Thank you so much for stopping by for a visit on our blog! Here you will find our recent work along with little tidbits of my personal life here and there. I love that you have taken the time to stop by.
Much Love,
Shannon Phillips
Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 9:12AM Eeeeeek! The amazingly talented team at BirdCreek Productions put together this lovely video of John and Theresa's engagement shoot. I am blown away by how beautiful this is! I want one of me and my love!
Friday, May 18, 2012 at 6:20PM Brian and Amanda are two of the most fun-loving people that I have ever had the pleasure of working with. If you spend more than one second with the two of them you can instantly see that they are made for each other. To say that it was a joy to photograph their wedding would be such an understatement.
They got married on the perfect spring day at Vive Le Ranch here in Tulsa.
I secretly wished I was the one who got to wear Amanda's dress.
Bow tie heaven. I just love that this fits Brian's personality so well.
Miss Loren from Vintage Comb is responsible for making Amanda look extra gorge on her special day.
The first look.
The flowers blew my mind. They were the beautiful work of the fabulous team at The French Bouquet.
Ahhh! I just love them. They are always so happy and enjoying every moment.
Here is Amanda working her inner top model. Work it girl!
There was pretty detail overload at this wedding. So many talented people came together to make this day so amazing. One of them being the bride's brother who did all of the custom chalkboards.
Then there is Amanda's friend Jenni (who happens to be another bride of mine) designed their stationary for the wedding. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen!
The wedding invitation:
The save-the-date:
And the invite to the rehearsal dinner:
Brian is a huge lover of music, as well as his his bride. Amanda had a custom guitar made for Brian and gave it to him at the end of their first look.
I always love a good neck sniff photo.
Salsa favors.
The table centerpieces were beyond amazing and every table had something a little different. Perfect vintage yumminess.
Friday, May 18, 2012 at 8:49AM I'm just popping in to let you know that there is a GORGEOUS wedding post coming here later today. There is seriously so much pretty in this wedding, I can't even handle it!
Thanks for hanging in there with me! I'll be back soon with pretty overload.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012 at 8:10PM I know that I have said so before, but I really do have the most amazing clients. John and Theresa are no exception to this rule. They are so kind, joyful and affectionate. One look at them and you instantly know that they are perfect for one another.
For their engagement session we wanted to do something that was personal to them and would help to tell their love story. So, we started out their shoot at Vintage 1740 the wine bar. John and Theresa frequently go there to enjoy each other along with a glass of wine and the romantic beautiful atmosphere. The managers were so gracious to us and opened up the bar just for us to do our shoot so we had it all to ourselves.
Theresa is one long beautiful lady and John is one lucky guy. I'm pretty sure every woman in the universe wishes she had legs like hers.
Faccia Bella did a beautiful job on Miss Theresa's makeup.
These two are ALWAYS making each other laugh and smile. A key ingredient for a really wonderful marriage.
We left the wine bar and ventured over to a park where we laid down a blanket and had a reading study date. This is also something that they do together quite often.
John and Theresa, it has been so much fun getting to know you better. I am so happy for you and am very much looking forward to your wedding this summer.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 6:19PM My husband Nathan comes from a large family. He is one of five. His family is one of the main reasons my heart desires to also have a large family. Anyone who knows their family will agree with me when I say that they are one of the most loving and welcoming group of people in this world. When I talk about my sister-in-laws or brother-in-laws, it makes sense for me to leave off the term "in-law" because in every way they are my brothers and sisters. We are a tight group.
With that said, it is my great joy to post some of the photos of my "sister's" wedding. She married her prince charming a few weeks ago and I had the honor of capturing their special day. It was perfect in every way. So full of love and rejoicing.
Sharon's makeup was the beautiful handy work of the talented Shannon Schroeder.
That is the face of a VERY happy bride excited to go see her groom for the first time.
Bobby getting all spiffy for his bride.
A sweet prayer before the first look. It was such a lovely moment of pausing in the middle of the hustle and bustle of wedding activities to thank God and ask for his blessing on this day and on this marriage.
The first look was wonderful. Every bride wants her groom to make this face when he sees her.
So happy in the midst of tornadic winds. ;)
A little three year old man of mine happened to be the ring bearer. This was the greeting I received when he arrived. I wish all of my work days had hugs like this in them.
Eighteen people stood beside Sharon and Bobby as they exchanged vows. It is a testimony to how loved they are. The winds picked up like crazy and made us do the rest of our photos prior to the ceremony inside.
Gorgeous ladies!
The studly gentlemen.
My little crew and me. Since I was in a lot of the family photos for this wedding, Miss Jessie was so kind as to do most of the family shots.
Just about to give his daughter away to the man that loves and cherishes her.
My little Keegan.
My father-in-law is usually a man of few words. But he is also a man of great heartfelt wisdom. He said a few words before giving Sharon away and there was not a dry eye in the entire church. Yes, I was sobbing while taking photos. I had to use my lens cloth to wipe tears off of my camera on several occasions.
The groomsmen played a little trick with the ring like it was lost and then the last groomsman of the group of nine passed it down the line.
After the ceremony, the wind died down a bit so we were able to grab a few soft light shots outside of the Jazz Hall.
Bobby, the way that you look at my sister makes my heart melt.
True love, through and through.
We are going to have to work on my son's wooing skills. Here is his dinosaur growl. I think this was his way to get this little lady to dance with him.
From the moment he was born, Sharon and Keegan have had a very close special bond. He is Auntie's "boo-boo" as she calls him.
Jessie took the lead and did ALL of the reception photos after the first dances so that I could enjoy the reception and get my dance on. Thanks Jessie girl! I had two very important men to dance with.
Shake it Mr. and Mrs. Z!
Sharon's late grandmother was a lover and collector of bells. So, the choice of grand exit favors was an easy one. It was an ode to Mamaw.
Bobby and Sharon, we are so happy for you and so thankful for you in our lives. We are thrilled for what God has in store for you two as you begin your journey as husband and wife!
Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 12:41PM I am looking forward to sharing a lot of photos with you all very soon. This is just a snippet of all of the things I have been working on the past few weeks. Bear with me as I am getting ready for workshop this weekend. There will be lots of pretty blog posts to come.
Like my sister in law's wedding:
A magical outdoor wedding:
A styled love shoot:
A joyful engagement session:
I am a busy little Mama working away at all of these things while caring for the people that need me most.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 8:45AM Apparently, blog posting has been at the bottom of my list lately. As far as work goes, I've been editing and shooting and preparing for our upcoming workshop. As far as the rest of my time goes, I have been enjoying my amazing family of four.
If you have been a follower of mine for any length of time, you know that boudoir is a huge love of mine. I love having the opportunity to pamper my clients and celebrate their womanhood with them. It is a time to be kind to ourselves, get all gussied up and get pampered. We ALL have issues with our bodies....even the most seemingly perfect women. I love being able to encourage women to lay down their issues and celebrate their God given beauty (enhanced by some amazing professional hair and makeup.)
Again, if you have followed my work or my blog, you also know that I have a new baby girl, a handsome little preschooler and I'm married to my best friend. After several years of filling every moment with photo shoots, editing and work of all kinds I have been limiting the amount of work that I take on. My husband is no longer in school and has a great job as an RN. This means, I am working to help pay for extras instead of paying for everything. I'm still a photographer because I love it. It is a part of who I am.
I did a boudoir day earlier this month with five fabulous ladies. It was a breath of fresh air because I hadn't done one in such a long time. Here is one of my favorite shots from the day.
I may do another boudoir day in the fall, after wedding season dies down. Or.....I may not. I will re-evaluate at that time. Not because I don't love it, but because I love my family more.
Not to worry. I have a great alternative for you if you were looking forward to doing a boudoir session this year. My second shooter Jessie of Jessie Leigh Photography is stepping out and doing a boudoir date of her own. She has worked over a hundred of my boudoir sessions with me and is absolutely fabulous. She shot my boudoir photos and I have to admit she made me feel more beautiful than I had felt in years. The photos that came out of it blew my mind and put a very large smile on my husband's face. ;) I can't share any of my photos with you because my husband says they are all HIS. Which I am totally okay with. You can however, email Jessie to get a password to see some of her other boudoir work on her website. Just go to her website and hit the contact tab.
Here are the details for her next boudoir date. I would jump on it quickly if I were you because the spots are sure to fill up quickly.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 10:50AM Olivia and Derek's engagement session and beautiful love story have been featured on How He Asked. Check it out!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012 at 8:43AM I have a secret. I have a bit of a love affair with motorcycles. Especially motorcycles of the Harley variety.
I love the purr of their engines, the raw power that they possess. But it is more than that. As odd as it may sound, motorcycles are a huge part of my spiritual journey.
The years of 2000-2003 were hard years for me. Dark times yielded by outside circumstances as well as inward decisions made by a reckless young girl named Shannon. There are many days that I wish I could go back and talk to that young girl and just give her a hug (or a big slap in the face). But she wouldn't have listened to me anyways. And we all know, no matter how hard we try we cannot rewrite the past. We can only learn from it and choose to live differently today.
Here is where I am going to get all spiritual on you. Those dark days came to a close for me in the early summer of 2003 when I met Jesus. My story of faith is one of a rapid and deep transformation. I could write a TON about how that happened but for now, I will stay on course and bring you back to the Harley.
In April of 2003, I went on a Harley ride with my Step-Dad Ronnie, who at that time was just my Mom's sweet boyfriend. I remember it just like it was yesterday. The smell of the fresh Spring Michigan air hitting my face and the feeling of freedom as our wheels met the pavement. Then the tears came. They came right along with this overwhelming feeling that everything was going to be okay. My life was going to turn around. At that moment I felt joy for the first time in years. Real, true, overpowering joy.
I now know that it was Jesus and His Holy Spirit speaking to my heart that day back in April of 2003. (Not the exhaust fumes coming from the motorcycle.) My life was about to change forever in just a few short months when I decided to follow Him.
I went for a ride on Ronnie's Harley with him last week in April of 2012. Nine years later, almost to the day. The tears came again as I remembered that day when I knew everything was going to be alright.
Nathan took this next picture without ever seeing the one above. It is kind of crazy that they are so similar.
I pulled those pants of out the very back of my closet. They are no joke from my Junior year of High School. They must have been really big on me back then, because two kids later they actually fit!
Oh yes, I am a Harley Mama.
This is my "I'm so tough but I still wear a helmet face."
The boys wanted in on all of the fun so, Poppy bought everyone new Harley shirts and my favorite part.....
Tattoos!
While Keegan was saying his prayers the other night, he was asking Jesus to heal his sick cousin that has croup right now and he ended his sweet prayer with..."And please let me keep my tattoos forever. Amen" That is the heart of my three year old boy. ;)
Friday, April 6, 2012 at 8:48AM We've been published again! Check out Morgan and Cully's wedding post on Elizabeth Anne Designs.
