Table Rock Lake - Lake House Wedding

December 30, 2021

Top of the Rock is one of Big Cedar’s best venues for holding weddings - Gorgeous is an understatement. It is a pinnacle of premier locations in Southwest Missouri - Le Creme de la Creme. And although I totally love the venue and hope to shoot there this next year, I have to give some major props to this alternative “Top of the Rock” experience where you get the same amazing views of Table Rock Lake, but you also get so much more in a unique wedding experience at this private mansion for rent.

One thing about renting a fabulous venue like Top of the Rock is you get the venue for a number of hours on a certain day and there are certain restrictions and limitations that you might not find when renting out a mansion with a full lake view. So if all you really want is that $1,000,000 view , then why not rent out a mansion like Jake and Mariel did on their big day. I want to highlight a few reasons why I totally loved this option and want to recommend it as a possible great fit for you if you are engaged or soon to be engaged. On a personal note, If I were to get married again in 2022, I would actually pick this as my #1 venue to get married. Although I TOTALLY love so many other venues, this wedding location had some incredibly unique things going for it that made it super special and extremely fun.

A Hotel and a Venue - This was a massive house with beds to sleep literally dozens of people. They have a few master suites for the wedding couple and parents, but a ton of other bedrooms and beds on three levels. You may actually save money on hotel costs going this route. I would only recommend this if spending time with your family for a week is a good thing. I know that might be more nightmarish for some, but it totally worked awesome for the families of this wedding.
Private Pool and Personal Kitchen - You get all the amenities of a house and more. Access to an indoor swimming pool, a spa, a tennis court, and a full kitchen makes your wedding week into a stay-cation. And that brings me to my third point.
Rent the place for a week - You can save money and have your location to yourself for an entire week splitting the cost with multiple families. It is a financially brilliant way to both save thousands of dollars, have a week long wedding party, and also keep the Top of the Rock view.
Few Limitations - You can cater whatever you want, bring whatever vendors you want, and plan your wedding any way you want. I will say as far as limitations, that the locations of getting married are limited. An indoor location would be very limited to a very small group, but still possible. The reception area is covered, but will only hold maybe one hundred people, so size would be a limiting factor as well.
Get more for less - I kind of already mentioned this, but why have a one day wedding, when you could make it a week long celebration with friends and family. I have never rented out a giant house and had a big party like Jake and Mariel did, but I was a little jealous while I saw all the fun they were having. It looked and felt incredible!

Those are just a few reasons why I love this option for a wedding day/week. This is definitely not an option for everyone and maybe I just resonated with the Bride and Groom’s decision on this one more so than other weddings, but send me a note if you think this is totally awesome as well. I’d love to hear if you think this sounds great or not so great. I’d love your opinion. Let me show off a few photos from their amazing wedding day celebration.

Sycamore Creek Family Ranch Wedding Day Gallery

December 27, 2021

2021 was a great year full of wedding photography, Real Estate Photograpahy, and also working a couple other side-hustles I use to feed my sweet family. This May wedding with Mackenzie and Mitchell topped the charts for beautiful scenery, beautiful weather, and a beautiful-fun couple. They are so young and in love and I am happy to share a few memories from the day. 2022 is right around the corner and I am excited to book many more weddings at Sycamore Creek in Branson, MO.

2020 Tips on How to have a Stress Free Wedding Day

December 20, 2019

Wedding Planning Tips for 2020

We are finishing out our year here in 2019 and so proud and happy how our weddings went this year. We had nothing but happy clients and gorgeous photos all year!! As photographers, we have a lot of wedding experience seeing all parts of the day dozens of times each year. We are not wedding planners, but we do participate in a lot of weddings and see what works well and what works not so well. We wanted to share a few tips with 2020 brides planning a wedding on how to better have a stress-free, perfect day.

1. Generous Timelines -

You can do your hair in twenty minutes? Ok, well for your wedding, multiply that by five or six. Getting ready on a wedding day is not like prom and not like probably any other day you will plan. Give yourself tons of time to enjoy, relax, and take your time in getting ready. If you think it will take you two hours to get ready then add an hour or two hours to that. Plan your time based off of how many bridesmaids and how many hair and makeup professionals you will have on location or at the salon. Ask your salon professional or make-up artist how long they typically take per person, but please add more time for enjoying your day, getting some food, or having a session with your photographer right after your hair and makeup are finished.

Your overall time scheduled may be 6 hours, 8 hours, or up to 15 hours. The worst scenario is planning too many things in too short of time adding stress on you, family, friends, and vendors. If you have a shorter day planned, it is advised to not plan too many activities into that shorter day. Avoiding a jam-packed schedule is our first successful wedding tip.

2. Photo Sessions Planned -

When your hair and makeup are done, it is the best time to have a bridal session before those curls start to go flat or the humidity adds unwanted frizz to your hair. Give yourself 20 minutes to do some gorgeous photos with just you and then just you and your bridesmaids.

Also, make time for a golden-hour session or a sunset session with your spouse. Beautiful sunsets are unpredictable along with gorgeous golden-hour light, but build in a little time the hour before sunset and during sunset to take some portraits with your photographer. These sessions may only need to take ten minutes, but if that is something you want, tell your DJ, wedding planner, and photographers about it so they are all on the same page.

Another option is to ask if your photographer would be willing to do a session before or after the wedding. Weddings are very fast-paced events moving from one thing to another and it may be a great option to have a separate time for you and your spouse to have a photo session on a different day. This could happen the week of the wedding or the day after. That may also take the edge off of getting perfect portraits on the day of the wedding when things are moving probably faster than you would have wanted. This will be an added cost and most couples won’t want to do this, but it is something you may want to consider.

3. Do a First Look -

Unless you absolutely have to keep that old tradition of not seeing each other before walking down the aisle, doing a first look will make your day more smooth and provide a very memorable time with your soon-to-be spouse. First looks give you some time alone you otherwise may not get (minus your wedding night of course). It is a private time for you both to talk and it serves as a similar reveal to walking down the aisle. The only big difference to this type of reveal is that it is private and more intimate. Having a first look also makes scheduling family and bridal party photos that much easier. Instead of scheduling them in between the ceremony and reception and often resulting in a rushed chaotic time, you can do these photos before the ceremony and take your time. First looks offer the best timelines on top of giving you and your spouse a special, private moment together on the wedding day.

Dogwood Canyon Wedding - Big Cedar 2019. Leigha and Will Celebrating their Wedding Reception by the Glory Hole along the Dogwood Canyon Walking Path.

4. Bring an Emergency Kit

Something minor or major could go wrong. That is okay especially if you are prepared. One wedding, the bride walked through Mulberries on the ground and we had several packs of Tide wipes which saved the day and saved the dress. A tide pen or wipes is a must. Often times, Aunt so-and-so goes to hug the groom and leaves a mess of make-up all over the shoulder of the grooms jacket. Tide wipes can take that away fast. Think about bringing scissors, a sewing kit, a lint roller, a multi-tool, some trash bags, safety-pins, a nice hanger for the dress, extra shoes, your own make-up for touch up, and probably a few other items. Having this emergency kit all in one place will make any problems on your wedding day disappear so you can get back to having a wonderful day.

5. Plan for Late People

You know your family better than anybody. If your brother is habitually late, then make sure he knows to be there far earlier than he is technically supposed to be there. If Dad is always late, give him an earlier time as well. This can make the whole day go smoother when family members are not showing up late for family photos or to watch you walk down the aisle.

6. Pick a Venue Where Schedules Match your Day

There is nothing worse than wanting a ten hours wedding but picking a venue that only gives you six hours of time. You could split your wedding up in two locations and keep that venue of six hours or perhaps you should look at booking a venue that allows all day celebrations. Some venues are amazing in so many ways, but may not fit the all-day wedding you would like to have and make your day become too rushed.

7. Hire a Day-Of Coordinator

Good coordinators will make your day run smooth. Professional coordinators will be your best advocate, take the pressure off of you, and like in our case, take pressure off of your photographers who sometimes fill that role when they should be capturing your day. Do you want your photographer running to fix something but miss capturing precious moments with you and your Mom? Probably not. Coordinators will help make the day run smooth, answer questions, and be an extra set of hands and eyes.

8. Men’s Wardrobe Check

This may surprise you, but the men may not have tried on their wedding outfits until the wedding day…. Yes, this happens a lot and unfortunately tux rental places sometimes put pants six sizes too big or too small into bags that belong to your groomsmen or groom. Double-check that each man and lady has tried on their outfits and that they fit at least a day or two before the wedding. This one issue has caused several complicated problems or made for some awkward photos this past year in the weddings we photographed.

9. Brief your Bridesmaids on Their Role

Not every bridesmaid is going to be there to help you on your wedding day. Often times, the bridesmaids are wonderful and are there for you all the way, but sometimes that is not the case. Making sure your bridesmaids or groomsmen know what is expected of them could remove some unwanted frustrations when your maid of honor is not following you around holding your dress everywhere. You expected that, but didn’t get it. Telling them what you expect will avoid unmet expectations and relieve you of that potential annoyance.

10. Pick a Professional Photographer if you Want Great Photos

This will likely be one of the more expensive items in your budget, but if you want to enjoy your photos forty years from now, don’t hire your cousin who just bought a camera or who took a photography class in high school. Hiring a great professional will save you from a lot of headache as well. Read reviews, look at full wedding collections, and do some research into what you will be getting when you hire a photography team. We are biased and think we are the best of the best, but there are a lot of things to consider when you hire a photography team. Because of the popularity of photography, there are more awful photographers than even decent photographers. You don’t want to waste money getting somebody that won’t deliver. If you want more info on this, please send me a message. I can help you make the right choice even if you don’t want to hire us as your photographers. I would be happy to help you avoid a mistake here. Your pictures will stick with you for years (possibly longer than you are alive) and may be the only thing you have to help you remember your wedding day clearly.

What other wedding planning tips do you recommend? Was this Helpful?

Engagement Photos - LeAnn & Joe

September 1, 2019

We had a great time photographing and editing LeAnn and Joseph’s photos. Are they a stunning couple or what? You have to love that hair!! Wow!

Anyway, these two are super sweet and I am happy to feature them on my blog. We will soon be photographing their wedding in November. Often times, during the engagement session, a couple will tell me that they are not photo people and then when I break out my GIANT camera, they may get a little uncomfortable. I realize that going-in and so we start off with some very natural, candid, type photos. That seems to take the edge off of trying to pose them and avoids stiffness in the first few shots. After a little while, most couples become pros in-front of the camera and they relax naturally. I like to show them a few photos through the shoot and in this shoot, I remember LeAnn say, “Wow, we look amazing!!”. That is a big win and I definitely agree -they look fantastic!! I come into a shoot with a lot of confidence as well and I think that helps them relax. Because I am relaxed and confident, couples seem to trust my work based off of how I carry myself.

If you are a new photographer, my best advice is to be so confident with your camera, manual settings, where to place couples, and general lighting knowledge to have that confidence before showing up to a shoot. If you are not confident or nervous, don’t let your couples know. They will feed off of you and as long as you are perceived as confident, you will do fine.

CofO Chapel Wedding

April 9, 2019

Gorgeous Wedding at College of the Ozarks. This couple was married in the chapel and had their reception down below.

Ha Ha Tonka State Park

February 27, 2019

We took some engagement photos of a precious couple at Ha Ha Tonka State Park near the Lake of the Ozarks. These are just a few of our favorites.

15 Top Pro Tips to Finding YOUR Perfect Wedding Photographer!!

February 21, 2019

Want to find out from a professional what are the key things to look for when finding your wedding photographer? Here are 15 Pro Tips to getting the best photographer for your wedding. Avoid some of the major mistakes we see everyday in our industry when people hire the wrong people.