Jon & Eliza's wedding

On Saturday we photographed the wedding of Jon and Eliza Lower. It was a very nice day with overcast skies during the wedding and some nice sunshine following. The wedding was very pretty and took place in the newly renovated Christian Church in Runnells. Following the ceremony we headed back into Des Moines to get some fun shots near the capitol building. It's a little bit of a drive from Runnells to Des Moines, so the wedding party had plenty of time to get themselves ready for the pictures! They were a fun group and we took advantage by getting some fun shots. Besides Jon nailing me with the cork from his champaign bottle (I've got a picture to prove it) it went very well and everyone came out unscathed. We ran out of time downtown and had to head to the reception, which was also fun and I could tell that it only got better throughout the night. Here are a few pictures from the day.

This guy kept hounding me the whole night at the reception "Hey photographer, take my picture"...so I did. You guys have some weird friends! Just kidding Jason!

Thanks again guys, I wish you both the best. Talk to you soon.

Erik - Inspired Images

Jason & Amber's Engagement

With the threat of rain in the forecast all day we were very fortunate that the weather held off long enough for us to get this session in. Armed with a big can of bug spray Jason, Amber and I headed to the park and were rewarded with great soft light and fairly mild conditions. We walked around for a while getting some beautiful shots, and then went to the car and got their dog Max (what a great name) for a few. This wasn't any ordinary dog, Max is an English Mastiff weighing in at around 185....luckily he was a good poser and we got some nice shots of the family. Here are a few from the session.Thanks again guys, we'll talk to you soon!

Erik - Inspired Images

Matt & Becky's Wedding

We had another great wedding on Saturday. Matt & Becky were just a wonderful couple and their little girl Sophia is so adorable. The weather couldn't have been better for a July wedding which we were very happy for. The wedding went great and the reception immediately followed. It was beautifully set up, and it was a fun touch to play lots of Disney & High school Musical music for the children as they really seemed to enjoy it! Here are a few pictures from their day.

I'm totally jealous that Matt and Becky are reading this from their hotel in Hawaii, but I'm also so very happy for them. Thanks again guys, we look forward to seeing you soon.

Erik - Inspired Images

Cuties

A couple of our very best friends Beth and Scott recently had twin baby girls. We were able to visit them on Saturday and meet the new additions to the family, and they are absolutely beautiful and perfect in every way. We couldn't be happier for them and we're both just so proud of Bessie and how amazing she was throughout the entire pregnancy. Their son Wyatt is also just adorable and I was able to corral him for a minute and got a pretty cute shot.
Now that we live in Des Moines we don't get to see them as often as we would like but when we do it's even more special.
If anyone is reading this from Eastern Iowa or Western Illinois and you are looking for a photographer you should call or email Beth at Hickory Hill Photography. Beth is a wonderful photographer and I'm sure that she would love to help you, just give her a few months! :)
Here are a few pictures of the kids.

Love you guys, can't wait to see you all soon!

Erik (Eek) - Inspired Images

Dusty & Shauna Engagement

Holy mosquitoes Batman! Dusty, Shauna and I were planning to take their engagement pictures in a beautiful park near our studio but upon our arrival we quickly discovered that it wasn't going to be possible. We beat a hasty retreat back to my vehicle and decided that we would head downtown for the shoot. After killing the 20-30 mosquitoes that hitchhiked with us we arrived at our destination and got busy getting some great shots. Shauna and Dusty have a love of architecture and they taught me quite a bit about some of the unique buildings downtown. Here are a few of the pictures from our session.

Thanks again for being so flexible guys; my already badly bitten arms appreciate it!

Erik - Inspired Images

Jeff & Ashlei's Engagement

Jeff & Ashlei are getting married near my hometown and being family friends I was happy to hear that they wanted me to take their wedding pictures. Finding a time to get the engagement pictures taken was a little bit of a challenge, but we made it work and it was worth the wait. I headed out to Jeff's families farm on Saturday and we were able to take advantage of the abundant rustic backdrops and beautiful landscapes. If only we could have taken care of those pesky gnats it would have been a perfect night. Here are a few pictures.

Thanks again guys, we'll talk to you soon!

Erik - Inspired Images

Matt & Ashley's Engagement

Well we weren't sure how things were going to go tonight, with the way Des Moines has been fighting back the water lately. Ashley, Matt & I wanted to get some pictures downtown but didn't know if it was going to be possible but luckily the water receded enough that we had plenty of space to work.

I got the warning right up front from Ashley that neither her nor Matt were very photogenic and that I was going to have a challenge on my hands...I think you will see by the results that Ashley may have been overstating that just a bit!

We had a nice time just walking around downtown even though they both were unsure of the alley that I took them to right off the bat! It was nice to chat with Ashley's mom Connie again and I even put her to work a few times! We had wonderful weather for once and some great pictures as well. Here are a few.

Thanks again guys, we'll talk to you soon!

Erik - Inspired Images

Evans Family

We had another night of nice weather and took advantage of it with the Evans family. Tamara, Jason and their children live across the street from us so it was fun to have a shoot with someone we know. We decided to go to a nearby park and had a great time, and got some great shots. The kids were mostly interested in the playground equipment instead of the shoot, and we eventually gave in and let them play. It's hard to believe how quickly the kids are growing up and they did such a great job at this shoot. Here are a few pictures.Thanks again guys, we'll talk to you soon!

Erik - Inspired Images

6-7-08 Ryan & Courtney

This was one of those weddings where you are reminded why you are in the profession that you are in. Ryan & Courtney along with their family and friends were some of the kindest and most fun people that Tara and I have had the pleasure of working with. Yesterday was an extremely hot and humid day but Ryan and Courtney wouldn't be denied and Mother Nature held the rain off for the first time in what seems like weeks.

The wedding was extremely beautiful and took place at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Ankeny. Following the wedding we headed west of Des Moines to a few locations for some outdoor shots. Finally we made it to the reception at Glen Oaks Country Club and it was really beautiful. Something that I thought was very unique and fun was that the whole wedding party got into some golf carts and drove down to hole 18, while in the mean time the crowd at the reception were notified that the party would be arriving at the rear of the club house. Everyone went outside to the balcony and watched as the wedding party rode in on their carts while a woman played the bag pipe. I thought it was a great way for them to arrive. The reception was a lot of fun, and Ryan, Courtney and their whole wedding party tore up the dance floor.

Here are just a few of the great pictures that we captured during the day.Thanks again guys, we'll see you soon!

Erik - Inspired Images

Jordan & Amanda's Engagement

What a fun couple and a fun evening for pictures. We again were near the Des Moines river near the Saylorville Dam this weekend and got some wonderful shots of Jordan and Amanda. It was a beautiful evening and the company was even better. Talking about our hobbies and our love of the outdoors made this session fly by. I'm hoping that Jordan and I can get out and do a little bit of fishing this summer and possibly catch a walleye close to the size of the one we saw on a stringer that some lucky angler had caught. Here are just a few shots from the session.

Thanks again guys, I look forward to seeing you both soon!

Erik - Inspired Images

Alex & Annalise

Alex & Annalise got engaged at the Saylorville Dam so we thought it would be appropriate to take some pictures there and in the parks surrounding it. We chose Memorial Day weekend to shoot the pictures, and even though it was busy with families camping we were able to find some locations with some privacy. We had such a great time walking around and chatting in between locations, they are both wonderful people and very in love. Here are a few pictures from the evening.

Thanks guys, and I'm really glad that the date worked out. I hope that you enjoy your summers off and your trip to Kentucky is fun! We'll talk to you soon.

Erik - Inspired Images

Tim & Mary Engagement

On Saturday we headed up to ISU to take some engagement pictures for Tim & Mary. Our session was scheduled for the week before but because it was raining we had to reschedule. Saturday was beautiful but it was really windy, and that made for some tricky photography situations. We managed though and had a great time walking around the beautiful campus. Here are a few shots from the day.

Thanks guys, we'll talk to you soon!

Erik - Inspired Images