When Jan described her baby shower will be taken place at the tent of The Stonegate Conference and Banquet Centre, I knew this will not be your typical baby shower.  I was expecting many guests and lots of food but never did I anticipate Jan to be in one of the most beautiful golden gowns I have ever seen.  Her husband is also dressed to the T in his yellow bow tie.  It was a formal affair with a short ceremony, video blessings, choreographed dance, and games.  Although everyone was dressed up but the whole atmosphere was lighthearted and fun.  Many tears of happiness were shed by Jan.  Her son is one lucky baby to be engulfed in all the love that's already waiting for him.  

When Alana  reached out to me about her short and sweet wedding and baby naming ceremony, I knew I want to do everything in my abilities to make her 2 hours of photography as inclusive as possible.  I wanted to give her images the wedding feel without being an all day event.  In the short time we had, we got family portraits, detail shots, guest pictures, ceremony, and also classic couple pictures in.  It was not easy but with the support of the couple for being flexible, we were able to work fast and efficiently. The fact that their event was held at the beautiful Italian restaurant Saranello's  situated in the scenic Westin Hotel of Wheeling helped speed the process along.  I think we captured every part of the day as planned and hope the lovely couple will enjoy these images when their adorable daughter grows up. 

Newborn photos and one year photos are usually a must for parents.  What about those precious months in between?  Olivia's session is the prime example of the importance of milestone sessions.  The week she visited me at the studio was the same week she started making the "duck face".  Haha, at least that's what her mom, dad, and I have have be calling it.  She pucker up those cute little lips as far as she could as if she is in a frozen kiss.  We thought at the time it as a funny face and tried to get her to smile.  After looking through all the images I found some of the duck face shots are too adorable to pass by.  So I included some in the proofs and guess what?  They turned out to be some of mom's favorites.  What's really special is when we met up two weeks later, Olivia stopped doing the duck face!  I'm so glad we were able to capture her expression that's unique to the short time. 

Every stage of a baby's first year will pass by in a blink.  That's why I recommend newborn, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months sessions. Please contact me if you are interested in booking a "First Year Collection".  After that an annual family session will be good.  Fall is a really popular time for family sessions because of Holiday Cards. Those book up fast so make sure you schedule them during the summer.   If you want to capture your little ones' growth more frequently, then I recommend mixing in a few themed sessions through out the year.  You can even change up the themes year by year for variety. 

Without further ado....introducing the cutest duck face you'll see anywhere.   Yes, this cutie can also smile so make sure you scroll down. 

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