Mike and Ashley's wedding took place on the beautiful Brady Ranch down in Okeechobee, and it was a beautiful location for a beautiful couple to get married! There was definitely a "country" theme to the day.. I think this is the first wedding I've shot where the father of the bride was wearing jeans! I loved it! But Ashley did a great job with all of the details; the fall colors she chose were gorgeous and complemented the location. But best of all, they were surrounded by their closest friends and family as they sought the Lord's blessing on their marriage. It was an honor to be there!

And here's the slideshow...

Oh, my sweet Anna!

In the past month, Anna has of course continued to grow - she is getting so big! However, I haven't taken her for her 6 month appointment yet, though, so I have no idea how much she weighs. But, she is getting stronger and learning new "tricks". She can roll over from her tummy to her back pretty easily, and is starting to roll the other way as well. We're working on sitting up, though she can only do it for a second before she tips over. And then just the other day Mark was letting her chew on his finger, and he commented that he felt something sharp... sure enough, her first tooth had poked through!

The pictures below I took as a newborn, and then on the 15th of each subsequent month. She isn't really fitting on the chair anymore very well - I actually had to catch her right as she rolled off the edge this time!

Recently I was reading the blog of one of my friends, Shannon, who has a daughter about Anna's age, and I noticed that she had on the most adorable little bow. I kept meaning to ask Shannon about it, but never got around to it. However, not long after she sent me an email, telling me about a business that she is starting. It turns out that she MADE the adorable bow I'd seen in the picture. Of course I couldn't resist getting a few for Anna...

If you are interested in purchasing some bows yourself, you have a few options. She has a website, http://www.loopdeloopbows.com/, but it isn't quite ready yet. So, in the meantime you can visit http://www.weewilliewinks.com/; just click on "loop de loop bows" on the left side. You can also custom order bows at orders@loopdeloopbows.com. I had no idea what kind of bows to get, so I just emailed Shannon pictures of a few of Anna's outfits, and told her that I wanted bows to match them. And she picked out the perfect colors and styles! I also love the headband.. it fits just right, and isn't so tight that it leaves red marks. Just think.. Christmas is coming! These bows make the perfect stocking stuffer. Her prices are really reasonable, and the bows are very well made.

Today we had an opportunity to do something that we will probably never get to do again, and also something that most people never get to do: we got to watch a space shuttle launch from Kennedy Space Center. Not only were we on the grounds of the Space Center, but we were as close as anyone was allowed to get - in the same place as the astronauts' families!

Mark's new job is at a company called ASRC Aerospace, and they are a company that does contract work out at NASA. Currently the project he is working on is the ground support for the new rocket program. But whenever there is a launch, NASA gives his company three tickets, and the company does a drawing for the spots. This time, Mark was one of the winners. He was allowed to take 3 people, so me, his mom, and Anna came along. (We would have loved to take Chris, but as we had to get there at least an hour early we knew there was no way he'd make it.)

It was an incredible experience - I was so excited! It was just amazing to watch. There was such a sense of excitement, anticipation, patriotism, nervousness, and awe. When the shuttle was given a go for launch, there was a round of applause and a collective cheer from those who were watching, and again after the successful lift-off. I really wish that my dad could have been there!

I am still in awe of the God-given intelligence that made this all happen. I bet He is just as proud!

When Anna first contacted me about photographing her wedding next spring, I immediately knew I liked her... for one, I love her name (in case you are new to my blog, my daughter is named Anna as well). And second, she is a fellow UCF Knight. So, seeing as how I could already tell that she has good taste, I knew that it would be great to work with her! ;)

For hers and Mike's engagement session, we started off at Cocoa Village. They were fun to watch; they are one of those couple that just seems to fit together.

We then headed over to the Cocoa Beach Pier. They had brought along their respective jerseys, and wanted a few picturest together..

Unfortunately, the day we shot this was the first day of the time change... so it was a little difficult to plan the time... and by the time we got out to the pier, we were loosing light fast! Thank goodness for a good camera!

We headed up onto the pier last, and the lighting was kind of cool... I love how the sky looks in this one.

I think this may be one of my favorites from the evening!

Thanks so much you two! I am excited for your wedding!