{ your story photoart } St Louis Wedding & Portrait Photography Blog

the ultimate cardinal fans say “i do”

admin — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 04:14:43 +0000

when people tell me that they’re cardinal fans, i’m usually like “that’s awesome” all the while thinking, “ok, sure, you and every other red blooded american that lives in st louis”. but jenn and vince lenzi MEAN IT. really mean it! their wedding was centered at the beautiful moulin just a stones throw from downtown and cardinal mecca, busch stadium. so even though it was a game day, we all agreed to venture out into the insanity of downtown st louis just hours before a good old fashion late summer ball game with a wedding party of almost 20!

everyone was in great spirits and didn’t complain even once as melisa and i scurried them around busch stadium. after getting some super fun shots, we hopped back in the AC and headed to lafayette square to capture some of those classic fairytale wedding images. again, even in the 90+ degree heat, everyone had a great time and we were able to get some really images that were right up their alley.

back to moulin for everyone’s first glance at seeing the entire ceremony and reception areas in full decor. this is where these cardinal fans REALLY proved their love for their redbirds. I could go on and on, but you really have to see the pictures to get how awesome it was!

amazing day guys! from start to finish you have been such a blessing to work with. and the vendors you hired were simply amazing, ann and her staff at moulin made sure that everyone was taken care of and everything in order. erin and her staff at exclusive events did an amazing job with the lighting and decor. brian and ray from millenium kept the reception flowing all night and marry me did a super job with the flowers. as we always say, working with the best in our industry makes all the difference in the world! lenzi--1243 lenzi--1244 lenzi--1251 lenzi--1254 lenzi--1260 lenzi--1266 lenzi--1271 lenzi--1275 lenzi--1291 lenzi--1294 lenzi--1297 lenzi--1300 lenzi--1312 lenzi--1324 lenzi--1325 lenzi--1345 lenzi--1352 lenzi--1356 lenzi--1357 lenzi--1361 lenzi--1363 lenzi--1402 lenzi--1413 lenzi--1504 lenzi-1015 lenzi-1022 lenzi-1024 lenzi-1028 lenzi-1033 lenzi-1038 lenzi-1041 lenzi-1045 lenzi-1053 lenzi-1058 lenzi-1061 lenzi-1064 lenzi-1067 lenzi-1086 lenzi-1107 lenzi-1133 lenzi-1140 lenzi-1150 lenzi-1187

another happy {your story} couple!

admin — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 03:11:52 +0000

brad and lauren came to us from the o’fallon, mo area and have a gorgeous wedding planned at St John United Church of Christ in historic st charles, mo. there will be no shortage of great shots to capture between old st charles and their reception at the prestigious whitmoor country club. all of this taking place in june, 2012.

brad and lauren, welcome to the your story wedding family, we’re super excited to work with you both!

{ ys } welcomes phil and lindsay!

admin — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 04:29:15 +0000

phil and lindsay come to us from the chicago-land area and have a beautiful june 2012 wedding planned at quincy university chapel in lindsay’s native quincy, il. like most of our clients, phil and lindsay are super laid back but also know what they want. but who expect anything less from a city planner and a psychologist? melisa and i are working with them to plan a super unique chicago style e/session in october. and they already have some great vendors picked out including: b-seen party pix for their photobooth and downtime band will keep the party rockin all night at the reception

phil and lindsay, we welcome you to the { ys } wedding family and we CANNOT wait to work with you and capture some beautiful imagery of this amazing time in your guys’ lives.

some words of wisdom if you think that you don’t need a wedding planner

admin — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:38:31 +0000

so your getting married and in prioritizing what it’s important to you for your special day, you glance at the “wedding planner” on the list. “is it worth it or am i just wasting money”, you ask yourself. it’s a common question that a lot of brides mull over and often times end up missing out on the importance of hiring a professional planner. below is a “to think about” list from Ellen Gutierez, of Bride’s Vision Weddings and Events. so think about it, you may be saving yourself more (monetarily and emotionally) by hiring a professional planner.

-You deserve to be a guest at your own wedding and so does your family and closest friends.
-A bump in the road should be handled by someone who is cool, calm and understands what your options are.
-Having direction ahead of your big day allows you to make decisions in advance and not at the last minute.
-Managing the unforeseen; establishing a plan and a plan B when it’s needed.
-Keeping balance, helping all the players have realistic expectations.
-A planner understands the wedding industry and its unique components bringing that understanding to you.
-A planner will help you negotiate with vendors and manage your wedding to your advantage.
-A planner will help you with your venue guarantee, managing the time and numbers.
-A planner is the “go to person” for your event. You adopt the phrase “Go see the coordinator/planner, she knows.”
-A planner works for you, representing your best interests.
-Managing all the logistics; setting a plan, executing the plan and handling the aftermath.
-A planner will review vendor contracts, not offering legal advice but looking for industry stands in your contracts.
-A planner/designer designs a wedding that is unique to you and what you want not what other people want.
-A planner will be there to hold the door open for you and your escort as you walk down the aisle only after adjusting your train and veil.

וואו felicitaciones! matt and fran’s culture infused wedding!

admin — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 02:29:51 +0000

so what do you get when a beautiful aspiring journalist and amazingly creative local actor say “I do”? and don’t forget that both bring a history rich in their own cultures and traditions. you get one over the top wedding with a beautiful mix of fran’s puerto rican roots and matt’s deep jewish traditions. the centene center for the arts in st louis was the backdrop for this beautiful display of two families from very different backgrounds, uniting. their guests were treated to the best of what’s important to them both. jewish ceremony tradition and then a reception filled with salsa dancing lessons and even guests joining in to “mi viejo san juan” (my old san juan). this was truly a celebration!

matt and fran, we had a wonderful time with you (and your hilarious wedding party) and were honored to document your day for generations to enjoy! it was truly a wedding that we’ll not soon forget! For all the right reasons

welcome tedgie and jake!

admin — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 03:37:54 +0000

so what do you get when you get when you combine a stunning venue like the alto pass winery, a november wedding and a great couple like tedgie and jake? a recipe for a beautiful wedding of course! and { ys } is honored to be a part of it. jake is finishing up schooling to be a pharmacist and tedgie works at siu carbondale, both have gotten to enjoy a {ys} wedding before and were excited to have us capture their day.

they were anxious to get the ball rolling so last week we got their e/session taken care of. can’t WAIT to post those up!

tedgie and jake, thank you for entrusting me to capture your day. and welcome to the {ys} wedding family!

mary + kevin + connections = another unique e/session!

admin — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 04:59:35 +0000

i LOVE when my clients say they have a “connection” somewhere. what that usually equates to is a unique opportunity! which was certainly the case here. mary’s uncle works for anheuser-busch and was able to get us access to our own “private tour” of the a/b grounds here in st louis. talk about fun! and our guide let us do pretty much whatever we wanted! even better!!!

even though it was close to 100, mary and kevin kept their cool the whole time. and with kevin being a meteorologist for wand-17 in decatur, I had to give him some crap about the heat. isn’t that what we’re supposed to do??

enjoy your images guys! can’t wait for your spring wedding next year!

have you “experienced” a { your story } wedding? tell everyone about it!

admin — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 04:24:24 +0000

are you the Mom, Dad, brides maid, cousin, Uncle or another guest at a wedding that { your story } was covering. we’d LOVE to hear about your experience! check out these two great sites below that you can share your experience! thanks in advance!

Check out { your story } Reviews on WeddingChannel.com

View My Profile on WeddingChannel.com St. Louis Photographers Page

Review { your story } at WeddingWire

so here’s why you want me to do your e/session!

admin — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 06:23:11 +0000

ok, so a few weeks ago I came back from an e/session and posted on FB that I just finished up a sort of unusual e/session.

the story goes…so a couple weeks before jess and craig’s e/session, i email them to prep them for their session and one of the things that jess mentions is that craig likes old muscle cars. being the car buff i am i thought that was pretty cool but told her i didn’t have any connections to being able to get one for their shoot. but i did tell her that it’s not uncommon for something fun or unusual to pop up while i’m shooting an e/session or even weddings. either way i reassured her that their shoot would be fun and unique

fast forward to the day of their session. so while we’re starting to shoot, i ask craig about his muscle car fetish, what’s his favorite right? so he tells me he likes old mustangs, especially the shelby cobras. my thoughts exactly! one of the all time classics! so we go about the shoot and get over to one of our locations near the hill and i went to go get something out of my car. when i look up, there’s a late 60′s mustang. but not just any mustang, a 1968 shelby cobra gt500. the king of mustangs!! i couldn’t believe it! i look over at craig whose jaw is on the ground. so i run over and get the drivers attention and told him what we were doing and of course asked if we could use his car for the shoot. him and his wife loved the idea so we parked it and starting shooting. none of us could believe it. this was the car he just told me about as we were starting the shoot. what was funny was that we were shooting in a kind of sketchy area so it made it that much more remarkable that here was this car!

i’m telling you people, this is what happens on my shoots, we have fun and something unusual always happens!

so aside from that, jess and craig are getting married in st john virgin islands next spring so we of course had to do a themed shoot. complete with map paper airplanes and of course some vintage luggage. it was a truly unique shoot that ended up with some great surprises that none of us will forget anytime soon.

enjoy!

jenn and vince rock st louis!

admin — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 05:18:57 +0000

so while brain storming with jenn and vince about their e/session, we came up with a layout that gave their session a unique look and offered a ton of variety for their shoot. we started out at courtesy diner on kingshighway (a regular late night hang out for these two love birds). the staff were great and let us take a few shots, they even got some “good lucks” from a few of the guests! we then went up the street to where they enjoyed their first date, the trophy room! by then, jenn and vince had warmed up to the camera perfectly and so we headed over for some fun at tower grove. once we had some fun and even ran into fellow photographer, bobbi brinkman, we trekked down near powell square for some grungy fun! and finally braved the traffic for a couple shots in front of busch stadium while the cards were hosting the world champs.

after their e/session, I can’t wait for their august wedding and reception at moulin! they’re absolute naturals and will be a blast to photograph on their special day.