Sunwave's Weblog

Jennifer and Ben, September 2nd

sunwave — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 16:03:30 +0000

Jennifer and Ben’s wedding and reception were held at The Villa, a european style venue located in mid town Kansas City, just north of the Vietnam Veteran’s Fountain. It was a nice late summer day here in the midwest, warm but not terribly hot. The wedding and reception were both held indoors but we did most of the portraits outdoors, either on the grounds of The Villa or at the nearby Vietnam Veteran’s Fountain.

The wedding and the reception were both held in the same room at The Villa so we had plenty of time after the wedding to do photos while the staff readied the room for the reception. Since it was an afternoon / evening wedding, the light was great for outdoor photographs and everything went very smoothly.

The most memorable moment of this wedding was when the bride wanted to take off her slip before entering the reception. We were still out in the Vietnam Veteran’s park and had just finished the photos. The groom and I managed to hide her in a large bush with him on one side and me on the other side while traffic zoomed down JC Nichols Parkway.

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Salome and Mike, September 1st

sunwave — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 03:00:50 +0000

Salome and Mike’s wedding was originally scheduled for December 30th but Mike is in the military so when he found out he was going to be deployed to Iraq in November, they decided to move the wedding up. In only about 3 days time the mother and father of the bride had to scramble to arrange the wedding at Pilgrim Chapel in Kansas City.

The mother of the bride managed to arrange getting her daughter’s dress finished, the bridesmaids dresses, the flowers, decorations for the chapel and even a flutist for the music. I was called and asked if I could still do the photography and although I was not available for that date anymore, my associate Kirk was happy to do the photography for them.

The weather on the wedding day was lovely and although I could not be at the wedding, Kirk said that everything went very smoothly and the pictures turned out great.

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Misti and Jarrid, August 18th

sunwave — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 22:15:31 +0000

This evening wedding took place at a very unusual venue called Paradise Park. Paradise Park is north of St. Joseph so it was a little bit of a drive even for me coming from north of the Kansas City area. The atmosphere is very rustic with an old chapel on the property, an old barn and other old farm implements scattered around. There were also numerous outdoor pavilions set up for receptions or other small family events. The barn was well decorated with flowers all around the outside and inside was a water lily pond with a waterfall.

August is generally a humid month around here even when we don’t get much rain but this day was incredibly muggy and the light rain that fell right before the ceremony made it worse. Fortunately the chapel was well air conditioned and the barn provided some shelter from the rain so I could get the bridal party photos prior to the ceremony. It stopped raining right about sunset but night did not bring any relief from the heat and humidity.

The reception was held out on one of the pavilions and in spite of the typical August weather, the family and friends of the bride and groom had a great time.

www.sunwaveimaging.com

Family Time

sunwave — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 21:37:03 +0000

The Connely Family – August 11, 2007

I don’t know of any photos more important or more treasured by our clients than family photos whether taken at reunions or at weddings. This was a very small family reunion consisting of three generations that had traveled to the Overland Park area from places as far away as Colorado and Wisconsin. The family consisted of the parents, their five children and their respective families, a total of twenty three people. My associate Kirk worked with me on this session since he has more experience with families than I do and I knew it would turn out great with him directing things.

It was the hottest week we have had here in the Kansas City area so far this summer and even though we got started at 9:00, we probably should have started at 8:00. The photo session took place at Antioch Park which was a very beautiful park but unfortunately, already a little warm even at 9:00 am. The sun was a problem too since it would start shining through the trees just as we had everyone set up and then we would have to move some people around to prevent “hot spots” in the photos. We finished up about 10:00 and by that time it was just downright hot outside and the family was more than ready to head for Oceans of Fun where they planned to spend the rest of the day.

www.sunwaveimaging.com

First 2008 Senior

sunwave — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 17:37:26 +0000

Courtney – July 18, 2007

Courtney wanted to get her senior picture session out of the way early, which is a good idea since I always offer a special price for early birds. Even though we started the session at 10:00 in the morning, it was already a hot day here in the midwest. We went to some shady spots at Park University and a nice stone archway for the outdoor part of the session and the photos turned out great. She was a real sport about wearing her jacket for some of her photos. July is definitely not jacket weather around here and it could not have been very comfortable for her.

Courtney is an accomplished viola player in her high school orchestra and she wanted some photos taken with her viola. This was a lot of fun for me since I love to take portraits of seniors with their musical instruments. We tried a lot of different poses with the viola and I have posted my favorite below although I think all them turned out great.

www.sunwaveimaging.com

Monica and Nathan, July 14th

sunwave — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 02:37:17 +0000

This wedding and reception was held at a very lovely place near Lees Summit called Lone Summit Ranch. The weather was very nice although a little warm which is expected around here for the middle of July. The ceremony was held outdoors at the gazebo and the reception was held indoors in one of the estate homes that had been converted for private parties. It was wonderfully spacious with a natural stone fireplace decorated with candles for this summer wedding.

There were so many great places to take photos at this venue like the beautiful gazebo, the tree lined driveway, the long porch in front of the reception hall, a brick walkway decorated with hanging baskets of flowers and many large shade trees. Later, during the reception, a storm passed to the west and while there was no rain where we were, the clouds in the distance made a great background for one last bride & groom portrait.

www.sunwaveimaging.com

Christi and Brad, July 7th

sunwave — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 20:50:57 +0000

This wedding ceremony and reception was photographed primarily by my associate Kirk because I had other obligations. I was able to help him for the ceremony, but he did all of the photography at the reception. Christi & Brad were already legally married and were parents of a cute baby son named Bradley. Bradley was part of the wedding party and was wearing the smallest tux I think I have ever seen.

There was a glitch with the bride and bridesmaids dresses which caused the wedding to start a little late. The bride was subjected to some unecessary stress due to the situation but once it was resolved she had a big smile on her face for Brad as she was walked down the aisle by her Father.

Although I did not attend the reception I could see from the photos that it was fun and everyone had a great time. Kirk said that he convinced the couple to go outside for some photos with Kansas City and Union Station in the background. Kirk does a great job with wedding photography and this couple was no exception. I always love looking at the wedding photos he takes.

www.sunwaveimaging.com

Mary and Doug, June 30th

sunwave — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 22:54:59 +0000

Unfortunately it rained all day on June 30th and the planned outdoor wedding at Legacy Park in Lees Summit had to be moved indoors. The rain did not stop Mary from being a happy and beautiful bride however and she had a great wedding in spite of the dreary weather outside.

One thing that was remarkable about this wedding was the elaborate food table that was prepared by the couple’s family and friends. It was as elaborate and attractive as anything I have ever seen done by a caterer. There was one long table that was laden with all kinds of vegetables, meats, fruit and and bread all attractively decorated amid several cheese and chocolate fountains.

Another wonderful aspect of this wedding was the musical talent displayed by the couple and the wedding party. Mary and Doug had belonged to a music organization in undergraduate school along with several members of their wedding party. They sang a song to each other during the ceremony and it was excellent. I know, how would a photographer know a good performance from a bad performance, well we hear a lot of them. They not only sang at the ceremony, they also delighted us at the reception singing with their vocal backups, most of whom were members of the wedding party. After I had finished up and I was ready to leave, they were still singing so I stuck around for a few songs just because they were so entertaining.

www.sunwaveimaging.com

Sara and Justin, June 23rd

sunwave — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 00:28:45 +0000

This was one of my favorite weddings that I have covered this year. The wedding and reception were both held at Meadowview Gardens, a popular wedding venue east of Lees Summit, Missouri. The weather was great, the couple was wonderful and everyone had such a good time. The pre-wedding photos went smoothly and thanks to good organization by the couple, we had enough time to get all the photos they wanted.

It started off a little warm in the afternoon which is normal in Missouri for June 23rd but by early evening it had cooled off to a more comfortable temperature. For the outdoor ceremony, the sky was a gorgeous blue with just a few fluffy clouds. After it got dark, it was absolutely beautiful outside so the couple and I went back to the gazebo to do a few more photos.

The couple and the wedding party were a very animated group and fun to work with. I thoroughly enjoyed this wedding.

www.sunwaveimaging.com

Last 2007 Senior

sunwave — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 20:50:21 +0000

Jamie – June 02, 2007

Today I got to shoot the outdoor part of this senior picture session at Hodge Park in Gladstone, Missouri. I had never done a portrait session at Hodge Park and it turned out to be a great place to take pictures. The park has a collection of 19th century buildings which made excellent backdrops for our outdoor session. We had the session late in the afternoon so after we got finished in the studio the light outside was perfect for outdoor pictures. This time of year the weather is still spring like and not too hot yet.

We had a great session and I love the photos from this shoot. Jamie is lovely, relaxed and full of energy like most high school seniors. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Jamie, she enjoyed having her photo taken and even suggested a few poses.