You might recall that Rachel & Anthony have been featured in past blog posts… the proposal and the wedding at the Chesapeake Boathouse. Here’s one of my faves from the wedding…

Hey, everyone have a great weekend! It’s beautiful weather here in OKC… a little windy, but who notices the wind anymore? =) I’ve already been out for a little jog, so I’m feeling energetic and ready to wrap things up for the week. (Trying not to think about doing taxes just yet =)

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Let us know what you think! We’d love to hear from you.

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We started out just cruising around Bricktown, chasing the good light and finding cool locations to shoot…

Here’s where things really got fun… We’d all but wrapped up the session when Brandon said we had a few more shots that needed to be taken over here…

Fun times, guys! Thanks so much for being so great to work with! I really enjoyed getting to know you and I’m looking forward to photographing your wedding next October!!

I’d post more commentary, but it’s dinner time and I know you’re just here to see the photos anyway. =)

If you know Tori & Brandon, check out their entire online gallery here!

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Anthony called me a couple of weeks ago to set up the perfect proposal and have it captured in photos. Talk about a class act! Anthony had thought through everything including the perfect date (12/11) to propose since 12 and 11 are very meaningful numbers to the couple. So, besides a beautiful engagement ring, he had a Bible personalized with yesterday’s date and with what will be Rachel’s married name. How unique and thoughtful is that?

I can hear it now, men across the state are groaning at the new standard being set here in OKC by Anthony. =)

Anyway, the place we’d scouted out to do the proposal was rained (iced) out, so we made plans to photograph the proposal in the Myriad Gardens’ Crystal Bridge instead. I met Anthony earlier in the day to pick up his wrapped gift for Rachel (the Bible) and placed it strategically where I could capture the whole thing on camera without being noticed by Rachel.

The botanical gardens turned out to be perfect for it and I was loving the new “silent” mode on the 1D MarkIII (works well during wedding ceremonies, too) which allowed me to take about 100 pictures completely unnoticed by Rachel until Anthony pointed me out.

I thought I’d post just a few initial proofs in B&W; for you guys since I’m sure you’re SO excited to spread the news (and photos). You should see the colors! And you will just as soon as we finish retouching them. Our B&W; proofing is much quicker to get online and I figured would be appreciated.

It was a real pleasure meeting you both and an honor to be there to photograph one of those moments you’ll remember for the rest of your lives. Thanks for having me!

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It started out in the park right next to the Civic Center downtown. You know, where they make the ice rink every winter. Brock brought his A-game with a beautiful picnic spread – so romantic!

Then, before Alisha had time to suspect anything, Brock was up on one knee with a ring in his hand! You can see that he did a great job of keeping it a surprise up until then since Alisha’s in a state of shock.

All this time, I was hiding behind some statues. Actually, I had my camera peeking out from between a bronzed man’s legs. Alisha had looked my direction a few times, actually looking right at me, I thought. And then, when she bent one leg for this picture, it was just too perfect and I was pretty certain she must have spotted me.

They continued eating for just a few more minutes and then packed up and headed my direction. Alisha was totally shocked that I was there! So, she hadn’t spotted me after all. I was wearing my undercover disguise… An floppy hat in my best attempt to look like an Asian tourist so my camera would go unnoticed. =)

Then we headed down to Bricktown and got some great engagement portraits together.

Amtrak was meaningful to them since they had recently taken a trip down to TX on the Heartland Flyer together. Any time we can incorporate something meaningful like that into the photo session, I’m all for it!

These are my favorites from the session. Playing in the fountains!

Thanks, Brock & Alisha, for being so fun to work with and for allowing me to capture your most special day! I’m always so grateful to be able to work wish such cool and fun couples.

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Brock & Alisha, I’m uploading them now to proof them online, so they should be online for you and ready to see sometime tomorrow morning. In the mean time, here’s my favorite sequence of pictures from the session…

In case the pictures weren’t actually worth 1000 words: 1) Alisha calls Brock over in her most (tricky) subtle and inviting way. 2) Brock falls for it (humors Alisha) and takes a closer look. 3) Alisha moves her foot and Brock jumps away just in the nick of time before getting soaked. =)

Check back tomorrow for a bunch of the cool pictures we got from this session. I’m heading to bed!

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Last night’s session was fun and noteworthy. Brock planned a picnic downtown by the Civic Center and before Alisha knew what was going on, he was on one knee, ring in hand! Even though she looked my direction a few times, she never did spot me, shooting under a floppy hat and hiding between the legs of one of the statues on the side of the park. Can’t wait to post some of them for you. Brock & Alisha, here’s a ring shot you can use right away if you like!

Engagement photography is always a lot of fun since the couple doesn’t usually have any trouble forgetting I’m there and just getting caught up in each other. And that really makes for the best pictures.

Lots more to blog about, but I have to run to another commercial photography session. My 2nd today! Fun times…

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Turns out, the young man’s father designed the gardens at Myriad Gardens and they were over-the-top excited that I managed to grab a few pictures of the event as it happened. I didn’t have a great vantage at first since I wasn’t expecting it right away, but I still think the pictures will be great memories for them. Here are some of my favorites.

The ring comes out.

If I could do it over again, I would definitely have a pro at my proposal to capture that special moment. I have friends and customers who did and they all have been SO happy that they had the foresight to think of it. Honestly, so much else is going on, that most people won’t think of it on their own. So, if you know someone who may be getting engaged soon, we’d be really grateful if you’d tell them about our proposal photography and point them to our website and blog!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Jonathan had the whole thing planned out perfectly. Even the weather! The rain stopped just in time and the sun even peeked out for a few minutes. From the rose petal covered walkway to the limo to the roses, candles and even iPod with romantic music playing (Jonathan, did I hear some country in the mix? =) it was just perfect. Well done, Jonathan!

Here are just a few quick favorites to hold everyone over until I can retouch them all!

Jonathan working his magic and setting the stage for the proposal.

Moments after she said “Yes!” they’re checking out the ring.

Unrestrainable joy!

Congratulations to you both! It was awesome to be a small part of such a great event. And it was really a great place to propose.

This may be a great time to mention that we’re including a free engagement session for all of our brides who book weddings with us! It’s a great way for us to get to know each other before the big event and helps us to better understand the kind of photography and style that you’ll most enjoy and appreciate from your wedding day. We’re booking for 2008 now, but still have some availability in 2007 if you know of any brides in need of wedding photography!

We have some of the best customers in the world who are enthusiastic about our work and tell their family and friends about us. Thanks so much for spreading the word! It’s a huge blessing to us and we’re really grateful.

Happy Independence Day! I hope you have a wonderful and safe holiday!

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I drove up to Castle Falls on Monday night just before sunset. Joshua and Marni were already seated and enjoying dinner and my mission for the night was to steal some great shots of Joshua proposing to the love of his life, Marni. It was a great evening for it and I was grateful that there were no mosquitoes since I spent over an hour hiding in the bushes watching and waiting.

The cook (a warm, friendly German named “Jutta” – pr. YU-tuh) kept offering me something to eat and I was really tempted to take her up on it since it all smelled so Delicious, but I knew Josh and Marni would come out the door just as I started into a delicious cheesecake or a sandwich or something. So I abstained and instead scouted the area, found a good hiding place with a view and got some pictures of the castle and grounds.

In this picture, you can see Joshua & Marni’s silhouettes in the top window eating dinner.

The beautiful garden and waterfall made for a great setting for a well-planned proposal.

By this time, it’s after sunset and really dark. I cranked up the film speed and captured the happy couple leaving the castle and headed for the garden waterfall.

I love this shot of Marni checking out the ring over Josh’s shoulder.

All that time, Marni didn’t know I was even there taking pictures by the hundreds! So, Joshua pointed me out and she got a good laugh and then we took a few more pictures together.

This has to be the image of the month! I love the “thumbs up” from Josh. =)

Congratulations, Joshua and Marni! It was awesome being a part of such a special moment. You’ll remember it for the rest of your lives as one of the top few amazing moments in your lives and since Joshua thought everything through so well, now you’ll have photos, too, of that moment.

Every time I do one of these sessions, Holly (my wife) comments that she really wishes we had photos of our engagement. I proposed on the end of the pier at North Beach in Chicago and it would have made for really awesome pictures. That particular pier is a beach-protecting pier, so it curves around like a hook, allowing you to sit on the end of it and watch the city skyline. Beautiful…

Well, that’s all for now — thanks for stopping by! I should have a few more session samples posted in the next few days.

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