Archive for December, 2008

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With our friend Ally getting married last week, we’ve had the chance to see lots of old friends recently, including some who were visiting from out of town.  My old friend (and roommate :-) Krissy and her hubby Bill were here from Ohio and asked us to do some family portraits with them.  So we headed out to the campus of ASU on a chilly Sunday afternoon to capture some Duley cuteness!  They chose ASU because both Krissy and Bill have TONS of history there.  They both went to school there, Bill was practically living there when they were dating and he was working on his engineering degree, Krissy worked for the school before moving to Ohio and to go even farther back in time, her grandparents used to live right where Palm Walk is now and they sold the land to the school.  The Duley’s bleed maroon for sure!  They offered to show us their old make out spots on campus, but we opted to stick to the main roads.  (Ha ha – probably wasn’t supposed to mention that on the blog, right?)

A little stroll down Palm Walk . . .

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Krissy & Bill’s little boy Sam is almost a year old.  He was SOOO good the whole shoot, although his mom says he’s usually a lot more smiley.  Smiley or not, he’s a total cutie.  I think he was a wee bit suspicious of the two crazy people running around with big cameras.  Can’t say I blame him on that one :-)  We are a little crazy.

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One of my Favs: SERIOUSLY adorable :-)  And I LOVE that he’s sticking out his tongue a little bit. 

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The adorable Duleys

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This one just makes me smile – probably because Krissy’s laughing.  So many of my fondest memories involve laughing with this gal :-)

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Sam needed a little break from all the group shots so he got to play in the grass for a bit.  Ryan snagged this low angle shot of him.  Doesn’t it look like he’s on a mission to destroy something?  Like attack of the 50 foot baby!

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So I came up with what I thought was a brilliant idea to have Bill throw a bunch of the fall leaves up in the air to get Sam to look up and smile.  He could not BE any less amused with my little stunt, but Krissy and Bill seem to be enjoying themselves.

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Favorite, favorite, favorite!  Did I mention that this is my favorite?

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Bill’s big request was to do some shots that “look like Arizona”.  We actually found this kinda funny since most of the time we’re trying to find places that DON’T look like Arizona :-)  So we drove around to find some cactus and brown stuff.  (Just kidding Bill – apparently most people in Ohio really do want to know what a cactus looks like.)

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So every time we’re doing a shoot with kids, one parent or the other ends up throwing the kid up in the air like this next one.  The kids seem to get a huge kick out of it, but seriously, I’d be SO afraid I would drop them!  Especially with a bunch of cactus around . . .

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LOVE this one :-)

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And of course, we had to show a little love to the old alma matter – Go Devils!

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Thanks for hanging out with us Duleys!  We had an awesome time with you guys and now we’re even more very sad that you’re going home :-(  Love you guys!

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On Tuesday, we headed out to Val Vista Lakes for Ally & Matt’s wedding.  We’ve been looking forward to their wedding for a while.  Ally has been a good friend since we were all a part of the same youth group back in high school.  She was even a bridesmaid in our wedding back in the day!  One of the things we’ve always loved about Ally is that she’s so full of life and has so much love for everyone around her.  We were so happy when Matt & Ally asked us to shoot their wedding.  They have such a sweet and genuine love for each other.  And it was so much fun to see our friend marry the man of her dreams :-)  Matt, you’re a lucky guy and we’re so glad that God has brought the two of you together.  Here are some of our favorites from their special day:

A few preparation shots . . .

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How cute is this?  Love the curlers!

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Ally’s dress had tons of gorgeous details.  As you know, we love when our brides incorporate color and I especially loved the red lacing on her dress.

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Ally & her girls – such cute bridesmaid’s dresses!

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Matt & his guys weren’t looking too shabby either!

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Such a beautiful bride!

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Ally & Matt decided to see each other before the ceremony and their first look was so sweet!  Always so much fun to be a part of this moment, but it’s even better when it’s with friends :-)

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Some super cute portraits . . .

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It’s been raining quite a bit this past week and in fact, it rained through Matt & Ally’s entire rehearsal so everyone was looking up all day, hoping the weather would last.  And were we ever blessed with some gorgeous skies!

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A few times during the long morning of preparation, Ally could be found relaxing in this window sill.  Sure enough, just before the ceremony, she was back at her perch watching from above as the guests were arriving.  Love how this one turned out . . .

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Time to make it official!

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Married at last!  And such a classic Ally moment :-)

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We took this shot of the new Mr. & Mrs. Nyberg just after the ceremony – I think it may be my favorite of the whole day.  So in love :-)

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There was a ton of silly dance shots and great moments from their reception, but this one from their first dance was just too cute . . .

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There’s a TON more great moments so make sure to *** CLICK HERE *** to see the slideshow!

To the Nybergs: we love you guys and we’re so happy that we could be a part of such a special day!  We wish you all God’s blessings for your life together in Christ.  Hope your having an awesome time on your honeymoon right now!

Merry Christmas!

December 26, 2008

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Merry Christmas everybody!  We had the pleasure of shooting the wedding of Ally & Matt on Tuesday (Christmas Eve – Eve) so the photo above is a little preview of their super cuteness – with many more to come of course :-)   The sleigh was for their flower girl and ring bearer, but we decided they needed to take a little test drive as well!  It’s been a wonderful, but very busy week for us, so we probably won’t be posting the rest of the wedding for a few days.

We mostly just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a very blessed Christmas!  May you and your loved ones make beautiful memories and take the time to remember the true meaning of the season.

Lots of Love,

The Gotchers
Simply Knot Photography