Cathy and Ryan can do more than get dressed up and jump. They are also fabulous models.  This was my first time shooting at Rhodes and I loved it!

Ryan takes his modeling very seriously:

After Rhodes, we headed downtown to grab a few more shots before hitting the roof of the Peabody.  Of course we couldn’t leave out the Gambler!  Isn’t he pretty?  That intense look in his eyes?  Thank the squirrels of Memphis for that one.

I’ve had this idea bouncing around in my head ever since Josh and I got started planning our wedding, over 4 years ago! I was a Knot junkie back in those days and was always looking for inspiration. One day I clicked on a link to a Save-the-Date and saw a happy couple in wedding attire jumping into a pool with the caption “We’re taking the plunge!” I loved it! So cute.

But alas, Josh and I had a hard enough time squeezing in an engagement session, and we did not have the time or resources to make it happen, so it became just another idea gathering dust in some corner of my brain. Until now! We finally had the willing participants, wardrobe, and the opportunity to make it happen! Totally worth the wait!

I’ve also got lots of great photos from Cathy and Ryan’s engagement session so stay tuned!

Update: Forgot to mention, as usual Katie and I collaborated on this one!

Just a quick post to say we’re back from our vacation away from snow and ice and general winter yuckiness!  We had a great time and I have tons of photos to sift through (they’ll get posted here someday!) but I just had to post a couple right away.

I had vacation blinders on and spent way too much to obtain this tacky vacation photo, but come on.  When you have the opportunity to get a photo with a guy in a dolphin suit, you just gotta do it, right?

(Josh thinks I need a refresher course on aquatic animals as I kept referring to this as our “shark picture.”  He also said next time maybe he will just rent a dolphin suit–it’s probably cheaper than what the gift shop charged us!)

Yayyyyy beach-side margaritas!  You can’t tell but this drink was so tall I had to take it off of the table to drink it. Josh took this one, isn’t he getting good at this?

I have lots more, but I’ll have to post the rest sometime in the future.  For now, I’m just happy to be home, sleeping in my own bed again, and snuggling with my Holly:

Haley and Matthew had a BEAUTIFUL wedding and I am so excited that I was a part of it!  I wish I had the space to share all of my favorite shots from their special day!  Some of my favs: (warning, there are a LOT!)

Katie got this one, and it is one of my favorites from the whole day!

Haley had such super-attentive bridesmaids!

OMG.  Would you LOOK at those baby elbow dimples???

It was SO hot, these girls couldn’t help but take a mini-dip in the pool!

It has been snowing here for the last three days, and let me tell you, the novelty, it has worn off.  I am definitely daydreaming of warmer times.  Like the mini-vacation Josh and I took last July (I know, I am ridiculously behind on my blogs, but I am slowly getting caught up!) to Arizona to visit with one of my oldest friends, Jen, and to shoot her engagement photos.

On our first full day in the desert, we drove to an adorable nearby town called Bisbee.  Bisbee was founded during the mining boom, and in the early 1900s it was home to the most productive copper mine in Arizona.  If this town has a theme, it is most definitely: copper!

I put Josh to work as my assistant for the duration of the trip, and I gotta say, he is getting good at this photography stuff!  The shot of the cactus below was one of his, and I love it!  One of my favorites from the weekend!  Here he is looking into a copper mine pit.  Oh wait, am I supposed to be taking photos of those lovebirds in the background? Whoops!  I got distracted.

This is the Lavender Pit, obviously not named for its color, but for a man named Lavender.

A quick snap while we enjoyed some fabulous Mexican food!

One of the coolest spots in Bisbee was a hotel that has been open since 1902, The Copper Queen Hotel.  Apparently, John Wayne actually stayed in the John Wayne Room several times!

As you can see, Josh is always ready to pose:

or to blow smoke rings (okay, clouds) on demand (also, holding Jen’s purse!  Ha ha!):

or to pretend he doesn’t see me trying to snap a shot:

On the second day of our Arizona adventure, we got up early and trekked all over Sierra Vista, where Jen and Clint live.

Would you believe that all of these next shots were taken in their backyard?  I am jealous.

We got some great shots at the top of a Spanish Mission in the mountains:

and some on the base where Clint works:

Josh strikes a statue pose:

And look!  A friendship rainbow appears!  Josh is getting good at this!

Later that night, we headed out to  Tombstone and the Bird Cage Theatre.

I have to say, I was a little disappointed by the preservation methods.  I mean, Master Locks?  And uh, not to be picky, but, guys?  It’s “their”, not “there,”

And what is up with all the freaky mannequins?  I know I wasn’t there, but I don’t remember zombies or side swept bangs being part of the old west…

Lame. Tombstone, lame.  Let’s not even get into the fact that the pool table that Morgan Earp died on is now inside a souvenir shop and piled high with t-shirts and magnets.  Gross.

We had to head home early on our last day, but on the way to the airport, we decided to stop by Saguaro National Park in Tuscon.  A pretty amazing cactus forest, even though it was SUPER hot out!  I was hunting out some shade while Josh told a certain cactus to put ‘em up…

check out the little critter I spotted:

We had an awesome time out west, and I am just sorry I don’t get to see my Jen more often!