A few months ago I posted some images from the first part of Erica’s senior portrait session. This past week, we were finally able to have the second part of her session.  Can I just say that girls who show up with sundresses and cowboy boots make me very happy?

Kevin and Jennifer had a magical day filled with the love of friends and family, much laughter, and a few tears (the good kind).  They waited a long time for this day, having dated since they were teenagers and then through all of their collage years at Liberty University. They are truly a couple that was made for one another. It was a privilege to share their day.

One thing you will notice when looking at these images is how much Jennifer loves to laugh!

Another challenging dress. I believe at one point there were 5 people trying to get her into it.

The guys arrive. Seriously, how did anyone manage to pull off a wedding before cell phones?

The girls sneaked into the groom’s father’s office (also the pastor!) for a bit of fun.

Kevin seeing Jennifer for the first time that day.

The reception was beautiful!

Special thanks once again to my assistant, Jeff Lawther.

As promised, I am devoting this entire post to the special dance that took place at the reception. For months Daren and Erica secretly planned this by taking dancing lessons. I don’t believe anyone outside of maybe the DJ knew it was coming. We had one funny moment during the bridal party pictures when I asked Daren to “dip” Erica. Now most couples don’t know how to dip, so this usually ends up being a really awkward but funny moment that brings on lots of laughter for the whole group.  But not these two. Without missing a beat, Daren proceeded to drop Erica into the most perfectly executed dip I have every seen. Which made me laugh in amazement!

After the pictures Erica pulled me aside and informed me they were doing a special dance at the reception and I needed to be sure to be ready. I nodded in agreement but I still didn’t really get the full enormity of what they had planned.

One final note before the images. I need to thank my two assistants Jeff Lawther and Lauren Pritchard who caught much of the action during the dance. There was so much going on there was no way I could have captured it all by myself.

It started very Fred and Ginger like. . .

But wait! There’s a problem with the music.  Erica is left to worry . . .

While Daren goes to investigate (is something on fire??)

Michael Jackson is in the house!!

I’ve been dying to share some exciting news, but I needed to wait until it was official. Bonnie Burman Photography is getting studio space! I want to assure everyone that I will still be doing on location sessions (either at your home or outdoors), but now I have the option of providing studio photography services as well. The studio will be both a shooting space and a meeting space (for ordering and consulting), open by appointment only. I am very excited because now I can offer new types of sessions and even mini-sessions which is something many have been asking for.

I will be sharing the space with my friend and fellow photographer Bethany. Our businesses will remain separate, we will just be sharing the space, but I imagine there will be some occasions where we will collaborate, especially around the holidays.

I will be able to start offering studio session in July. More information on that will be coming later. In the mean time, here is a picture of the exterior. The studio is on the left where the bay window is located.

I decided to break this up into two or three parts because there is just too much fun stuff for one post. Daren and Erica’s wedding day just brimmed with laughter. This is seriously one of the happiest bunches I have ever worked with!  I also want to thank Daren, Erica, their family, and their wedding party for being so incredibly gracious to me. They were truly a blessing to work with.

Look at the beautiful detailing on the dress.

Getting into a wedding dress is never easy!

Erica couldn’t find her garter and thought perhaps it had been thrown in the trash inside an empty shopping bag. So the fathers dutifully went to the garage to dig through the trash. The never found the garter so their next activity was going shopping for a new one. I wish I could have photographed that as well.

They forced me to take this picture . . . I swear.

The dads making sure that Daren looked his best.

Lipstick check

Oops.

Totally worth it to get the close up.

Daren and Erica took three months of dance lessons to surprise everyone at the reception. This is only the tip of the iceberg. I will be devoting another post to the dance in a day or two.

I know there are many people eagerly waiting on a sneak peek of Daren and Erica’s wedding. I promise I will have a large share posted later this evening or tomorrow so keep checking back. There were so many fun moments to capture during the day, that I haven’t even had a chance to skim through all of the images yet. But for now I will leave you with one shot that I absolutely love.

Seniors. . .just a reminder that you can share you portrait session with a friend (standard session, not the mini-session). You can split the session fee and the print packages. There will be time for portraits with your friend and for individual portraits. For more details, email me at info@bonnieburmanphotography.com.

Once again a rather large share because I couldn’t pick just a few. Seriously, how cute are these two?  Simon and Jenny’s first child is due to arrive in a month. I met them for the first time Friday night but we clicked right away and I can tell they are going to make great parents.

View a slideshow of the complete session.