St. Louis Wedding Photographers | Benton Park Photography Company

kathy + tim | the slideshow

kathy and tim put their hearts and souls into their wedding. they made it THEIRS. too many people get wrapped up in all the should dos instead of the i do.

their love and laughter was overflowing.

for their "first look," kathy and tim wanted something with personality- kathy coming out of a whale, perhaps? for their last look of the evening, they swung from ropes. we can't ask for more fabulous clients, especially when THEY are the ones to suggest they swing from a rope.

the first father/daughter dance was amazing- not a slow dance (that was their second), but a fast-paced, well choreographed number. later on, the parents surprised k + t with another performance, chorus line style. at least a dozen of their friends and family members rocked out in sparkly gold hats. it was magnificent.

family flew in from around the world to join them on their big day. that's how special they are.

some favorites and a slideshow:

the candy bar created by bridesmaid, erica...

kathy's beautiful bouquet...

kathy's mom AND dad walked her down the aisle. i LOVE it!

the best father/daughter dance i have EVER seen...

and the chorus line number... kathy and tim surrounded by dancing love!

Labels: CityMuseumStLouis, KathyTim, slideshows, StLouisWeddingPhotographers, weddings

emily + dennis | the "day" after slideshow

you may remember emily and dennis from their beautiful backyard october wedding. well, adam and i had the fantabulous pleasure of photographing their day after session yesterday and it was yummylicious.

sometimes i just get flat out giddy when i stumble upon a photographer's playground of sorts--an urban landscape, it seemed, created just for us! each series of steps visually juicier than the previous.

as always, scroll down through a few favorites and check out the slideshow. emily and dennis, you guys rock! thanks for being up for everything!

Labels: BentonParkPhotographyCo, DayAfter, EmilyAndDennis, slideshows, StLouisWeddingPhotographers

liz + rob | the slideshow

yesterday, as the floats were rolling, the beer was pouring and the unmentionables were exposing at mardi gras in soulard, we were busy celebrating the equally fun nuptials of liz and rob- our first 2008 wedding! and what a way to start the year- with lots of irish catholic goodness!

liz and rob, you both looked stunning yesterday and you were a blast to photograph. you were great sports at every turn. we've never been in the middle of a snowball fight on a wedding day before, but liz, you didn't even flinch!

wedding party, you guys also rocked! rebecca and connie, i doubt we will ever see such an award-winning bouquet grab. i smile every time i think of it.

and families, thank you for making our jobs easy by being incredibly friendly, welcoming and easy going.

as always, scroll down through a few favorites to reach the slideshow. press the little arrow on the bottom left of the window to start the show.

and show some blog love!!!

Labels: BentonParkPhotographyCo, LizandRob, slideshows, StLouisWeddingPhotographers, weddings

ben + laura | urban chic slideshow

hey guys, are you ok with sitting on that dirty windowsill? sure.
hey guys, how about jumping on that mattress? sure.
hey guys, i have an idea. sure.
so went the fabulously urban and gritty engagement shoot with ben and laura. they were up for absolutely anything and i loved it!

st. louis has a lot of great parks, which are excellent for more traditional photography, but in our adventures living in and traveling around the city, we now have a very interesting visual repertoire of stunningly original locations for photo shoots.

if that's what you seek, you're right up our alley (speaking of which, those make some great backdrops, too!).

Ben + Laura

Labels: BenAndLaura, BentonParkPhotographyCo, engagements, slideshows, StLouisWeddingPhotographers

roma + justin | the slideshow | indian wedding st. louis

as promised, here's the slideshow from roma + justin's phenomenal celebration we shot a couple of weeks ago with randy solomon. i have never seen more color (or more guests @ 500!) in an event. it was just incredible- one of those days chockablock with A-HA! photographic moments. adam giggled at me the few times he heard me make a noise when i knew i had something great.

a few favs are below and please scroll down for the slideshow.

Roma + Justin

Labels: BentonParkPhotographyCo, IndianWedding, IndianWeddingStLouis, RomaAndJustin, slideshows, StLouisIndianWedding, StLouisWeddingPhotographers, weddings

emily + dennis | the slideshow

the details, the emotion, and the heart and soul that went into this wedding made it one incredible day. weddings these days can be a little cookie cutter. since we are not cookie cutter photographers, i especially love when couples really put themselves into their big day- you see it in emily's beautiful dress detailed with black beading and the hilariously wonderful kiss groom's cake and matching life-sized kiss cutout. emily and dennis, you are both amazing and we thank you for choosing us to be a part of such a amazing celebration.

a few favorites and a slideshow are below. show some blog love and leave a comment!!

Example

Labels: BentonParkPhotographyCo, EmilyAndDennis, slideshows, StLouisWeddingPhotographers, weddings

congrats tina & david | quadruple sevens

7 p.m. 07.07.07
the kansas city star reported that 65,000 weddings took place last saturday. i had the pleasure of photographing tina and david's beautiful day in kc with stephen seward. the ceremony and reception took place at the gorgeous webster house , a historic schoolhouse-cum-antique store and restaurant where kathy done and brad ozias (special events manager and food and beverage director respectively) took impeccable care of everyone.
i've been feeling quite sentimental about black and white film lately and missing my darkroom days, so you'll notice this show is predominantly b&w. this day was just so classy and classic that b&w was a great way to tell the story. you can press play at the bottom left to start the slideshow.

Labels: BentonParkPhotographyCo, slideshows, StLouisWeddingPhotographers, weddings

congratulations, cal!

cal just graduated from high school, so in celebration, we did a way cool urban shoot. he's been traveling around the country for the last couple of years as a stellar hockey player. don't be surprised if you see him in the NHL one day. seriously.
here's a short slideshow of some favorites.

Labels: BentonParkPhotographyCo, slideshows, StLouisWeddingPhotographers

congratulations monica and pat!!!

last weekend i had the opportunity to second shoot monica and pat's jewel box wedding with stephen seward . it was a great time, despite the torrential downpour! pat and monica were great sports and kudos to stephen for getting the car out of a precarious parking spot.

brides and grooms, make sure you leave time for a trip to ted drewes on your wedding day! the whole wedding party gets free custard. how fabulous is that???

Labels: BentonParkPhotographyCo, MonicaAndPat, slideshows, StLouisWeddingPhotographers, weddings

kids in need | uganda

yesterday i wrote briefly about my trip to uganda in 2005 to work with a non-government organization called kids in need (KIN). estimates say there are more than 25,000 street children in uganda, many of whom have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS. KIN provides food and shelter and so much more to some of those kids. they have two separate centers in kampala, one for boys and one for girls, as well as an outreach center in mbale, which is near the kenyan border. i was able to spend time at all three locations and what they do is phenomenal. i decided to put together a slideshow with my images and the sound i recorded of the girls singing. it's sad it took me almost two years to do this, but better late than never, right?

Labels: BentonParkPhotographyCo, KidsInNeedUganda, slideshows, StLouisWeddingPhotographers

Deborah, Amy and Sally Slideshow

Grandmother, Sally, daughter, Deborah and granddaughter, Amy, are TROOPERS! Yesterday they braved record breaking heat to spend a couple of hours together making memories with Benton Park Photography Co. and boy, was it worth it! Sally flew in from Sedona for Amy's college graduation. Congrats to Amy who will don a cap and gown this evening at Missouri Baptist University. I had to post a few favorites. To see their slideshow with fabulous music by local musicians, Gumbohead, click here.