Yesterday we spent the day with Lisa, Keith and their families as we witnessed and celebrated the union of two lives and two families. Lisa did a superb job of planning and coordinating all of the beautiful details of this magnificent day. They chose to exchange vows in the glass chapel at Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs, AR, mid-afternoon. The light was beautiful coming in at just the right angle to cast a glow on Lisa and her dress making her look just like an angel as she glided toward her future husband.
She chose vibrant red roses as her bouquet...

Contemplating her future just before the ceremony...

A daddy's love for his precious jewel prepares her heart for the love that she will have for her husband and from the love that is so obvious in the eyes of this bride when she looks at her groom...she was well prepared.

As Keith stood at the altar, anticipating his first vision of his bride to be, this is what he saw...

Anticipation turns to a vision of beauty...

And now, to have and to hold from this day forward...

...till death do us part...

...and then...the celebration!!!

Keith kept the honeymoon location a secret from Lisa until they were well on their way!!! I would say that by now, she is pleasantly surprised with all of Keith's planning.

Thank you Lisa and Keith for including us in the celebration of your new life together! We pray all of GOD's richest blessing on you.

Last weekend was Lindsay and Stephen's e-session. They are BIG Razorback fans, so when we saw this sign we knew we had to have a shot here! We had met Lindsay and Stephen at the bridal fair last month. Well, actually they met Natalie, one of our featured brides. They visited extensively and decided that we were a good match and needless to say, we thought so as well.
They each liked the look of downtown Little Rock and there are several places that are special to them, including Willie D's. There are a number of images in their complete event taken there that are outstanding. But then, when you have gorgeous people to work with, they make it easy.

The Albert Pike Hotel will host the nuptials, so we decided to see what fun things we could find inside. When we pulled up out front, the street is full of fire engines! Thankfully, there was no major damage so we could not resist the temptation to include these fire engines in the evening.

Lindsay will be relocating in a couple of weeks from TX to Little Rock. She will begin her new job at Arkansas Children's Hospital in the radiology department. I'm sure that Stephen is counting the days until the time that she will be close at hand.

Lindsay and Stephen, I apologize for taking so long getting a sneak peak posted for you! Your complete event will load tonight, so it should be ready for viewing by tomorrow evening. I will let you know as soon as it is ready.

Thank you Stephen and Lindsay for including us in the wonderfully special journey that you have begun together. It is a great honor!

What fun and an honor for Garrett of Garrett Nudd Photography to call and ask me to come and be the second shooter for him in a wedding in Tampa FL. The night before the wedding we shot images of Megan and Carlos for their engagement pictures. This is a couple that he will be doing their wedding later next year. Garrett had asked me not to post anything until he had the opportunity to get some images up on his blog. The images in the car we like really well because it looks like a commercial for eyeglasses. Garrett if you read this you can call me at anytime and Renee and I will be there. Thank you very much. I had a blast. I do hope you can use at least one of the images I got.

We got a call this week from our friend and colleague Garrett Nudd of Garrett Nudd Photography, asking Ron to be his second shooter at a wedding in Tampa this weekend! Garrett is an outstanding photographer and friend and Ron is excited to work with him again. We attended Garrett and Joy's Elevate seminar this past January in Orlando and the knowledge and wisdom shared by them as well as their guests Steven and Jennifer Bebb, was priceless. Above and beyond that, Garrett and Joy are great people. More to come...next week!

For those of you that enjoy sending personalized greeting cards during the holiday season, it is time to schedule your session! We have many card options and paper types for you to choose from, so give us a call and we will schedule a time to show you the possibilities.

Happy Labor Day weekend to all! We are looking forward to the long weekend and spending some fun time outside. Even though I enjoy the holiday, I always have mixed feeling about the arrival of September. Technically, summer is over and cold weather will be here before we know it. Yet, on the other hand, September brings another birthday celebration! At this time 19 years ago, we were awaiting the arrival of our younger daughter. It doesn't seem possible.

We want to welcome Lindsay and Stephen to our family of brides and grooms! They will be joining their lives in January at the Albert Pike Hotel in Little Rock. What a beautiful place for two beautiful people. We will be shooting engagement pictures in September which will then be posted under the EVENT LINK on the website.

Zack's Senior pictures are finished and loading tonight, so check tomorrow to see a very handsome young man in Army National Guard uniform!

What a great start to the week! Beautiful sunshine, summer temps and a bride and groom planning their summer wedding for next year! We welcome Ashlie Morrison and Jonathan Heird into our family of brides and grooms. They took a few minutes to share their story with us and July 4th has a number of special memories for them. That was the date they met then got engaged and then the natural thing to follow would be saying "I do" on the next July 4th, so that is exactly what will happen. Ashlie and Jonathan, we are very excited to be a part of this special event! We are looking forward to getting to know you well over this coming year! Congratulations to you and we wish you all the best.

Last week on Thursday, we spent the evening with Amy, her parents and Justin's mom and friend taking bridal portraits at The Little Rock Manor House (http://www.littlerockmanorhouse.com/). Anne Jarrard opens her home for events, weddings, and brides! It is a beautiful location and Anne is a very gracious hostess. We hope to do business with her many more times in the coming months. Amy has 2 dresses. A gown for her wedding at Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs, which will not be revealed until the wedding day. And, what she calls her goddess dress for her reception and party in Benton following the wedding. She said that we could post these because Justin has seen this one!

Don't you think she looks like a goddess?

We certainly think so!

The rest of Amy's bridal portraits will be available for viewing after the wedding on the Event Link from our web page!

We have spoken to several brides this week about weddings in 2008 and we are so excited about each of them! They are beautiful and we can't wait to add them to our website.

More sneak peaks to come in the next few days!

This evening, we had the privilege of meeting Zack Ware at Laurel Park, here in Conway to take senior pictures. This is a young man that knows what he wants and began his military training this summer. He takes this endeavor very seriously, as well he should. Here are a few of our favorites...
and with his sweet girlfriend, Amy...

Not everything was serious! We played some too...

The rest of Zack's images will be posted soon at http://www.millersalbums.com/?m=81087!

The first fall bridal fair hosted by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, this past weekend gave us a wonderful opportunity to visit with many excited brides and grooms as they began deciding on vendors that they want to work with over the coming year. It is always a fun atmosphere when you get that many brides and grooms in one place!

We want to extend a special thank you to Lauren and Joe Ramirez and Natalie and Dillon Banning for giving their Sunday afternoon to join us. They are 2 of our brides and grooms from the spring and they did a great job answering questions and offering help to new brides and grooms that stopped by.

2008 is shaping up to be a year of beautiful brides and handsome grooms on our calendar! We are excited to work with each one of you as you prepare to unite your lives on your wedding day. It is a story that we look forward to telling.

I love summertime in Arkansas! I know, it is hot, no rain, and miserable to those that have to work in the heat, but I still love summertime in Arkansas! Here it is, 7:40 in the evening and my Weatherbug still is red with a reading of 101. Sounds like it might be time for a swim? Ron and I took a little time this afternoon to enjoy the waterfall and warm water of the pool after a frenzied week of preparations for this Sunday's Bridal Fair.

We are SO excited to meet the young ladies that are looking for vendors to work with them over this coming year as they plan one of the most important days of their life. These are such important decisions because if personalities do not match, the bride will not be happy. She has enough stress to deal with when things run smoothly, so, to add to that stress with mismatched personalities...oh dear. We love telling the story of each step of the process. It certainly has its obstacles, but if we can make that road a bit smoother and capture chapters that will help her relive the fun moments again and again...the stress will soon be forgotten.

Lauren and Joe will be our featured bride and groom this Sunday. They will be there to speak first hand to prospective brides and grooms about their experience with us. We met Lauren last fall at the bridal fair. When we got home on Sunday evening and checked email, we had a sweet note from her asking for a time to come and discuss things further. We knew from the start that we were a good match! She and Joe were super fun and have such wonderful families that it was easy telling their story from start to finish. Please take time to stop by and say hello!

We will be at the State House Convention Center in Little Rock, Arkansas this Sunday, August 12, from 1-5:30. We will be offering product give aways and package discounts for those that book on Sunday.

Lauren and Joe's wedding album came in this week and they will have it at the fair to share with you.

Kim and Patrick's Storybook Engagement album arrived a couple of days ago. Kim and I had talked the day it came in, but they were not able to come until this evening to pick it up. She and I decided that it was like Christmas with gifts right in front of you that could not be given or opened yet. We had a hard time waiting! She has graciously agreed to allow us to bring it to the fair to share with you! Bless her heart. :)

This coming week proves to be equally busy. August is a big birthday month in the Rader household. So in addition to several photo sessions, we will have birthday celebrations. Birthdays are a big deal to us. We can't celebrate just one day...it must LLLAAAASSSTTT.... We are thankful for each day of life and we want you to know that you are a very special part of that life!

We hope to see MANY of you on Sunday! Please stop by and say hello and tell us that you saw the information on the blog. Have a super weekend and enjoy the last few days of summer.

July was showing its best face with plenty of sunshine and heat yesterday as we spent the morning at the Old Mill in North Little Rock with Lisa Green taking her bridal pictures for her upcoming September wedding! I won't spoil Lisa's surprise for Keith by showing anything that would give away how beautiful she is in her wedding gown, but I had to show you her beautiful face. After the wedding, we will release her bridal portraits to the public!
The anticipation of becoming Mrs. Karolchyk...

and the joy that that will bring!

Lisa, you are a beautiful young lady. We are excited to share this time with you!

And then, on to Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs with Amy and Justin in the afternoon for their long awaited engagement session! The heat was challenging, but the chemistry between these two is unmistakable. They make a terrific couple.

Amy's mom, Jan, graciously provided transportation through the gardens...

And then there is Spencer! He is all puppy and all boy as one might say. He tries so hard to be good, but sometimes he just has to explore a bit. You can only contain a spirited young man for so long. :) Spencer, you added to our fun.

A bit of private time...

and a little bit of a playful spirit...

Such a beauty!

And a charming man to feast on that beauty!

Thank you Lisa, Amy and Justin for allowing us to tell your story as you each prepare to unite with the love of your life. Such an exciting time and the day will be here before you can blink an eye. We are looking forward to the next chapter in your story.

Vacation Bible School at Antioch Baptist Church in Conway is ALWAYS a big deal! There are a lot of people that put their heart and soul into the preparation and completion of these five days that are designed to share the love of Jesus with little people. This year's theme is Avalanche Ranch and here you see Cowboy DaKota at work...
What a great group of young people! You made my job super easy with your sweet cooperation.

There is one more day to join the fun...9:00 tomorrow morning on Amity Road!

Genuine best friends don't come along everyday in one's life. But when they do, they last a lifetime, no matter what the distance is geographically. Last weekend, we had the blessing of having Joie with us for a few days and she and Amber wanted pictures together again. Like typical girls, they were ready for the shoot. What a joy to hear the laughter and fun of these two. Here are a few of my favorites...

Beautiful young ladies that still know how to have fun together!

Look at those eyes!

Joie and Amber, you are both beautiful inside and out! The rest of the images are posted at http://www.millersalbums.com/?m=81087 Remember to make a folder of favorites!

We hope that everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July! What a wonderful country in which we live. It reminds me how grateful I am to be an American citizen. Freedom certainly comes with a price and we have and have had many over the years sacrifice much to preserve it. I want to say thank you to all of those who have served and are serving now. Our prayers are with you.

It was a great day at the Rader household. Ron and I got to play in what we fondly call our back yard paradise and grilled hamburger with fresh tomatoes! I could eat "summer" all year long.

We are excitedly looking forward to the August 12th bridal fair at the State House Convention Center! Lauren and Joe have graciously agreed to come and work with us for a couple of hours so that those of you that will be planning your wedding in the coming months will be able to speak first hand with one of our brides and grooms. We are hoping that one more couple will agree to come for the other part of the afternoon!

Photography is something that will not pass with the day. It remains with your for generations to come, so your choice of a photographic team is paramount! We look forward to seeing many of you next month. Please stop by and introduce yourself. We will have product for you to view that will show the evolution of time between now and the day when you say "I do."

Well, a mid-week holiday always serves to confuse my days, but we will have a new set of engagement pictures posted within the coming days! Lisa...it won't be long.