It’s almost impossible to truly define Brick Street Botanical as a business. Although they sell flowers, they’re technically not a flower shop. They sell plants too, but they are not a nursery. They even sell antiques but alas, they aren’t an antique shop either. The best description of Brick Street Botanical is that like us, they’re a creative business. But instead of using computers and cameras, they use flowers, plants and a combination of found antiques and salvaged materials to create beautiful and organic works of art. 

Tulsa Oklahoma...my old stomping grounds. But alas, I never really got the chance to stomp around Tulsa as a full time, professional photographer. So it was a lot of fun to spend my Saturday in "T Town" with this cute couple. Meet Ryan and Amanda. I've known Ryan for years. We've played music together. We've shared deep conversations about life. And we may or may not have gotten into a bit of mischief here and there. We are very good friends to say the least and I couldn't be happier that he's found Amanda. The three of us drove/walked around town laughing, joking, creating images, freezing and laughing some more. Here's a few from the day. Enjoy.

A trip to Kansas City is not only a fun getaway, it's also one of the trips we take to stay inspired. In the middle of all the busyness, Kansas City is a quick drive, it's affordable and there's lot's to see and do there. Some of the places we frequent are...

On Monday, we shared a wedding on the blog. It doesn't get much more lovey dovey than that. So today, we're sharing a few things that in our 7 years as a business, we have grown to love. There's no agenda here. We're not marketing for anyone or anything in particular. These are things that we truly and honestly love and believe in...about our community, our profession, and our daily life in general. Enjoy :)

Awhile back, we posted a few "sneak peek" photos from Ben and Danielle's wedding. And after going a few rounds with the flu and playing catch up with all our projects and shoots, we finally finished up their wedding last week. Today, we're posting some more of our favorites from their super duper awesome celebration. Enjoy.

Ceremony - Magnolia Gardens
Reception - Chancellor Hotel
Event Design - Simply Beautiful Weddings
Wedding Photography - "duh"

Last year, we launched a new website and with it, a new blog. Along with keeping you informed of our recent images and projects, we’ve also decided to take this year to blog about our own interesting mix of subjects, gear, and miscellaneous shenanigans. Read this post to find out why. 
 

A recent bridal shoot with the beautiful Danielle Elson proved to us that some girls really don't care that it's freezing cold outside. They just want beautiful pictures in their wedding dress and they're willing to brave the cold and the gloom to get them. To be honest, we did mix it up with indoor and outdoor locations. But during our time outdoors, Danielle (who stands barely 5 feet tall and weighs next to nothing) had a blast hamming it up for the camera. And for the record, my teeth were chattering. Here's a few of our favorite images from the shoot. Enjoy. 

Welcome to the first in a series of blog posts where we’ll introduce you to the people who live and work around our studio. This project came about in part because of the diverse businesses and people surrounding our small studio space. As a creative company, we are also interested in creating personal projects that challenge us and allow us to grow as creative story tellers and artistic visionaries. Every month, we’ll focus on a different downtown Rogers business. This month, we chatted it up with Carl Walter, a 91 year old shoe repairman who works a few doors down from our space. As you can imagine, he’s quite the character. We hope you enjoy his story and the photos that follow. 

We like dogs. Anyone who's seen our instagram feed knows that we're the proud owners of an english bulldog named Bosco. And every month, Bosco gets a bath, a nail trim and some very good quality time with his friends at The Dog House. Last Fall, we had the opportunity to create a few images for the Dog House. The owners (Devyn and Kristen) wanted photos of their dogs to decorate the walls of their space. Here's a few of our favorites. Enjoy. 

Their Save the Date card prominently read "Beautiful Bride, Handsome Groom, Booze, Food & Bad Dance Moves. You in or what?" And of course, we were in. From the get go, these two were fun to be around. Their sense of humor and personalities are genuine and witty. Their wedding was held at Magnolia Hill in Little Rock, AR. The ceremony was setup for outdoors but unfortunately, rain decided to switch everything to Plan B which was a hop, skip and a jump into a nearby barn. And the switch didn't stop them or anyone for that matter, from enjoying the celebration. Here's a few images from the evening. Enjoy. 

Camera bags have always been a conundrum for me. And despite what some people might say, I have relinquished the idea that you can ever find ONE perfect bag for everyday, all the time, anytime, anywhere, anything, you get the idea. However, I have found the perfect brand of camera bag and while the bag in this review is far from being THE perfect camera bag, it is VERY functional and I absolutely love it. 

For the 3rd year in a row, we've had the honor and privilege of capturing images of The Mercy Charity Ball. This year's entertainment included live music by Easton Corbin and hands down, the best DJ we've EVER heard in our lives - DJ Kirby. But most importantly, the evening served as way to celebrate the philanthropy work that, through the combined efforts of so many, Mercy Health is able to accomplish. Here's a few images from the evening. Enjoy. 

For us, weddings are personal. By the time a wedding day rolls around, it's our good friends that are marrying each other...not just our clients. Last November, our good friends Andrew and Lindsay got married and they celebrated with lots of family, friends, live music and of course, photos. Here's a few from their celebration. Enjoy.

Today, we're posting a few images from a recent photography job at Eastside Elementary. The goal was to create some images of the students interacting and engaging in the school environment. Shortly after creating these images, a fatal incident in Connecticut left a tragic mark on an elementary school, the local community and ultimately, our nation as a whole. We decided to let some time pass before posting these images and we hope that by posting them, they remind you that life is indeed precious and in the midst of tragedy, hope springs up. Happy Friday everyone. 

After an incredibly busy Fall and Holiday season, I decided to unplug for a few days. By "unplug", I mean literally unplug. No phone, no internet, no television (although I broke that one) and no work. When you run a business on technology, it's hard to unplug. You're always worried that you're missing something. But for a creative, this is a necessary balancing act - working hard and resting well. Because how well you rest depends on how hard you work. So for a few days this past week, I focused on resting well. And in the process of resting well, I took some time to create some images. Here's a few of them. Enjoy :)

Adam & Amanda were married on a beautiful Wednesday (yes Wednesday) night back in the Fall of 2012. Their family and friends came all the way from Oklahoma City to celebrate with them at the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs. Second to their wedding ceremony, the highlight of the evening was a magic show put on by their nephews in which they demonstrated feats of illusion. They then proceeded to tell their audience how all of their tricks worked. Bingo :)  Here's a few images from the evening. Enjoy. 

Now and then, I have to take a break. I'll admit, it's hard. I always end up feeling guilty. But in truth, I'm more productive when I'm inspired. And for me, inspiration comes when I walk away for awhile and recharge. For years, my escape has been photography. I love to hit the road with a car full of cameras and no map (not a good idea, by the way) or plan. Sometimes, I intentionally seek out areas or places to explore. Sometimes, I go with friends and sometimes, I go alone. As I'm typing this blog post, I'm realizing that the images posted here are at least 3 months old if not older. It's probably about time for another break :)

Michael and Stephanie (or Mike and Steph as we like to call them) were married in October of 2012. Their wedding and reception took place in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Mike happens to be my brother-in-law and I'm honored that he entrusted me with photographing his wedding day. It was a lot of fun shooting in South Carolina. The weather was beautiful and the scenery, gorgeous. Here's a few images from their special day. Enjoy. 

3rd & Union are one of the most talented duos we've ever heard, let alone had the opportunity to work with. The duo is made up of Palmer Lee & Chase Coy, who met at Belmont University in Nashville. Writing a song together for a wedding led them to embark on a musical journey of writing consistently, performing and most recently, recording and releasing an album. The album made the iTunes "new and noteworthy" page on the day of its release and has received lots of excellent reviews. Over the holidays, they came to Rogers to play show and while they were here, we had the  privilege of hanging out with them for an evening, cameras in tow. Our first stop was a bright yellow building that looked as though it was about to be demolished. (it was gone the day after) From there, we headed out to Monte Ne, an area of Beaver Lake that used to be a town. It's a fascinating place with a lot of history and some great places to shoot. Here's a few of our favorite images. Enjoy.