military wedding with 4 members of the wedding party in their full dress military uniforms.

Sunday was time to get down to business with some relaxation time... we got makeovers at the MAC counter and pedicures to soothe our achy feet. Then we did another photo session and capped the night off with dinner and tiramisu at Victoria's.

It was such a blast hanging out with these girls! I can't wait until I can travel to Salt Lake and shoot with them!

Ideas for the budget minded bride...

Posted from MasterPiece Weddings blog:

Budget Bride's Ideas!

Things are tight all round right now, money is getting tighter, and if you watch the stock market ticker, you are probably dizzy by now!

I've noticed that brides are starting to cut back on things - and there are smart ways to cut back, and not so smart ways to cut back...

How difficult is it to make cuts to your budget?

That depends on how much you need to cut - and what you are willing to cut back on. The obvious choice is to cut back on the number of guests, because if you are paying $60 per person and cut 50 people from your guest list, that's $3000.

But what if cutting guests isn't an option.

Scale back, more affordable linens, more affordable china, a different menu, signature drink bar, instead of full open bar, only serve beer and wine instead of a full bar.

Scale back on your flowers, do some additional DIY projects, cut out the program, use a lesser paper on your invitations, don't do thermography printing, don't use cotton paper.

There are lots of ways to cut back...

These are just a few options on ways to cut back, but one thing to never skimp on is photography, I wouldn't recommend having Aunt Jane do your photography, unless Aunt Jane is a pro... the only you have in the end are those photographs... so better to higher a great photographer's cheapest package then risking not having any photographs at all.

-------------------------------------------------

Of course I totally agree with the last paragraph. An artistic professional photographer can photograph any wedding and have it appear to be as lavish as any Martha Stewart event. As artists we look for great light as well as great moments. It doesn't really matter in the end if you have 3 foot Eiffel tower flower arrangements at every table... what does matter is that your photography experience translates to fun, amazingly crisp, clear, colorful, emotional photographs that will take you back to every moment that day.


Check out Adventures in Wedding Planning -a cool website for all of you planning a wedding...

Wedding - Mishicot, Wisconsin

Mishicot, Wisconsin
September 12, 2008

Tara's gown was divine. It was sophisticated and unique all at the same time. She had the best slip I've ever seen too! You can find it here.

Church exit and dance photos by Natalie Reuber for Ardent Photography LLC

Their reception was at Fox Hills Resort in Mishicot. Their cake was by Bakery on State the same baker that did Katherine and John's wedding... Let me tell you, this is by far the best cake ever!!! And, they deliver up to 100 miles from Manitowoc!

Another great thing that Tara and Jack did at their wedding reception was that they had their head table in the middle of the banquet room. They had their bridal party and their dates accompany them at the table. This allowed for great photography because the background wasn't an ugly wall, but other guests laughing or ambient backgrounds...

View proofs online!
Email me for password.

Raves...

Thank you so much for everything - Kathy and Jeremiah seemed very happy with your quality and level of service to them. The photos playing at the reception looked wonderful. I did not add my e-mail to that list - so could you please also add this e-mail to receive the link when it is ready.

Again, Amy, thank you!
Diane Douglas
October 11, 2008



I wanted to thank you so much for capturing so many beautiful moments throughout my wedding day! The photos turned out as wonderful as I was hoping they would! It was great working with you! I would definitely recommend you to anyone who asked.

Thanks again!
Jana
September 13, 2008

Sweetness

Thanks Heidi Lee and Gerry of Heidi Lee Photography in Appleton, Wisconsin for the cute fall themed bouquet!!! This delivery was a big surprise on Tuesday... Heidi and Gerry sent this as a token of appreciation for the videography referral I sent their way.

Thanks!!!!

Katherine and John :: Wedding

Katherine and John Keech - August 30th, 2008
Manitowoc, Wisconsin

Katherine and John were a referral from my great friend Mellissa Bunkelman. Melissa has referred at least two couples to me in the last couple of years... Thank you sooo much for telling so many people about Ardent Photography!!!

This couple planned their Wisconsin wedding from Seattle, Washington. I would bet it is quite difficult to plan a wedding from a distance... even more impressive... they are both doctors in their final years of residency.

Katherine is from Manitowoc and grew up a dancer. She actually studied ballet professionally! I knew she would be an amazing subject for me. Not only was she easy to "pose" but I could communicate with her in a language only dancers know. I could say "feet in first" and she would totally understand ;-)

Everything about their wedding was great. Their church was amazing... boasting one of Wisconsin's longest aisle, beautiful stained glass, and a cool priest who let me have exclusive access to the church's side chapel - a dream angle for church photography.

Their cake was one of the best cakes I've ever, ever, ever, had. It was both regular cake and cheesecake! Yum... Baked by Bakery on State in Manitowoc, Wisconsin

Their DJ was fun and people danced like crazy...

No matter what side of the issues you are on...

Get out and vote!

I am traveling to Atlanta on Tuesday, November 4 - Election day. I just booked my airfare and decided to take a later flight so cast my ballot in the morning. When I realized that I may not have the ability to vote I started to kinda freak out. Um, is it too late to send for an absentee ballot? Can I vote at the airport? Duh - you have to vote in the district where you live and are registered.

For more information please watch this informative yet funny video... then register and vote.

Abigail and Nathan

This couple is so utterly sweet. I can truly tell that they each meant for each other. Their wedding was held on a Friday night on the Grey Rock Lawn at the Heidel House Resort in Green Lake Wisconsin. I love photographing at this location because the grounds at the Heidel House are just sooo beautiful.

The weather was a bit on the windy side... but the outdoor ceremony on the water was just perfect!

Abigail and Nathan chose simple yet elegant details for their wedding. Their colors were cool blue and tan.

The flowers were gorgeous to say the least. Joellen at Master's Touch in Neenah always does an excellent job!!!

This weekend I am shooting another wedding at the Heidel House... this is the long awaited wedding of Hilary and Tim. I cannot wait to see all of the beautiful things they have planned for their day!